How we create a consistent brand and marketing plan that generates over 100 hits per day
What is branding? What is Marketing? So many people know they need it but how many actually know what it is, why it matters and should they invest in it.
As a new ministry or church resources are low, demands are high and you just want people to come through the door. You believed if you build it they would come. And so you did and then they didn’t.
So now what? Your focus needs to be on the ministry and you can’t afford to hire a full time marketing person let alone an agency. God called you into this work but never said anything about website!
It is common to feel the stress of building a ministry and serving the people vs serving the organization.
The organization needs marketing, staff, processes and systems. A logo, a website and so much more to be a real entity. The people just want you to bring a current Word from God to help them reach their next level in him.
So how do you do both and not lose your head or empty your resources?
As partners of Sam Adeyemi Ministry, we have worked with him for the last 5 years helping him get the message out, maintain his brand and create the digital experience needed to grow an audience that engages in that message.
Here are 3 things you can do NOW that don’t take a lot of time or money but can help your church or ministry grow.
#1. CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT
Content is free to create. In fact you create it for every bible study or Sunday service. Content can also be shared freely but more on that later. Take the content you would teach, preach or share and create different versions to engage people in different ways. For example if you are teaching on the holy spirit, you can also do a fruits of the spirit chart or checklist or do a scripture ebook of all the places Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit in the bible. It’s just like water, ice and steam. They are all just different forms of water and used in different ways. Same with your content. Take the core of your message and reformat it in different ways. Here are a few:
- Blog – By the way Pastor Sam creates a blog every month.
- Email newsletter
- Social media post
- Check list
- Ebook
- Poster
- Podcast – Pastor also does a monthly podcast 🙂
#2 LEARN SOCIAL MEDIA
People are often afraid of social media and like to think it doesn’t matter or will go away. NOT TRUE! If this is where the people are go to them. Jesus did not stay in one place and preach the gospel. He went to where people where then they started to come to him. You have to go where people are and when you get there, serve them. Right now that instagram and facebook. Here are some FREE things you can do on Instagram to help grow your audience.
- Do an Instagram live every day for 30 days no longer than 60 seconds
- Do 3 Instagram stories every day for 15 seconds each
- Post daily
- Comment on other posts that are relevant to your brand 10x per day
#3 DON’T SPEND TOO MUCH ON WEB OR LOGOS
The first thing people think they need when creating a brand is getting a logo and website. And it can get pretty expensive. As a new church or ministry you can’t afford it so we advise some startups to use resources that free or cheap. Try hatchful.com for a free logo maker or fiverr.com for affordable freelancers to create a logo.
Web should be simple. Create something you can easily maintain. Here are two web platforms you can start with.
- Wix.com
- Squarespace.com
You dont want to overwhelm your audience or your team. Many of this can be done by volunteers so the more simple the easier it is to train or have anyone manage it. The key is LESS is MORE!
So how DOES Pastor Sam get more than 5k visitors on SamAdayemi.net? We do the same things above but with more frequency and consistency. Here are a few below
- Monthly blog
- Monthly newsletter
- Daily posts on Social Media
- Video recaps on youtube
- Webinar training
- Email marketing for the shop
- Free videos on ministry content
Just remember, God called you and equipped you but you still have to tell everyone else that He called you and equipped you! Jesus had to walk to the people. You can do that too. Branding and marketing does not have to be hard or expensive but it can be a part of your ministry. Go go go!
