Published by B&H Publishing on August 15, 2022
Genres: Academic, Non-Fiction
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Why does a church’s online presence matter? Expert church communication and marketing strategist Katie Allred outlines how churches can continue advancing the gospel and reach more people using new methods of communication. Designed for pastors, church leaders, and volunteers, Church Communications guides the reader through practical steps a church can take to strengthen their digital footprint. Allred gives guidelines for a range of issues from creating marketing strategy, designing branding, how to set up and run social media, and more. All churches are storytellers on a mission, and new digital mediums play a vital role in the life and growth of the church.
Churches are almost famously bad at communication. We’re talking about an institution where, in 2022, the primary method of information is still the printed bulletin. The secondary method, of course, being the church sign. Churches also fail at communication when they use a bunch of insider language, fail to use appropriate signage (because everybody knows where the Senior Sunday School Class meets), or has a website that hasn’t been updated since the 1990s. Church Communications: Methods and Marketing is here to help.
I came into this book a bit…suspicious? The opposite of the church with terrible social media whose last marketing campaign was that ad in the Yellow Pages is the sleek, custom-crafted, uber-targeted, media-savvy church. You know the ones. I was a bit worried that Church Communications would be all about platform-building and media-creating and less about actual, substantive work. Fortunately, Katie Allred finds the perfect balance, helping churches create a marketing campaign that works for individual churches within the context. Churches aren’t a product, they’re a community. And Church Communications understands that.
Katie Allred breaks her book down into twelve chapters:
- Marketing Strategy
- Branding
- Digital Marketing
- Social Media
- Websites
- Advertising
- Public Relations
- Crisis Communication
- Leading a Team
- Project Management
- First Ninety Days
- What to Do Now
Whether your church is large or small, Allred has practical, scalable suggestions for making the most of the technology available. Very little of it is groundbreaking knowledge, but Church Communications has packaged it all together in one book and presented in a context meant for a local church. That alone makes it invaluable. Sure, you can get this same content by Googling, but it isn’t going to be as specific or applicable. Church Communications also comes with a community. In the opening pages, Allred writes that there are 30,000 in the Church Communications Facebook group—80% of whom participate in the group daily.
If you’re a small to mid-size church, this is the book you want. You don’t have time to build all these things from the ground up. Let Church Communications help you. It’s your tried-and-true blueprint for developing all forms of a church’s presence. A useful, practical, engaging book.