Peninsula Covenant Church is just about to launch their second campus and are wanting to flesh out out what that means when it comes to structure and communications. Brady weighs in with his thoughts. 

Meet The Church Being Coached

• Church Name: Peninsula Covenant Church
• Church Location: Redwood City, California
• Church Age: 65 years
• Church Size: 900 - 1,000
• On the coaching call: Tony Gapastone - Worship Arts Pastor, Kristin Hernandez - Communications Director

Show Notes & Resources Mentioned

• MailChimp
• Slack
• Spotify
• Building A Volunteer Photography Team At Your Church with Dave Adamson
• The Best Social Media Strategy of 2017

3 Instant Takeaways

1. Keep your social together and streamlined. Splintering your audience apart based on campus location can dilute your online presence. It can also make it confusing for new visitors, or people searching for information.
2. Community trumps programming. What will make your outreach sticky is whether or not students can identify the group. As human beings we were created for community. We all want a group of people to call our own. Feeling like they fit in and belong with the group will keep students around.
3. Create a content marketing strategy. College age students spend a lot of time online, which is exactly why you need to be present online. This can be in the form of YouTube videos, podcasts, blogposts, etc. The key is to make sure you create content that fits the platform, and that this content is not just advertising, but instead is valuable on its own.

Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/moving-multisite-model-peninsula-covenant-church/.

http://prochurchtools.com/190 - Carey Nieuwhof is a pastor who does Instagram well. He joins us to discuss learning Instagram when you’re not a digital native, and his best Instagram tips. 

What's In This Session

• The origins of the name Connexus Church (11:34)
• Why an older pastor would dive into Instagram (17:01)
• Using social platforms aspirationally (21:44)
• How to learn Instagram when it feels foreign to you (25:35)
• The best way to use Instagram Stories to drive results for your church (32:03)
• Carey’s favorite moments on Instagram (36:57)
• Best advice for Instagram rookies from an older pastor (39:41)

Show Notes & Resources Mentioned

• Carey on Instagram
• LeadLikeNeverBefore.com
• CareyNieuwhof.com
• Carey Nieuwhof's Leadership Podcast
• Connexus Church
• Breaking 200
• Craig Groeschel on Instagram
• Brian Houston on Instagram
• Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss

3 Instant Takeaways

1. Do market research. When Carey was first starting Connexus he took the time to poll his target audience and understand his community. This research enabled him to set his church up for success, and a great first impression, by listening to the people he planned to serve.
2. Use social media aspirationally. If your target audience is on a specific platform - why wouldn't you be there? Even if for the first month you just create an account and observe. Figure out the culture and rules of the platform, but be present where your people are. It really does come down to whether you truly want to connect with them or not.
3. Don't let your conflict simmer. Use Instagram stories to share your life. One of the major complaints against churches and church leaders is that they're fake, so allow them to know who you are. Be authentic. Allow people to know what it's like to live as a Christian, and as a leader. Be a real human being.

Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/pcp190/.

Calvary Apostolic Church wants to project a unified welcoming message across everything they do, but aren't sure how to get everyone on the same page. Brady talks with their Creative Director about their current new visitor follow up sequence, and how they can improve their retention.

Meet The Church Being Coached

• Church Name: Calvary Apostolic Church
• Church Location: Columbus, Ohio
• Church Age: 100 years
• Church Size: 350
• On the coaching call: Isaac Cowden - Creative Director & Band Leader

Show Notes & Resources Mentioned

• CalvaryColumbus.com
• Squarespace
• Calvary Apostolic Church on Instagram
• Storytape
• Nucleus
• 37 Copy-And-Paste Email Subject Lines For Churches

3 Instant Takeaways

1. Have consistent handles across every platform. Consistent handles make it easy for your audience to find you on every platform. Where as needing to remember multiple handles can be confusing and can keep people from following your church on social media.
2. Develop a true sense of community. With the coming of the digital age people have access to education, music and ideas at the click of a button, but are often left feeling lonely. The church was designed to be an integrated community, and living this out can fill a need for the people who visit you and can help them decide whether or not to stay.
3. Base your small groups around activities. Having a common activity helps dissipate awkwardness and gives people common ground to bond over. This common ground can lead to deter connections and conversation.

Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/building-unified-brand-calvary-apostolic-church/.

http://prochurchtools.com/189 -  Justin is a digital missionary, and joins us to discuss how to make the most of YouTube. He shares tips on YouTube keywords, what it takes to grow your followers, and the perfect YouTube video. 

What's In This Session?

• Why Justin turned to YouTube to become a digital missionary (7:34)
• The true definition of the word “vlog” (12:36)
• How Justin grew from 0 to 40,000 subscribers in 18 months (15:00)
• Dissecting what it takes to get 100,000+ views on a YouTube video (20:39)
• Pro tips for YouTube keyword research (24:03)
• The perfect anatomy of a YouTube video (31:38)
• The most important metric that YouTube tracks (and why it’s so important) (35:21)
• Best strategies for YouTube titles & thumbnails (39:51)

Show Notes & Resources Mentioned

• That Christian Vlogger
• TubeBuddy
• VidIQ
• Google Keyword Planner
• YTCockpit
• Storytape

3 Instant Take Aways

1. Millennials disproportionately trust individuals over institutions. Logging gave Justin a great platform from which to share his faith because it was him, an individual, talking about it and living it out. This helps millennials connect more willingly with his message.
2. Be relevant to your target audience. This doesn't mean avoiding truth or "watering down" the gospel. It means making the truth of who Jesus is applicable to the situations people find themselves in every single day. Some of Justin's most viewed videos were on dating, and the reason for this is that dating is something millennials spend a lot of time thinking about because it is a part of their day to day life.
3. Ask yourself why someone would want to watch a video. Is it because they're asking a specific question? Are they looking for a different perspective on an issue? It might be different for different videos, but by being aware of this you can give your videos focus. Remember to promise the value you will be offering up front at the beginning of the video.

Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/pcp189/.

Redemption Church is a mobile church run out of a middle school in Oklahoma. This being the case, they have a lot of new visitors, but their team is concerned that they don't have a great infrastructure in place when it comes to guests. Brady sits down with their communications team to put a plan in place.

Meet The Church Being Coached

• Church Name: Redemption Church OKC
• Church Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Church Age: 3 years
• Church Size: 250 - 350
• On the coaching call: Heidi Clarke - Communications Director, Chris Clarke - Worship & Arts Pastor

Show Notes & Resources Mentioned

• 7 Perfect Church Connection Card Examples
• Barna - What Millennials Want When They Visit Church
• MailChimp
• Active Campaign
• Storytape.com
• The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker
• #AskBrady Episode 26
• The Ultimate Social Media Blueprint For Churches

3 Instant Takeaways

1. Balance the line between quality and quantity. With connection cards if you ask for too much information you'll receive less responses, but at the same time you want to collect enough information for it to be helpful for your team. You'll need to balance the line between asking too much and not enough so that people will fill out the card and hand it in.
2. Incentivize. Any healthy relationship needs to be reciprocal so when a new visitor attends your church they've already given so much. They've given their time and stepped out of their comfort zone. To then ask them to give their personal information - it can come across like a big ask. By giving something in return for them filling out a connect card you help even out the give and take of the relationship.
3. Be genuine. Incentives and connect cards can come across as gimmicky, so find ways to communicate them authentically. Tie them into who you are as a church. Give an incentive that means something and is valuable. Show your visitors that they matter.

Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/welcoming-new-visitors-redemption-church/.

http://prochurchtools.com/188 -  I went and studied 100s of almost identical Facebook posts to discover what really worked (and more importantly, what really didn’t) when it came to growing engagement.

What's In This Session?

• Defining the case study (6:54)
• The video guarantee (10:13)
• The statistics (11:20)
• Why a share is important (12:14)
• The case study results (21:25)
• Real life examples (30:03)
• Storytape pricing (44:40)

Show Notes & Resources Mentioned

• Storytape.com
• Rev.com
• Trint.com

3 Instant Takeaways

1. Video out performs text and photo based posts on Facebook. This makes sense because video will keep our attention on a single platform and post longer. Due to this prolonged attention Facebook is prioritizing video, meaning that video posts are more likely to be seen by your audience.
2. Viewers retain more of the message when watching a video compared to text. Even if the retention rate is only an extra 50%, this still means that your audience is still means that your audience is still capturing more of your message when you put it out in video form than when you use a text and image combo.
3. Add captions. A high percentage of videos on social media are viewed without sound. By adding captions you allow this large portion of your audience to still engage with you content. You make it accessible. 

Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/pcp188/.

Connection Church knows the importance of great digital and social media content, but right now they don't have someone to head it up. They're not sure what they needr in the person they hire. Brady sits down with their communications team to discuss the type of person they should look for.

Meet The Church Being Coached

• Church Name: Connection Church
• Church Location: Canton, Michigan
• Church Age: 75 years
• Church Size: 2,600 - 3,000
• On the coaching call: Austin - Youth/Tech/Communications, Jared - Youth Intern

Show Notes & Resources Mentioned

• Storytape
• Church Community Builder
• Typeform
• Ninja Forms
• Gravity Forms
• Formstack

3 Instant Takeaways

1. More is not always better. If your social media strategy is struggling, don't try to fix it by adding more channels. Instead take the time to figure out why your strategy is not working and how to improve. Learn how to go deep on your most popular social channel before taking on more.
2. Look for a practitioner. Because social media is constantly changing so quickly, there is no formal education system for how to become a church communicator. This makes it important to find someone who is already applying the qualities in their own life. They are active on social media. They understand the platforms.
3. Manage expectations. When it comes to creative projects make sure the other people on staff are aware of the timeline required. Put deadlines in place. This will help make sure their expectations line up with what is possible, as well as with the other members of your team.

Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/expanding-creati…onnection-church/.

http://prochurchtools.com/187 - Tristan is the creative mind behind a large percentage of the abstract footage available on Storytape. He joins us to discuss what it takes to orchestrate and film an abstract scene. 

What's In This Session?

• The origins of Storytape (8:07)
• Executing a reverse bet (10:15)
• What it takes to orchestrate an abstract scene (14:20)
• Filming abstract clips using fire and flames (16:04)
• Why a macro lens is the key to great abstract footage (20:27)
• Building an abstract scene around a broken speaker (22:35)
• How to bounce back when a video shoot fails (26:05)
• Adding visual effects to abstract footage in post-production (41:00)

Show Notes & Resources Mentioned

• Storytape
• Storytape on Instagram
• Westcott LED Flex Lights
• Savage Seamless Paper Backgrounds
• Tristan on Instagram
• Tristan on Twitter
• Grasshopper

3 Instant Take Aways

1. Draw inspiration from the work of others. Tristan remembers seeing clips of paper burning, and later used this to inspire a sequence of clips of fire and ember. Write down the things that inspire you, as well as things you want to try in the future.
2. Use a macro lens. A macro lens allows you make small things appear large. This combination can turn even normal, everyday objects into unrecognizable, abstract shots.
3. Don't be afraid to fail and try again. Part of creating is coming up with things that haven't been done or seen before - or at least not your way. Sometimes it will take a couple of shots to get something just right. Don't allow it to discourage you. Come back with new and better ideas.

<p>Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at&nbsp;<a href="http://prochurchtools.com/pcp184/">http://prochurchtools.com/pcp187/</a>.</p>

OneHeart Ministry has recently moved into their permanent location, whose demographic is vastly different than their previous mobile location, and now they're looking to grow both in numbers and diversity. Brady chats with their creative team about strategies to fit their community & culture.

Meet The Church Being Coached

• Church Name: OneHeart Ministry
• Church Location: Sydney, Australia
• Church Age: 8 years
• Church Size: 50
• On the coaching call: Josh Wyatt - Creative Ministry Leader, Hang - Social Media Manager, Blair - Photography & Website, Emily - Film & Photography, Allison - Lyric Operator

Show Notes & Resources Mentioned

• Storytape
• Storytape on Instagram
• Google AdWords
• Facebook Ads Tips For Churches From The Trenches with Steve Fogg
• Adobe Photography
• AskBrady.TV

3 Instant Takeaways

1.  Be patient. Starting in a new place means that it will take time and consistency to see relationships built with your community. Don't allow your natural inclination to want immediate results discourage you. Don't be afraid to give the process time.
2. Depth & reach - you need both. You may notice in your metrics that certain posts get a lot of engagement, but very little reach and vice versa. The key is to include both types of post. This way you continue to reach a wide audience while still building a relationship with your core social media audience.
3. Use a templatized systems to include new and inexperienced volunteers. People want to be included and contribute to their community, but sometimes don't have the preexisting skills you need. Templates allow them to be part of the team without compromising standards. Then you can expand their training from there if you want.

Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/pcp184/.