Countless people in your community are searching for more meaning, more relationship, more depth, more Jesus. And now, as they attempt to find what they are looking for, it is the church’s job to ensure they find it.
- Keep Your Website Relevant and Up to Date
Most churches understand the importance of having a website in 2023, but often, those websites aren’t serving the people visiting them appropriately. A beautiful and well-designed website is a great thing to have, but more important than that is a website that functions to help people understand who you are, what you believe, and how to find you. So ask yourself these questions:
- Can website visitors easily find our address, phone number, email, and social media links?
- Are your service times and details up to date and easy to find on the homepage?
- Are elements like your denomination, statement of faith, and other information listed?
FACT: 54% of website visitors leave a website if they cannot find contact information or a phone number
- Keep Your Google My Business Listing Relevant and Up to Date
Three out of four searches start on Google, and Google Maps is used by more than 70% of drivers daily. For that reason, doing regular maintenance checks of your Google My Business or GMB listing to ensure that your phone number, hours, and location are correct is vital to making sure new visitors can find you.
FACT: Did you know that you can also update your hours to account for holiday closures and extra service times?
Not only is your GMB an essential part of making sure people can find you, but it’s also a way that you can provide answers to common questions, link to your social media, and even give visitors an idea of what to expect from your culture based on the reviews they find there.
Many churches neglect this listing since it is typically considered more of a “business” listing. Still, missing or inaccurate information here can lose the interest of a potential new visitor.
- Keep Your Social Media Profiles Relevant and Up to Date
Are you sensing a theme here?
FACT: The average church with Facebook engages a following the size of 166% of its congregation
Social media has become one of the primary ways that we communicate in our society today. We use it to connect with friends and family and strangers with shared interests. We use it to express our likes and dislikes and as a way to consume content and entertainment.
Social media is also one of the primary ways that a church seeker will form an initial opinion of your church. Not only will they look to make sure that you are a valid ministry with a proper location and contact information, but they will also use it to get a feel for your worship service, your kids’ ministry, and how you engage with questions and comments.
While you may only have time to post on your social media a few times a week, it is crucial to make sure that all of the pictures and information are up to date and that if there are comments on posts, they are monitored and responded to.
In today’s day of lighting fast response times and technology in our pockets, making sure that the church is leveraging all of the digital tools available to us is an absolute must.
Don’t miss the opportunity to share the gospel in 2023 because of an outdated website or an inaccurate Google My Business Page.
First published on StartChurch.com. Used by permission.
