The Pro Church Tools Show with Brady Shearer

  Being a once a year event, Bold Conference is struggling to build a year round advertising strategy. Brady sits down with Carson to put some plans in place.   What's In This Session? Church Name: Bold Conference Church Location: Kansas City, Missouri Church Age: Pre-planning Church Size: Sponsor church is 500 On the coaching call: Carson Cooper - Creative Contract   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned That Church Conference Start With Why by Simon Sinek Boomerang for Gmail Helpscout Intercom Storytape on Instagram Brady on Instagram Jab Jab Jab Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk   3 Instant Takeaways Be more than promotion. You want to be present in the lives of your audience, but this can be more than just advertising. It can be blog posts, behind the scenes content, podcasts, videos - anything that is valuable to your audience. Find ways to accomplish the vision of your conference in an online space. Have a measurable goal. If your goal is too broad, it will make it difficult to work toward because so much can fit into it. By narrowing down your goal you can better focus your energy, as well as know when you're actually achieving it. Put in effort that is equal to the size of your goal. Often churches use God as an excuse to not put in the necessary work. Yes. God partners with us, but we still need to do our part. If you choose a big goal - plan for hard work.   Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/single-event-advertising-bold-conference/.

http://prochurchtools.com/191 - One of the struggles when it comes to storytelling in your church is finding stories to tell. Adam shares his strategy, as well as storytelling structure in this session.    What's In This Session? How to discover stories in your church (and why not everyone’s story is worth telling) (14:13) Convincing individuals in your church to share their stories on camera (17:59) Church on the Move’s story structure (21:37) The best place to record a video interview (27:59) Essential gear for story videos (30:55) Pro video storytelling tips from the trenches (35:18)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned The Story Guide Church On The Move Adam on Twitter Adam on Instagram Manuscripts Books   3 Instant Takeaways The key to stories worth telling is change. Every great story has a main character who changes. Use this as a guide when choosing stories from your congregation to tell. Look for someone who has changed. What location will support this story? When choosing where to film your story videos, choose places that make sense to your story. This will help you tell the story visually before your subject even begins speaking. Choosing space that make sense for the story will also help the story feel authentic. Audio first. When it comes to gear, start with quality audio. People are more likely to stop watching due to poor audio quality rather than poor picture quality. Put thought and money into a quality microphone and learn how to use it properly.   Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/pcp191/.

► Subscribe to my channel here: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=ProChurchTools   #TIMESTAMPS:   1:03 - How do we measure if a creative project “moves the needle forward” enough? 9:48 - What’s your opinion on website video background? 16:28 - Any suggestions to improve our countdowns so people in the lounge stop ignoring them? 23:38 - We are looking for a solution for sending nursery alerts to parents during our worship service. Any suggestions?   Brady Shearer is the CEO of Pro Church Tools Inc., a company helping churches communicate better. Through weekly videos, podcasts, and articles, Pro Church Tools reaches more than 25,000 churches every month.   Brady is the host of The #AskBrady Show, a church communications focused Q&A video show and podcast, as well as the Pro Church Podcast, a weekly interview audio podcast.   Follow Me Online Here:   Instagram: http://instagram.com/bradyshearer Facebook: http://facebook.com/prochurchtools Website: http://prochurchtools.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/bradyshearer iTunes Podcast | http://prochurchtools.com/itunes

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 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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/.

Watch the video version of this episode of The #AskBrady Show here: https://www.youtube.com/user/ProChurchTools   #TIMESTAMPS:   1:04 - How can we pray for you? Also, what are your top five things that are quality content that a mobile church can offer to their community that could convert into a non-creepy invite? 13:34 - Why is ‘hello@whatever’ better than ‘office@whatever’ or ‘info@whatever’? 15:57 - Where can you get cheap, quality background music? 18:53 - Everyone thinks their event is the most important. Can you share some strategies on how to deal with the inevitable conflicts that will arise?   Brady Shearer is the CEO of Pro Church Tools Inc., a company helping churches communicate better. Through weekly videos, podcasts, and articles, Pro Church Tools reaches more than 25,000 churches every month.   Brady is the host of The #AskBrady Show, a church communications focused Q&A video show and podcast, as well as the Pro Church Podcast, a weekly interview audio podcast.   Follow Me Online Here: Instagram: http://instagram.com/bradyshearer Facebook: http://facebook.com/prochurchtools Website: http://prochurchtools.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/bradyshearer

  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 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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/.

Watch the video version of this episode of The #AskBrady Show here: https://www.youtube.com/user/ProChurchTools   #TIMESTAMPS:   1:04 - Should I get rid of the past history of our social media posts? 6:50 - Are there circumstances when we should not use stock video? 14:18 - What is the difference in style between a social graphic and a church slide graphic if they’re both announcements?  19:27 - When your church is able to grow their communications department, what are some key positions to fill?   Brady Shearer is the CEO of Pro Church Tools Inc., a company helping churches communicate better. Through weekly videos, podcasts, and articles, Pro Church Tools reaches more than 25,000 churches every month.   Brady is the host of The #AskBrady Show, a church communications focused Q&A video show and podcast, as well as the Pro Church Podcast, a weekly interview audio podcast.   Follow Me Online Here: Instagram: http://instagram.com/bradyshearer Facebook: http://facebook.com/prochurchtools Website: http://prochurchtools.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/bradyshearer

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 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. 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. 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/.