Media in Church: Strategies for Maximising Your Content

Graeme Spencer Author

Maximise your Media in Church: focus on quality, marketing strategies, and repurposing content for more significant impact and engagement.

Since 2020, finding a church not involved in media production and distribution has become increasingly rare. Media in the church is now a central aspect of many congregations. With churches livestreaming services, creating social media content, producing podcasts, and even making short films. However, it's easy for a church to become consumed by the urge to produce more and more content without evaluating whether this is the best approach and if it's sustainable. It may be beneficial for churches to take a step back and focus on maximising the impact of their existing media rather than continually increasing their content production.

For the next few minutes, I encourage you to do just that. Take a step back and breath. Consider how to maximise all you do with media in your church rather than looking at what more you can do or other types of content you could create.

Focusing on Quality Over Quantity In Your Media In Church Content.

One key component to maximising your church media is concentrating on quality, not quantity. Today, an overwhelming amount of content is being produced, but much of it is of inferior quality. When it comes to media in church, producing high-quality content is essential because it allows you to stand out from the crowd.

This focus on quality is particularly crucial for long-term sustainability in your church's media strategy. Prioritising quantity over quality can lead to getting stuck on a content creation treadmill. This burns out your team and makes it challenging to enhance the quality of your media content in the church because you'll constantly be playing catch-up.

That’s why you should always aim for the highest quality from the outset. It’s easier to build quantity after quality than the other way around. Then, you have already developed the habit of creating high-quality content media in the church. We all know how hard it is to stop doing anything that has become habitual. So, make quality the habit for your content.

Keep in mind that when it comes to quality content, you should aim for a level of quality based on the expectations of your audience. Understanding your audience's expectations and striving to exceed them will help your content resonate with them. To achieve this, you need to intentionally define your target audience. This is something many churches have overlooked in their media strategy in church. If you'd like to explore this further, you can find more information in my article on my website titled "Who is your digital church?"

Marketing and Promoting Your Media In Church Content

The second component of maximising your media in the church is ensuring you have a marketing and promotional strategy for your content. We all want our church media content seen by as many people as possible, which is a commendable goal. However, how many churches have a marketing strategy to ensure the intended audience discovers their content?

It's crucial to recognise that in today's competitive media landscape, you must proactively promote your church media content. Simply publishing content is insufficient.

Here are some statistics related to one of the most widely used platforms by churches, YouTube, to illustrate why:

• There are 114 million active YouTube channels.
• There are 694,000 hours of content consumed every minute.
• 2,500 new videos are uploaded every minute (approximately 183 hours of content daily), equating to around 3.7 million new videos.
• There are over 800 million videos on YouTube.

*Stats correct when written (https://www.wyzowl.com/youtube-stats/#:~:text=How%20many%20YouTube%20channels%20are,studios%2C%20record%20labels%20and%20more)

So, how will YOUR church media content stand out?

The truth is that your church media content will only stand out if you help it to do so.

Marketing strategies must be tailored to who you want to reach. This is why defining the target audience for your church media content is critical. Each platform you use has nuances you must understand and master to get your message out effectively.

For instance, when using YouTube, one thing that most churches miss when publishing their content is that YouTube is, first and foremost, a search engine. That means you need to make your content easily searchable. The correct titles, keywords, etc., are essential to be effective on YouTube beyond an audience already connected to you. The most effective church media content will have the viewer’s needs at the front and centre. What is the audience you want to reach searching for? That is the most critical question to answer. Once you have answered that, your titles, thumbnails, etc., all need to reflect that.

If you do not regularly check the analytics for your church media on the various platforms you use, how can you tell if it is effective?It's essential to utilise your existing audience, or "fans," to help promote your church media content. Encourage them to share, engage with, and comment on your content. Social media algorithms favour content that spurs conversation and interaction. Work on that and, they will help promote your content if it generates engagement.

However, it's crucial to ensure that your church media content meets a high-quality standard so that your audience feels comfortable sharing it with their networks. What people share online reflects their values, so quality content matters more than quantity in your church media strategy.

Repurposing: Maximising Your Content

While leveraging your existing audience can be beneficial, having a solid strategy for marketing your media content is essential. Without a plan, your content won't be as effective. When trying to maximise your church media content's impact, you must consider the wonders of repurposing. By using media content in different ways, you can get more value from it.

For instance, if you livestream your weekly service, can you generate worship tracks as separate videos to share on various platforms? Could you create short clips from the sermon to use on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube shorts, and more throughout the week? This keeps your media content visible to your audience and makes your message more impactful.

You can also use the sermon as a podcast or repurpose it into a blog, social media posts, or another format. It's important to recognise that people consume content in different ways. That’s why having one piece of media in multiple formats can significantly benefit your audience and, in turn, help you achieve your goals.

I have a whole article on this that you might find helpful: "Five Methods to Reach Your Church Audience Beyond Sunday."

The good news is that excellent tools are available to assist with these tasks, and there are numerous AI-driven solutions that you can use to improve your and your team's productivity, making it achievable for everyone involved.

Conclusion: Sustainable Strategies for Media in Church

The critical idea is to accomplish more and have a more significant impact without continuously engaging in the content creation cycle. If you need assistance developing a strategy for your church media, I’d be happy to explore ways to help. Please feel free to email me, and we can discuss it further.

Maximising media in your church requires focus and effort. By prioritising the creation of high-quality material, effective marketing, and clever repurposing, you can successfully maximise your church media content. This, in turn, will build greater engagement and help transform more people's lives.

I would also recommend the following four articles for further reading:

Is Your Media for Church Fuelling Growth and Engagement?

Why Creative Media for Churches is the Key to Growth and Impact.

Why media church is the way forward for growth and impact.

Digital Ministry Unleashed: 5 Proven Strategies for Your Church.

Categories: : audience, church media ministry, Content, Foundation, Platforms, quality, Strategy