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Meet Thrive

We’re really excited. Years of work have finally paid off. Thrive is now live and ready to give churches all over the country (and world) the ability to take their communication to a whole new level of sophistication.

Active ministries have a lot going on -- from worship gatherings to small groups to missions to meetings to those surprise moments when the communication staff has to get the word out. One of the biggest challenges for church communicators is the constant development of new materials from each week for websites, social media, e-mail blasts, text messaging and printed material.

Let’s be honest. It can be tedious and it can be a headache.

Thrive was designed with the needs of those communicators in mind. We wanted to know how we could help if we brought the control and development of all this material into one place? What if church communicators didn’t have to start from scratch each week? What if they didn’t have to have to keep track of half a dozen computer programs? What if we could provide them with a means to simplify the process and allow more time for creativity? What if we could connect church leaders with professional designers to finally give their communication the look their ministry deserves? What if we could provide church communicators with a way to produce amazing content across multiple platforms every single week?

We thought that would be awesome. So we built it. And now it’s ready for you.

It's time to Thrive.

Speaking to the Media -- Newsworthy

Unfortunately, churches don't always have an easy time getting news coverage beyond small community papers. Over the years, I have spoken with a lot of pastors who were frustrated as a result. But very often the reason they were having so much trouble is because (A) They didn’t understand what makes a story newsworthy or (B) They didn't do a good job of pitching the story.

Journalists typically follow a metric that falls under seven categories to identify what is and isn't newsworthy. The next time you pitch a story, think about these considerations.

Timeliness – When did the event happen? The closer the event is to present day, the higher its value. For example, if you had a big fundraiser two weeks ago, it's not going to have the same value as it would if it were today or tomorrow.

Proximity – How close is the story to the media outlet’s audience? Depending on the importance of the story, proximity can expand. However, if the big fundraiser was held in the local community, it’s going to have a greater impact than it would if it were held on the other side of the state.

Rarity/Novelty – How often does something happen? There is a cliché in the news business that nobody cares if a dog bites a man, but if the man bites the dog, then it’s news. This is one of the reasons churches can have a hard time getting coverage for doing good things. Churches are supposed to do good things. The flip side of this is exactly why churches will always get coverage for doing bad things.

Prominence – Who was involved in the story? If you have video of someone dancing to Gangnam Style, nobody is going to care – unless the person dancing happens to be the governor.

Impact – How does this story specifically impact the lives of the people who read/watch the story? If a decision is going to have direct consequences for the general public, the newsworthiness goes up.

Human Interest – These stories are called “soft news.” They typically don’t have a direct impact on a lot of lives; they’re simply interesting. Perhaps it’s a story about someone who has a really unique hobby or it’s a profile on local entertainment.

The Social Spotlight: Account Managing Platforms

As we finish up looking at social media sites, it can get hectic keeping them all together. It would be great if there were a place to monitor some if not all of them in one easy-to-use platform. These are what we will look at today. We will go through a few different scheduling platforms and how to get those set up.

HootSuite

One of the leaders in social scheduling, HootSuite allows for multiple users (at a price) while individual users can use and add up to ten social platforms for free. Each social account is granted its own tab where the user can view the feed, the messages (or @ replies), as well as schedule and see the scheduled posts.

Sprout Social

This is the platform we currently use. This platform is the same as HootSuite on paying to use, though with Sprout you are only allowed four platforms with the free version. With Sprout every site is viewable in the same feed. The user can select what is viewed by simply checking which (or how many) account feeds they want to view at one time. This makes monitoring simpler and more effective than Hootsuite though at times can become overwhelming with the amount of information being poured in at once.

Applications

Nearly every social media site has an app, including the two platforms mentioned above. In the capacity of an app, however, these platforms are limited. So this is why the individual social media sites' accounts may be better to use. They may not be in a central location but it definitely allows for management on the go. With these also comes the opportunity to still manage the sites individually without the use of a computer.

Setting up a platform

To use these, just like a social media account, a user account must be created. After creating the account (with an email and password) the user can begin adding platforms to manage. The username and password will be required for each added platform. After allowing these platforms access to the account, you can add the next account. This may take a while, but it makes managing the sites that much easier.

In the end…

There are many benefits to adding a managing platform. Besides the known benefit of viewing all of the accounts at once, there are a few more benefits to be realized. Pre-scheduling posts is a real time saver. Instead of worrying about remembering to post something, simply preschedule the post through the platform. This can be done with individual scheduling, or in Hootsuite you can upload an entire spreadsheet of pre-scheduled posts. There is also the time saved. With all of the accounts in one place, the amount of time to check and respond to social inquiries is reduced greatly.

We hope that not only the benefits of managing platforms but social accounts in general have been realized. Next week we look forward to drawing this series to a close and would love to help in any way possible with your social questions. Simply leave them in the comments below!

The Social Spotlight: Foursquare

A few months ago we looked at the importance of having a ministry registered on Google Maps. When we started the series, we took a second look at Google’s social media profile Google+ that includes this maps feature for its business profiles. Now we will focus on a social media map of sorts known as Foursquare.

Check-in

Foursquare is used to “check-in” at a location -- essentially telling individuals' followers they are at a certain spot in town. This goes not to just their Foursquare following but also their Twitter and Facebook following if they are opted-in to share on those sites. By checking in, a person receives points. These accrue both weekly and location-wise in order to compete against other users. The person with the most points at a location (garnered through the amount of visits they make to a location) is the mayor. People use it not only as a game but also to find establishments and learn more about them.

This is why a ministry should have a profile for their location. As the world moves further online people will continue to search more through the web and applications like this before searching the old way. Creating a profile allows the ministry to put the information they want on the location. This information includes a short description, hours, type of establishment. As the profile creator, a ministry can even add incentives for checking in. This can include free items or discounts on things. This is yet another reason people check-in on Foursquare.

Get Started!

Getting started on Foursquare is very similar to other social media platforms. You can sign up using a Facebook account or email address. When first creating the account, enter the standard information: name, email address, password, location, gender, date of birth and upload a profile picture. At this point you have the opportunity to add friends and get a feel of the Foursquare interface. If you are at a location, you can do all of the things mentioned above. You can also create a location if there isn’t an option to check-in.

Ensuring that a ministry is on these social sites means that, wherever a person searches, the ministry will be found. This includes an online map game of sorts. A very popular app, it will definitely benefit a ministry to have information on Foursquare.

The Social Spotlight: Linkedin

This week we put on our Sunday best and look at the most professional social media site out there. This week we take a look at Linkedin. While Linkedin takes a dominant role in the professional world, it can also be of use to ministries. Today we will look at the reasons why ministries or their employees should join Linkedin and then conclude with how to set up a Linkedin profile.

How Linkedin can benefit ministries

Linkedin is used to build professional connections, regardless of the profession. Whether it is to keep up with colleagues or former college classmates, Linkedin is a great way to do this. Not only can you keep up with these individuals, but you can use the site to connect with other individuals who could help further your ministry. Having these professional connections can help a ministry further their promotion also. It is key to know and resource the connections you have; this is what Linkedin is all about.

Linkedin is also about jobs. There are places to post job openings not only on Linkedin but within the site inside professional groups. As a ministry builds connections and seeks to expand, they can use Linkedin to find the individuals they are seeking for their ministry. With Linkedin being a site for professionals, finding qualified applicants is standard on Linkedin.

How to set up Linkedin

If you have noticed so far, set up for social media accounts are pretty standard. Linkedin will have some differences though because of the professional networking opportunities it offers. On the first window you put in your name, password, and email address. It is best that you use the name you will use in the professional world, not an alias or nickname. Then you will have the opportunity to fill in your current job information. If anyone views your profile, this information will be shown if you opt to reveal it. Next you will be given the option to invite or connect with your friends. This is something which can be taken care of once the profile is completely set, so don’t worry about it if time is not there. The next screen will prompt for a validation of email by going to your inbox and clicking back through to the site. At this point registration is complete. After the initial set up, a person can go back and spruce up their profile. Additional job information can be added along with a profile photo. As individual connections grow, the opportunities to learn through Linkedin will grow also.

The key with Linkedin is to stay up to date on the site. This is important not only with news on the site but with news about yourself and profile also. Linkedin can be an important tool in a ministry's social toolbox. You simply have to choose to use it. If you have any questions about using Linkedin or input from your experience, please leave them in the comments!

The Social Spotlight: Pinterest

If you hear about it from afar, it sounds like a scary mess. However, once you get into the site, it has been labeled as one of the most addicting things out there. Pinterest is the latest social media sensation. As we reach the downhill run of this series, we have covered the mainstream social media outlets, and now we will seek out the social media platforms and tools that can help spruce up a ministry's online resume.

Why Pinterest?

When we first heard of Pinterest, we weren’t sure what was going on. Pinboards and “pinning” are the two main actions on Pinterest. Pinboards are like an online bulletin board where you “pin” anything that catches your fancy. Pinboards can be customized to whatever topics the user seeks. There isn’t an end goal with Pinterest. It simply exists to gather information for future use. There are many uses a ministry can have for Pinterest. A ministry could pin teaching lessons, share upcoming event posters, or pin the potential seasonal decorations for the ministry; really the possibilities are endless. It all boils down to how creative the ministry wants to get.

How to set it up

Pinterest wasn’t always open for public use. Pinterest rode the wave of invite-only launches. This soft launch allowed for them to fix bugs before a mass release to the public. Now you can simply join with a Facebook log-in. Once inside, you can add all of your Facebook friends immediately. If one person is connected to most of the ministry members, this is a great way to easily gather all of them at one time and inform them of the new ministry site. The ministry can then create their boards and then start pinning whatever subjects the ministry feels they should be sharing with their members and followers.

The Social Spotlight: YouTube

As we travel through this spotlight series, we have reached a place where people are actually in the limelight. Aside from Google+, YouTube comes in second in terms of search engine optimization. Creating a YouTube account can help a ministry online in several different ways.

It isn’t all about the “viral” aspect

Most of the time we associate YouTube with what are known as “viral” videos. We have debunked the viral myth before, and we want to take this time to truly point out the high points of having a YouTube account. In the introduction we pointed out the SEO implications of YouTube. Since Google owns YouTube and YouTube is actually the third largest search engine, when compiling results, YouTube is both logged and posted very high. Besides helping boost a ministry's website, this also places a visual image of the ministry as the top result. With this in mind YouTube has made it to where video posters can select the image that shows up for their video's thumbnail. This helps viewers see the image the poster (ministry) intends for them to see to entice them to look further.

YouTube itself is a great way to raise awareness about a ministry. Videos can be posted of a ministry’s operations. Videos can also be posted to encourage support of ministry campaigns. These visual tools can help entice support that a simple tweet, post, or blog article might otherwise miss.

Creating a YouTube account

The creation of the account is relatively simple. If a ministry has already created a Google account as suggested in the first article of the series, all it takes is that email address and password to log into the YouTube account. At this point the ministry will choose an account name. This will be visible to all users. A username that matches usernames and titles across other platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is highly suggested.

The more important part of a YouTube profile, though, is how to upload the videos. To start, click the upload button at the top center of the page. YouTube will then prompt the user to upload the videos they wish to upload. During the upload process, there will be options on publishing, video title, and description. Description is key. Not only should the video be described in a helpful manner, but links pointing back to the ministry should be shared here also. This is where the SEO we mentioned earlier comes into play. Once these things are set, save the upload and begin sharing on social profiles.

The visual aesthetics that come from YouTube can truly enhance a ministry's Internet presence. As always we hope this article was insightful. If there are any questions simply leave a comment. Suggestions are welcomed and appreciated also!

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