Leading your church through a rebrand video podcast.

Watch the video podcast with Joshua Riggs.

As a church, we long to see more people showing up so that we can transform lives. We want members who will contribute to the vision of the church. But drawing in new members is more than marketing; it takes reaching people with a message about who you are as a church, and that takes branding. 

But what’s the difference between branding and marketing? 

BRANDING

Branding is about knowing who you are and positioning yourself to your target market based on that identity. 

Do you know who you are as a church? Do you know who your audience is? Are you looking to draw in a younger crowd? Are you targeting people who want to live with purpose? Do you want to reach families with young children? How about those who want to make a difference in the world?

Clarity allows brands to thrive in our culture, and it’s why I believe every church should build its brand. While we want to welcome everyone to church, good branding identifies who we are good at reaching and focuses on reaching out to that target audience.

We do this by shaping our target audience’s perception of the church with consistent branding through the use of a logo, typography, colors, and being intentional about who we are. 

Our messaging should communicate that we are what our target audience needs. 

While branding and marketing are different, the two must work together. 

Your branding should communicate a clear message of your value to your audience. Your marketing will reinforce that value. 

MARKETING

Marketing is the experience we provide. It is our Facebook page, website, the experience visitors have in the lobby, how they are greeted when they enter, and the postcard mailer they receive in the mail. Marketing is anything people experience as part of the church. 

When it comes to your marketing, you have to ask yourself if what you are marketing is worthy of marketing. Make sure what you offer is good before you promote it. Otherwise, people will be disappointed and will lose trust in your church.

Likewise, your marketing should be authentic. Authenticity builds trust. Don’t use stock photos on your website only to have visitors arrive and find that your church looks utterly different from the pictures online. That breaks their trust. Instead, use photos from your ministries. 

Show people who you are and what they can expect to see when they arrive. 

Lastly, your marketing should be simple and clear. There needs to be consistency across all messaging and visuals. 

Use a consistent font and color theme for flyers, even for different ministries. Let your color palette match your logo and website. This is where marketing and branding work together. 

CONCLUSION

People judge a book by its cover, so we need to get our branding and marketing right as a church.

Visitors will decide within minutes of visiting your church and within 3 seconds of visiting your website if they like what they see. If we want to carry the good news of the gospel, we need to embrace good branding.