I apologize for my lack of consistency on this blog recently. There are many reasons why this is the case, but mostly because I am now writing a regular blog for FaithinSA.com. I hope to get back to blogging here regularly, but in the mean time, I hope you will check out three links:
1) My blog on FaithinSA.com
2) CBC Online
3) Facebook page for CBC Online
Yesterday I had an incredibly awkward situation and I was reminded of the Student Life “Awkward Situations” videos that we used to play regularly at FUMC Houston. We all know awkward people and deal with awkward situations on a regular basis. I would love to hear an awkward situation that happened to you recently.
So many come to mind for me, but this video from a youth group reminded me of one I had recently. I was in a one on one meeting with someone who fell asleep while I was speaking. Do I stop speaking? Do I wake them up? or do I just continue and hope they wake up? I went with the last option. It was hilarious to watch them pretend like they had not fallen asleep and think that maybe I had not noticed. The hardest part wasn’t continuing my statement but finishing the meeting without getting the giggles.
Please share some of your awkward situations!
This afternoon at church, Chris Emmitt preached on James 1:1-12 discussing how we respond when bad things happen to good people. He concluded his message by sharing this inspiring video:
You can hear Chris’ sermon this week at CBC Online at 7,8,or 9pm CST on Monday or noon, 7,8, or 9pm CST on Wednesday. The message was incredibly challenging and inspiring. Patrick’s story will stick in my mind for years to come and I know will inspire millions through his choice to be joyful in his circumstances rather than jaded. I hope this video inspires you as much as it has inspired me today.
I’m not sure what makes this video so funny to millions of viewers, but it is. Whenever I’m having a bad day (or even in the middle of a good day) I can watch it and just start cracking up. Better than the original though is this remixed version. It’s crazy that over 21 million people have already viewed the video. Enjoy!
While at the Echo Conference last week, I attended a breakout session with Chance Mason, founder and president of 316 Networks. You can get to know Chance better on Twitter by following him at http://twitter.com/chancemason. While we don’t currently use 316 Networks at CBC, they will be an organization to watch as they have been and will continue to be on the cutting edge of digital media. The session that Chance led was called Leveraging Digital Media for Bigger Impact and Greater Reach, here are the notes I took:
The desire for GROWTH is the bottom-line for every ministry.
The new media ecosystem:
- Social Networking- Introduction (Millions)
- Web Content and Name Acquisition- Engagement (thousands)
- Audience Segmentation- Conversation (Hundreds)
- Targeted Messaging- Participation (1 on 1)
- Feedback- Interaction
Social Networking-
- Choose what you can handle (don’t spread yourself too thin with too much)
- Have a plan for social media sharing (share only valuable information)
- Post with the intention of driving traffic to your website
Social Networking- why do people follow you?
- To let people know what products I support
- To receive coupons and discount offers
- To stay current on available new products
- To learn about the company/organization
- To meet with people who have interests similar to mine
Web name acquisition
-Your website is not just for information; it is the beginning of your engagement with your site viewers
- The use of video is key to connecting, re-engagement, and viral communication
- Name acquisition is a key function of your site
- Your ability to engage with your audience and effectively build relationships with them is key to ministry growth
Audience Segmentation
-DATA is key
- The more you know, the more effectively you’ll be able to communicate
- Information management is essential
Targeted Messaging
- Develop e-communication that is relevant to a specific audience segment
- Proven to increase response rates by at least 300%
- Direct your audience to landing pages/micro sites to measure response
- Incorporate triggered dialogues into your communication based on specific responses
Feedback
- Through triggered dialogue and viral strategies, your desire should be that your audience communicates with you and their friends through social media
- Use user-generated content widgets to make sharing easy
Online Video
- Predicted that 95% of online content will be video by 2015
- 7 out of 10 adults have used the internet to watch or download video
- 54% of mobile users have sent a video, 20% have viewed a video, and 15% have posed a video online through their mobile device
There’s so much to take in from these notes, so I won’t follow up with much. As he ended with some statistics, my attention has been captivated by the idea that 95% of all online content will be video by 2015. This is HUGE!
What does this mean for churches and the future of online ministry? Do you think this is a realistic guess for the future of the web?
Last week at the Echo Conference I attended a breakout with Dawn Nicole Baldwin entitled 5 Quick Ways Social Media Can Kill Your Brand. You might have read my previous post that included the video: United Breaks Guitars, this illustration highlighting an organization’s brand that was killed due to social media. That illustration was my biggest takeaway from the breakout that I won’t quickly forget. She shared 5 great suggestions and added 5 thoughts to chew on for any organization when utilizing Social Media:
5 Quick Ways Social Media Can Kill Your Brand:
1) Failing to Plan
2) Wrong People in Leadership
3) Set it and Forget it
4) Not Adding Value
5) Expect Miracles
5 Things to Chew On:
1) Understand what the primary purpose of Social Media
2) Determine what your hoping to accomplish before you jump in
3) Find your voice
4) Know your audience
5) How does this fit with what we’re already doing?
I realized that I had not shared the article that I was asked to write for the Express News last weekend. I want to thank Abe Levy for giving me this great opportunity. The article was printed in last Saturday’s paper and I have since been asked to begin writing a regular blog for MySA.com. I will share in this blog all of the same posts that I write for MySA.com, but this will probably slow down the regularity of my posts here. I appreciate your support and hope you will take a moment and read the article here.
