How to Develop and Catapult Your Church’s Online Brand Personality

Your church, pastor, congregation, ministry, and callings are distinctive and unique. Yet, with EVERYONE transitioning to an online format, how do you break through the noise of this crowded, overwhelming, and congested space?

Developing an online brand personality is one of the numerous ways to ensure that your church stands out. A well-defined brand makes your job easier, as it serves as a guide for your content, graphics, and message. Your brand should be your compass, your due north, in effectively and consistently communicating your ministry message to your audience. 

3 Quick tips to get started

Every brand has three main aspects that, once implemented, will immediately begin to shape your ministry’s look, feel, and message into a cohesive package. If your ministry is a larger organization and has a dedicated budget for branding and marketing, then I highly recommend that you collaborate with a brand management consultant who can help you develop your strategy. Smaller ministries and those without a budget can tackle this project inhouse. There are numerous tools and videos online that can help you streamline the process.

1. What’s your identifier? Start with a logo.

The first step is to develop a logo that uniquely reflects your ministry. A logo is simply a visual moniker that people associate with you. You can create a word-only logo like Coca-Cola or McDonald’s, or use a symbol like the Nike swoosh or Apple’s apple. When choosing your logo, make sure that it represents who you are and what you do. Keep it simple. As you know, the most powerful logo imaginable is The Cross. The Cross is simplistic but represents the redemption of humanity. So, if you need inspiration, a cross is a great place to start.  But don’t be afraid to get creative from there.

Once your logo is finalized, place it prominently on all of your social channels, graphics, and visual content. It is a major part of your marketing and will help unite all of your graphics and messaging together.

2. Make sure everything looks like “you” by developing a brand guide.

The last thing you want is graphics and visual content that varies in look and feel. It cheapens your brand and makes your church look less professional. On the other hand, when your colors, fonts, logos, wording, and sizing coordinate well together, your church looks smart and strong.  

A brand guide is a document that defines how you want your church’s brand to be visually—and consistently— represented to the world. It’s helpful to use affordable tools that are available to create consistent, coordinated graphics for your posts. PosterMyWall is a solid resource to help you begin. Its vast templates gallery, font, and color options are easy to use and is designed to ensure that everyone achieves great results—even if they have no artistic talent.

Key elements that should be included in your brand guide include:

·   Copies of your logo. Include all approved variations and formats including different configurations and colors—such as a light version for use with dark backgrounds and vice versa.

·   Your color palette, including your main and highlight colors. Include the hex or RGB codes to ensure an exact color match every time.

·   Your ministry tagline i.e “A church for all nations.”

·   Your selected fonts and typography, with notes on what can be used in headlines, as body copy, etc.

·   Add a visual palette that includes icons, preferred images (Pexels is a GREAT free resource for this) and the desired layout that you like to use in particular campaigns.

Assemble these specifications in a document or create an infographic, then ask everyone responsible for content to use this as their guide.

3. Who are we and who is my audience? Create a brand management document.

This document should contain the answers to all the key questions about your ministry brand. It is a reference document that will be an ongoing work-in-progress as your ministry evolves.

Include:

·   A concise written description of your church’s brand. I recommend you keep it to five sentences or less.

·   A Twitter-size invitation to your church that fits within the 280 character limit.

·   Descriptions of what your ministry brand stands for and what it’s known for. For example: family oriented, healing the broken, diversity in culture, community services, Christian education, etc.

·   A statement that defines what is different about your church compared to others. The point of this is to articulate what makes your ministry unique.

·   An outline of your ministry’s long-term vision and future goals.

Update and evolve this document regularly to reflect and integrate feedback from your congregation, shifts in your vision, growth of your ministry, and/or changes in leadership and direction.

Too many churches let their brands get out of control. But by completing these three steps, you’ll be well on your way to both looking great and standing out. 

Camille D. Jamerson is a global speaker, author & entrepreneur. She is the senior consultant and CEO of CDJ & Associates, a boutique management consulting firm and The Camille Company (a lifestyle brand for moguls and HNW entrepreneurs). Known as the Olivia Pope of the Midwest, Camille’s strengths include managing and diminishing chaos, powerful brand storytelling, and change and crisis management. Learn more at www.cdjandassociates.com

Ready to learn more? Camille will host a webinar, Cost-Effectively Engage Congregants with Social Media and Digital Marketing.  

Sponsored by PosterMyWall, the FREE webinar will take place on July 14th, 2020 at 1 p.m. Eastern time. Join Camille and three church marketing experts as they discuss:

·  Which social media platform is best for what purpose?

·  What you should be posting to social media and how often?

·  How do you make sure your graphics stand out without investing a lot of money creating them?

·  What is a Google Grant and how can it benefit your congregation?