Have you ever done stage announcements or video news at church which no one has responded to? The teams were all ready to respond, but the only response was the sound of tumbleweed blowing through the foyer?
Then the review/follow-up moment arrives and the way the announcement was done is blamed for the lack of response. Ever been there?
The challenge for every Communications Director is to ensure that any announcement adds value to a person’s spiritual journey. Here are a few tactics to help you get more return for the ministry you are promoting:
1) Message beats service structure
Your existing structure for announcements may not be the best approach to take. Look for opportunities in the service to see if the message is better placed somewhere else in the service. The regular announcement time slot may not be the best spot.
2) Align with message
I’ve written about this before at length here. You may have an announcement for connecting into groups. You will get more response if you time your announcement with a sermon that talks about community. It’s not hard to drop in a 2 minute plug that doesn’t feel like a plug.
To do this well means that you will have to know ahead of time where the preaching topic is. You can advise your small groups team ahead of time to build their response around the message.
3) Tap into the seasonal rhythm of life
Tapping into the seasonal rhythm of life is a very smart tactical move. People are more attuned to certain messages at different times of the year.
Do you have a season where more people visit your church? It may be just after summer holidays. This is the perfect time to promote ministries that help people find friends and connect into community. You are helping them establish a new rhythm. Again your Pastor may not be wired strategically, but it is your job to advise him about smart tactics.
By doing this you are adding so much value, not just to the ministry. But also to people’s lives.
4) Medium can triumph the message
The best place for a platform announcement may not be the platform. Even if the announcement is an ‘all church communication’. The best place may be another communications channel such as email. Email done well can be a highly responsive channel. You can also target the right people more effectively too.
I recently did an email announcement to help spread the word for our new church online campus (check it out here, you may even want to help us spread the word) and even though the platform will reach many people, email was the best way that people could click and respond to help spread the word (Check out my previous post about creating irresistible emails here).
Your turn
What has worked for you? Have you seen any good ideas about improving announcements? Drop a link or comment below. Do you have any questions about announcements? Drop a comment below.
