Just because a business isn’t religious doesn’t mean it can’t be inspiring. Every day, I’m confronted with thousands of brands, companies, and products that say, “Buy me! I’m the best!” But what really convinces me, as a consumer, to form brand loyalty is when I truly feel like I can support what a company stands for. This happens when I can see beyond the price tags and the product lines––to the content and context brands create.
I need to see more than just a transaction. I need to see why the company believes what it does and how I can be a part of its community. I want to be engaged even after my purchase and trust that the brand will continue to teach me how to use the product or service I bought.
How Is This Like the Church?
Your church content wants to achieve the same kind of engagement as that business. You want to serve your members (customers) and bring in new business (outreach). You want to help your members see beyond the initial “purchase” of baptism or membership, to the lifelong journey that is walking in faith. A good secular business cares about the people in its audience, and you definitely care about the people who make up your diverse church! They want to fulfill needs––just like the church is here to be a loving, supportive place for members to find acceptance and faith. And you both do this by creating church content, or ongoing ways to engage with and learn from your “business.”
You don't just want people to find inspiration in your church. You want them to find a community of like-minded people: one that's strong and supportive.
You Can Do It, Too
As a church communicator, it’s your job to build and "market" this community. If you want to make a difference in the lives of people coming to your church, you need to be an influencing voice in your area (your “market”) and have a reputable presence through content.
Think of it this way: How did you gain the trust of your congregation? Your pastor, ministry outreach leaders, and small groups started conversations about faith, hope, love, and the gospel. You all started showing how to “use” the faith every day through your church content. These inspirational people made being part of a church about more than just a membership. They made it about learning, growing, interacting, serving, and listening. They kept the conversation going through blog posts, podcasts, sermon series, videos, and events. They made the church a way of life, not a one-time purchase.
Examples We Can Get Behind
We’ve talked about places ministry leaders can find inspiration within the church, but now we want to look more broadly. There are so many ideological brands that do more than selling shoes or coffee: they sell holistic ideas that bring people together. They sell involvement in an issue. Whether or not we agree with all the details of each brand mentioned, we can easily learn from their example of caring about the whole issue and their efforts to move beyond merely making the sale. Here are a few examples that we can learn from:
“This is not a shoe, this is a movement.” TOMS apparel is a one-for-one brand, meaning for every pair of shoes or eyeglasses you buy, the company donates a pair to children in need. But to keep the “conversation” going, the brand created the TOMS Tribe––a band of supporters who host over 1,000 events each year to further the movement and increase awareness of the cause. The events, stories, and products that support these events are all content that takes their mission one step further.
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
An admission ticket or donation to the Smithsonian is hopefully just one step in your relationship with this museum. Even from afar, anyone can engage with the exhibits and education the Smithsonian offers through webcasts, online museum records, and science features. This is all content that the institution uses to create ongoing learning with everyone who gets involved.
Active and sport apparel is Patagonia’s main product, but the company is also transparent about its culture and mission: “a love of wild and beautiful places demands participation in the fight to save them, and to help reverse the steep decline in the overall environmental health of our planet.” By donating company time, services, and at least 1% of all sales to grassroots environmental groups, Patagonia has created a community around its products. Education on its site––such as the #CrudeAwakening movement, videos, and shareable social media––makes the brand more than a retailer.
