Your church website and social media pages are important tools you can use to engage with your community. With Easter coming up in less than two months, there is no better time to
start planning how you will use these platforms to connect, engage and attract people to your church on Easter Sunday.
To start, remember that your online content should have the following goals in mind:
1. Engaging Design
Any social or site content should be visually appealing to the user. Use colorful imagery and videos to help your visitors stay interested.
2. Enlightening Details
Avoid fluff that makes your site “look” like you have something to say. Only provide details that will quickly answer questions your online visitor might be asking about your church or benefit them.
3. Equipped with Direction
Empower your users with directions on what to do next. ‘Call to Actions’ help get your visitors to take the next step, whether that’s completing an online form, or visiting a landing page.
With that in mind, let’s start with planning our website content!
Website Planning
Most people won’t attend a church without visiting it’s website first. Unchurched or low-attending visitors usually have very specific questions when viewing a church website, so base some of your site planning on providing answers to common questions:
- Home Page
Your home page should have a large 3×2 banner at the top (a scrolling banner is even better) with professionally designed artwork that communicates your Easter services time and date. It should also link to a separate landing page designed specifically for your Easter event.
- Easter Landing Page
Create a separate landing page on your website that is specifically for your Easter events and services. This page should be the one-stop information center that clearly communicates all the details about your Easter plans. By setting up a separate Easter landing page, you keep your home page clutter free. Use the URL for this page as your link on social media and in emails. Here are some important details to include on this page:
- Dates and times – Let everyone know the date of Easter and what days and times your church will be holding services.
- Video content – We can’t overstate the power of videos. Have a staff member or volunteer do a quick invite video on their phone and upload it to your website. A ‘live’ invite goes a long way in attracting church visitors.
- Event outline – This is your order of service so to speak. Let guests know what they can expect at your event. Whether it’s all the fun activities in an easter egg hunt or all the powerful moments they can expect during the worship service.
- Children’s Ministry information – Let parents know about your nursery care and kids ministry and provide details on what they can expect (checkin process, activities, volunteers, etc). You may also consider providing an online check-in form to make the process quicker and easier for when parents arrive at church.
- Directions – Nowadays most people will google your address, so consider adding a google map link to your page to provide easy directions to your church.
- Parking and exiting instructions – This can be one of the most stressful parts of guests attending your church. Give them more peace of mind by providing diagrams of your church giving directions on where to park and how to exit.
- Easter Volunteer Page
Chances are you’ll need a team or several teams to pull off your event. We recommend making a second page specifically for your church volunteers. Having a volunteer page allows you to email people in your church and ask them to visit your page for more information. Give it a more ‘Mission-Minded’ feel and consider including the following areas to make it easy for volunteers to engage:
- Video explanation – Have a staff member remind your volunteers of your church’s mission to reach your community in order to create motivation, then, summarize what your Easter event will intell, which areas your members can serve in, and how your volunteers can sign up.
- List of Areas to Serve – Highlight the key areas you’ll need help with, whether it’s stuffing eggs, hiding them, blowing up balloons, face painting, parking lot greeter, ushers, etc.
- Online Form – Provide an online sign up form that allows volunteers to check off areas they’d like to serve in. As areas get filled, update your form so that only the unfilled spots are shown.
Social Media Planning
One of the best ways to spread the word about your events and increase engagement is through social media. Don’t just use social media sites to advertise your events, use posts to tease your events, start a dialogue and pique interest. Posting regularly on your social media pages ensures that your followers keep seeing your posts – for help with regular posting, consider a service like Outreach Social.
Depending on which platforms your church is using and who you’re trying to target, here are a few high-engagement keys.
Video content
If you have Invite videos, make sure you post these on Facebook Reels and Tiktok. In general, Tiktok is great for short, fun videos that are less informational and more interactive. Facebook is a great medium to use to “go live” during preparation or to casually talk about what you’re planning.
Photo Collages
We recommend posting multiple photos or clusters of images to your platforms, as they help paint a picture of your church and help people visualize getting involved. Include photos of last year’s Easter Egg hunt, or photos of greeters in your lobby, or the worship team on the stage. Use these on both your Facebook and Instagram pages.
Facebook Events
Facebook Events can be created through your church page, and is a great resource for encouraging your followers to RSVP for something and share your Event so their friends can see it.
Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads are an affordable way for reaching thousands of people online with a small budget. Beyond a post, Ads reach people who are not currently following you and they can target specific neighborhoods near your church. Ads also provide you with options on the demographics you reach, for example, if you want to promote an Easter Egg hunt, you can reach younger families in your area.
For easy Facebook ad implementation, choose an all-in-one service like Outreach Facebook Ads. They give you professional ad graphics, help setting up the ad to reach your desired audience and reporting after the ad is finished.
Get help spreading the word!
Your church members and other online followers are your best online evangelists. Be sure to ask them to share your Easter posts with their friends online. The more people that share, the more organic reach you’ll have. You can ask for help by announcing it during your church service, adding it to your announcement slides, bulletin, or putting it into the weekly email.
Be Attentive
Stay on top of your social media interactions by checking them regularly. As people engage with your posts or ads, it’s important to respond to messages, comments, and posts in a timely manner and to keep the conversation going.
We live in a digital age where people expect online interaction and helpful, informative websites. By taking these steps you can ensure your church’s online message is as professional and clear as the messages you give on Sunday mornings.
