Marketing

Marketing Tips for Churches Taking Part

TRADITIONAL MARKETING

Use your marketing pack to create posters promoting your church or chapel's festival events. List all the things people can see and experience. Don't forget the name of the church and its location, plus dates and times.

Where to place your poster? Have a think about all the areas locally where people gather: shops, cafes and pubs, schools, GP surgeries, libraries. Most of these places would be happy to put up a poster for you. You can also look at public places with lots of footfall, such as high street lampposts and of course your own notice board. If you have a house window close to the pavement, you can put one there, as well as in the car (back passenger window). 

Some poster examples to get you started:

SOCIAL MEDIA 

If you have a personal account on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, please find and follow the festival's social media accounts with these links: 

https://www.facebook.com/lincswoldsandcoastchurches

https://twitter.com/ChurchesFest

https://www.instagram.com/churches.festival/

We would really appreciate it if you can like, share or comment on our posts, it will help the festival reach so many more people. 

POSTING IN SOCIAL MEDIA

For any social media post you create about the event, please use the hashtag 

#LoveLincsChurches 

Please also make your posts 'public'. This will make it easy for the festival marketing team to find and share your posts.  

If your church, chapel or village has its own Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, we recommend you post about the festival quite a few times, in the run-up to the event. This can include photos of preparations you are making (cakes being baked, brass being polished, etc) or a photo of your poster. Always make sure the posts include the church name, location, dates and times you are open as part of the text of your post, you never know how far these can reach! Example:

If you use the search bar on Facebook (top left on a PC screen) and enter the name of your village or town, you should find pages or groups devoted to your local area. 

You can then 'Like' the pages, and 'join' the groups (you can reverse this later if you need to). These pages and groups can be excellent places to share news about your church/chapel, for the festival and in the future.

Use the share button at the bottom of any public Facebook post (one you made or one from someone else) to share that post with friends, or to a group. In this way you can share a post from your church to a group, or you can share a post from the festival to your friends:

You can message Facebook pages asking them to post about the event, if you feel they would be happy to support it. For example you could message the Facebook Page of your Town Council or your local history group. Just visit their Facebook page and look for the Message button. 

VIDEO - FOR THOSE MORE CONFIDENT ONLINE

Record a video on your phone inviting people to visit your church or chapel and upload to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, again using the hashtag #LoveLincsChurches. Video posts tend to be seen by a lot of people, so they are well worth trying if you feel confident to do so. Some examples (click the links to see the originals):

Click here to view SLB's video on Facebook

Click here to view Fillingham Church's video on Facebook

FINALLY - IN THE EVENT OF AN UNEXPECTED & LAST-MINUTE CLOSURE

Sometimes, a church has to close last minute before the festival, due to unexpected problems like illness or a burst pipe, and we have visitors still turning up but finding the door locked. If you find yourself in this situation, please let our marketing manager (Angela Montague) know using angela@pushcreativity.co.uk or 01673 843852, or you can message any of the social media accounts and it will reach her. She will be able to update people immediately through the website and social media, to hopefully avoid disappointments. 

We recommend you hold back one poster to enable you to put a sign on the church door explaining the unexpected closure, with an apology. 

You can also contact Angela if you have any questions about marketing the event. 

Have a wonderful festival!