| Relevant Church in Tampa, FL is creative church | | | | own probably 30 different websites. We’ll do |
| leading the way when it comes to online church | | | | a series and create a website just for that series |
| marketing. I recently had the opportunity to chat | | | | and then market the heck out of it. It kinda |
| with Pastor Paul Wirth, senior pastor of Relevant | | | | layers into what people start knowing what |
| Church in Tampa, FL about their online marketing | | | | Relevant is. |
| strategy. In part one of this three part series, | | | | Kurt: Really none of these marketing elements |
| Pastor Wirth detailed how 65%-70% of the | | | | are working independently. They are all interlinked. |
| members of his church have come via the | | | | Pastor Wirth: Yeah, it’s multiple layers. If you |
| Internet. In the second part of my interview with | | | | talk to any marketing person they will tell you |
| Pastor Wirth, he explained how multiple layers of | | | | that if you choose to do one layer of marketing, |
| church marketing – online and offline – | | | | you will get a minimal response. If you do multiple |
| complement each other and proved to be much | | | | layers of marketing, you increase you chances of |
| more effective. | | | | being seen exponentially. So, usually we try to do |
| Part 2 – Marketing on Multiple Levels | | | | five layers of marketing with anything we do. If |
| Kurt: You mentioned you use billboards and yard | | | | we’re going to do a series, we’ll do a |
| signs as well as websites and Adwords in your | | | | billboard maybe, we’ll do yard signs, a web |
| church marketing campaigns, can you tell us more | | | | address…if we’re really trying to promote it. |
| about the various marketing ideas you use? | | | | We usually do that four times a year where |
| Pastor Wirth: Quite frankly, yard signs are | | | | we’re really trying to push it. We’ll do |
| probably the number one way that we actually | | | | invite cards which our people give to other people |
| get people to come to our church. They see that, | | | | and they have web address on it and maybe a |
| which just has a web address on it. They go to | | | | little more information. And we may put up a |
| the web address, find out about our church, and | | | | banner or invite on MySpace or Facebook. We |
| then come and visit. That is the one thing that we | | | | just try to make sure there are 5 layer of |
| have been marketing the most as far as guests | | | | marketing. |
| coming through the doors. It was yard signs via | | | | Kurt: It sounds like you’re saying that having |
| Internet. | | | | the multiple levels of marketing is the key. |
| We’ve found out with the yard signs that we | | | | Spending a little extra money to include additional |
| don’t put a lot of information on it. I think | | | | layers ends up making a huge difference in the |
| sometimes people in marketing try to put too | | | | impact of the marketing. |
| much information on a billboard or on a sign that | | | | Pastor Wirth: And that’s why we choose not |
| they put out and people, if they are traveling at | | | | to do it for everything. About four times a year |
| 40 miles an hour, they don’t have enough | | | | we say, man, this is a huge growth month…You |
| time to read everything. | | | | have to know the growth cycle of your church |
| Kurt: That’s true | | | | to know that, ok we grow in this month, but this |
| Pastor Wirth: We try to make it minimal, | | | | month we don’t grow so much. A church |
| eye-catching, have it drive them somewhere | | | | needs to be tracking their attendance so they |
| where they can get the information that we want | | | | know when they see spikes in their attendance. If |
| them to get. So, I think that’s where you | | | | you see spikes in your attendance in certain |
| have to be really creative about the way you | | | | months, then you need to market to those |
| market. We try to be creative on the websites | | | | months. If you can maximize that marketing |
| that we pick or the series that we do. | | | | during the natural growth patterns that the church |
| Kurt: So, it gives them enough to get their | | | | has, then you can see those numbers grow more |
| attention and get them to go and give them | | | | rapidly then they would if you weren’t doing |
| enough information so they know where to go, | | | | anything. |
| but not give them too much. | | | | So, that’s why we target certain times of |
| Pastor Wirth: It’s a hook. That’s basically | | | | the year and we say “We want to do a |
| what it is, a hook. | | | | billboard this time. We want to do yard signs this |
| Kurt: So, you said that you’ve had a lot of | | | | time. We want to do invite cards this time and |
| online marketing that you’ve done. What are | | | | we want to put MySpace and Facebook ads up |
| some of the other things you done with online | | | | this time.” So, we do that, but we are |
| marketing. Have you done search engine | | | | strategic about when we do it, how we do it, and |
| marketing? Have you optimized your sites for the | | | | what the series is that we do during that time. |
| search engines? | | | | During those times we try to make sure we hit |
| Pastor Wirth: Yeah, we do all of the above. | | | | felt-need, serious things. Because people who |
| I’m not the guy who handles all that stuff. | | | | don’t usually come to church, they don’t |
| I’m just the pastor. So, I don’t handle a | | | | necessarily want to come and hear the four |
| lot of our online stuff, but we do the multiple | | | | spiritual laws and they don’t want to talk |
| layers. So, we do optimization and all of stuff gets | | | | about eschatology, but they do want to talk |
| taken care of through our web guy and he’s | | | | about, “How am I going to make it in my |
| out of state. He’s actually in Georgia in | | | | relationship that I have with my girlfriend or my |
| Atlanta. You can pretty much type in | | | | boyfriend or my husband or my wife?” They |
| “Relevant Church”, “Relevant Church | | | | want to know, ‘How do I deal with the stress |
| Ybor”, “Tampa Churches” and those | | | | at my work? Work is tough, man. How do I deal |
| kinds of things and most of the time our listing will | | | | with that?” You have to hit on topics where |
| rise to the top on just about every search engine. | | | | they go, “Man, I would like some answers to |
| We just believe in multiple layers. So, we’ve | | | | this and I didn’t know that God had the |
| done MySpace Ads and other Internet stuff. We | | | | answers to that. |