Church text messaging will take your church communications to the next level. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but in recent years, text communication has become well accepted in terms of sending messages from businesses and other entities. You've probably received an Amazon package on your doorstep and received a text message when your package arrived. Maybe you've made reservations at a restaurant or set up an appointment at the doctor, gym, or dentist and received a text message confirmation.
As a church leader, it’s essential to grasp this shift in communication. Better yet, knowing how people in your church and community prefer to connect will go a long way toward better engaging with people in your community.
Why your church should start using text marketing immediately:
#1 – People are Comfortable With Text Communication
Using text messages to engage with consumers is something businesses are starting to do more often. Consumers with smartphones are actually getting more comfortable with this. It no longer feels spammy like it used to.
Text marketing is growing in popularity, and consumers are getting more comfortable with businesses doing it. And thus, they're going to get more comfortable with you as a church connecting with them via text too.
#2 – No one Leaves a Text Message Unread
I'm sure you could probably look at your phone right now and every one of your messages has been read. Maybe you've been in a meeting and you've received a handful of texts, but you know you're going to read those messages. More often than not, you're going to respond to those messages or you're going to do what those messages ask you to do. Way more so than email. Certainly more than a phone call or piece of direct mail. Text messaging is a highly effective way to engage people once they've given you permission.
#3 – Text Messaging is a Great way to Prompt Action
If you're a church and you use a screen during your church service and say, “Hey church, if anyone here is new today, we want you to text the word new to this number.” When someone texts the word new, maybe they get a text back from the Senior Pastor with a link to a YouTube video with a personal message telling you that they're grateful to see you at church today. Now you have that person’s phone number in your database. You can send another text message that says, “Hey, if you want to receive more updates from us, text the word yes.” They text yes, and now they've approved and they want to hear messages from you.
Another great example is when you have a big event coming up. You've got your database of member’s mobile numbers and you send a text message out to that whole list saying, “Hey, kids' camp is coming up. It starts in three months. We need you to start registering. Here's the link. Click here to register.” They click on the link for a great mobile-optimized event registration form and now their kids are registered for camp.
Over to You
These are three quick reasons and a couple of examples of why you definitely need to start looking into text communications and make it part of your communication strategy as a church.
Check Out These Resources Related to Church Communication:
8 Helpful Books on Church Communication
8 Essentials for Church Communication
Being Consistent in Your Church Communication: 3 Problems and 3 Solutions
