12 Ways to Communicate Your Groups Launch

Posted By: Andrew Mason

 

Churches need to communicate more than they do. After they’re done communicating, they need to communicate some more. I don’t believe in communicating; I believe in over-communicating.

If people aren’t sick and tired of hearing about your small group launch, you haven’t communicated enough.

The people in your church and community are exposed to hundreds of images and thousands of messages on a daily basis. Our brains absorb more data than we could ever be conscious of. As you think about promoting your groups launch, don’t be ignorant of your competition.

Simply put, marketing is the consistent dissemination of a consistent message. In this article I want to stir you to consider your game plan for getting your groups messaging out there.

Here are 12 Ways to Communicate Your Groups Launch:

1. Groups Directory

This is a brochure or small booklet with info for each group. You can organize the groups by topics or their location. It’s also helpful to identify groups that child-friendly. Start handing this out to every weekend attender 2-3 weeks in advance.

2. Insert with Sign-Up Form

This can go in the bulletins and the Groups Directory. The key strategy is something I learned from Nelson Searcy’s book, Activate. He creates a short code for each group in the Groups Directory (ex: TU6, WE4, TH3, etc). On the insert’s form, include a blank field for people to write-in the code of the group they’re looking to connect with.

This encourages people to make their own decision rather than expecting the church to be their small group eHarmony service.

3. Small Groups Table in the Lobby

Have a centralized table in the church lobby where people can get everything they need to know about small groups. An important component to this is having an informed person at the table that is good at dealing with EGR people (Extra Grace Required).

4. Online Groups Finder

This is a web page where people can search for groups by location, custom attributes, schedule and more. Many church databases have this functionality as one of their features. Make sure the link to this page is easy to find on your church’s website and any mobile apps the church has.

5. Weekend Sermon

This is not an announcement. This is giving the people of the church the practical application of the message. One of the ways people can grow, connect, serve, host and lead is through small groups!

6. Weekend Video Announcements

If you church does these, take advantage of the opportunity. Always make sure the announcement has a clear “call-to-action.”

If they don’t have video announcements, never mind.

7. Church Email Newsletter

In the newsletter, include the info about the small group launch WITH a link to the Groups Finder page.

8. Social Media

Again, share the info on Twitter and Facebook but make sure to include the link to the Groups Finder page.

9. YouTube

Technically this can be considered social media, but it’s a different project altogether. If you’re church already made a video announcement for the Groups Launch, upload it to YouTube. Post the YouTube video on the church’s Twitter and Facebook pages as well. Last but not least, embed the video on your church’s website.

10. Text Messaging

Does your church have a mass text message subscription? If so, get the word out!

11. Printed Flyers

Don’t overlook the obvious here because they still work. You can make a groups flyer with general info on one side and fill-in-the-blanks on the other side for each group to fill out (name, address, phone, email, dates, time, etc). Each group host or leader can hand them out when they’re inviting someone to their group.

12. Word of Mouth

This is still the most effective form of marketing, even in the information age. As the groups point person, you should be talking to anybody and everybody about groups. People talk about their passion, so make sure your passion for groups is hot.

You may have noticed that old fashion snail-mail wasn’t on the list and you might be asking, “Why?” The bigger question is, “Did I forget to add it or did I intentionally leave it off the list??? Hmmm….

CC Image • Courtesy of floeschie on Flickr

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