by Bre Hallberg
The other day I was driving down the road and I saw a truck with an ad on the back for Home Improvement Specialists followed by the number 407 797099. Uh, if these people aren’t getting a lot of calls, I’m pretty sure I know why.
Maybe the details do matter. I feel like sometimes how we communicate to the families in our church may be missing a few numbers. Maybe we’ve got the right content, but not the right delivery system. Maybe we are putting all our energy in only one form of communication and are left wondering why parents aren’t feeling connected.
Here are a few helpful tips to help make the most of your communication strategy to parents:
- Know where your parents already are. I recently read a study that said that the majority of parents use Facebook as their main social media. So, are you on Facebook? Figure out where the parents in your context go the most, and leverage that to give them the information you want them to know. If that’s where your parents are, then that’s where you need to be communicating.
- Don’t choose just one form of communication. We tend to think that in this day and age with all the technology we have that paper needs to be done away with. Maybe. But maybe not. For me personally, it’s rare that I get a piece of paper that has information on it, so I kinda like it. You wait—eventually snail mail is going to become a new trend. I also live on email and social media, so if the paper gets stuck under a seat in the car, I can find the information again. That’s why it’s so important to give parents what they need to know in multiple forms.
- Use the resources that are available to you. Did you know that Orange provides social media plans for First Look, 252 Basics, XP3 Middle School and XP3 High School to connect with your parents throughout the week? The work is done for you! In the Weekly subscription we also provide pre-designed emails that you can customize.
Easter Sunday is coming soon. You probably will go all out to make an incredible experience for every new family that walks in your doors. So, what’s your next step? Do you know how and what you will communicate to them this week? It may be just what they need to stay engaged all week long.
For more information about the resources that Weekly provides to help you engage parents and develop small group leaders check out at GoWeekly.com.
