One of the most touching, and tragic stories I’ve heard in a long time is about a little boy, who, one evening took an innocent trip to the grocery store with his father.
It appeared to be just another night. The child sat upon his father’s lap, listening, as his dad read the story of Noah’s Ark from a children’s book. Being interrupted, it appeared as though the little boy’s mother had forgotten that one thing she needed most to complete her evening masterpiece for dinner.
Up and away, the little boy and his father rushed out the front door – doing what the ‘men of the house’ do during emergencies such as these – not knowing what was to come in their near future.
As they entered the grocery store, the child followed closely, gripping tightly to his father’s hand as he sought intently after that one thing. Then it happened!
The little boy noticed the shiny toy he’d seen several times on a television commercial. Releasing his father’s hand, he sprinted recklessly to the toy, yanking it down from the shelf. In all of his excitement, he fiddled with the toy for a couple of minutes before turning to ask the man standing behind him (the man whom he thought was his father), if he would buy the toy for him.
The video footage from the grocery store revealed…
“7 Ways To Keep Weeds From Growing In Your Garden!”
- Are You Tired of Weeds?
- Tired of Wasting so Much Time Pulling Weeds?
- Tired of Breaking Your Back In the Heat of the Day?
Then stop what you’re doing right now, and go get your very own Weed-Puller-Upper!
Wait a minute! What just happened here? What happened to the Little boy!?
Losing To The News-feed
What you’ve just experienced transpires millions of times each and every day. It’s that shortening of the attention span when your readers and listeners are glued to an email or interesting article you’ve written or shared (like the one about the little boy), only to be drawn away by another ad that pops up on their computers. You know the ones – all the ads and pieces of content that role down the right side of your Facebook page, or whatever other social media page you might find yourself scrolling through.
While online, your readers are constantly being bombarded with information, and so often, you are losing to the News-feed. Like it or not, this is the reality in which we live. And guess what? It’s not changing anytime soon.
If you study the data (something I advise every Church and Christian Business leader to do), you will find that social media is not only here to stay, but it’s here to take over. When one media falls, there is always another waiting to takes its place.
We’ve fought it for years and years, telling one another that we should get off the computers, iPads and iPhones, and spend more time with our loved ones. And though these words still ring true, the fact is, approximately 7 out of 10 Americans, including Christians, partake in some aspect of social media, with most all of the Millennials being involved.
Therefore, 7 out of 10 of your community members are just like me – getting bombarded on a daily basis with information-overload; those who are fighting and paying Big Bucks to grab our attention. Which brings me to my key point!
As a Church Leader or Christian Business Leader/Owner, how often are you engaging your community (those you’ve been called to lead), whether your community is your congregation, clients or customers? Is it Once per week? Once per month?
Now… how well do you feel you’re stacking up against the competition who are engaging your community members on a DAILY BASIS? See where I’m going with this…?
Please, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you’ve done something badly. I’m simply trying to paint a picture of a truth that is staring us all in the face.
The old adage of, “See you Sunday morning,” is no longer getting it done. As a business owner, the “Once a customer, always a customer” mentality went out with the Cold War. Slowly, but ever so surely, many of our ministries and businesses have been losing ground – and doing so more rapidly with each passing day.
I’m about to give you some very vital information. But before I do, it is imperative that you realize the seriousness of everything I’ve been writing to you. This is as real as it gets!
Pouring New Wine Into Old Wineskins
Almost all avenues of communication and learning are now being done online and through social media outlets. We all know this. However, many of us are unaware that this will continue to not only become more prevalent, but will also gain massive momentum at an insane rate of speed as time moves forward. It is also important to note that this push into “Social Media-Mania” will be heavily enforced by the Millennials. And there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it!
The Millennials Reign
Though I am a Certified Copywriter and Professional Marketer (having earned my certification under some of the best in the world), I have also spent much of my adult life in retail industries – most recently in automotive management. That being said, I have witnessed firsthand how the Millennials purchase, and by what avenues they take. Though I won’t dive into that now, just picture a young man or woman swiping through a cell phone with his/her thumb to obtain buying power.
They have discovered that the world is at their fingertips, and are using those tips to Google their way into the future. And what the data tell us, is that in order to gain their focus and attention, YOU and your ministry or business will have to go and meet them where they are – which is online. Not only so, but this is something that will HAVE to be done often. Therefore, trying to continue down the path of history will only be like pouring new wine into old wineskins. It will…not…work.
And now for the bad news…
It isn’t just the Millennials. Remember, it’s 7 out of 10 of your current Congregation, Clientele and Customers.
Now, there have been several studies performed on the pros and cons of social media. Like me, you might also find the details of my research interesting. For example, the phrase “Negative Effects of Social Media” was googled almost twice as much last month when compared to the “Benefits of Social Media.” But regardless of your opinion or mine, no matter what light we shine on social media, the statistical facts reveal that the debate is over. The people have spoken – or maybe they’ve texted.
Therefore, the only thing left to do is to meet them where they are at!
Where Do You Go From Here?
I am doing what I’m doing simply because there is an overwhelming need, and I feel an overwhelming calling to do so. It just so happens that I am also a Christian. However, the information that I will be providing (through case studies, research and current expertise), and the services I will be offering, is needed by most all organizations.
To give you a snippet of things to come over the next several weeks and months, these are a few of the topics and questions I’ll be answering in no particular order. There are also TONS of sub-headings that can go under each of these topics, therefore some topics will only be given through my Newsletter.
- What is Social Media? (Don’t laugh. You’d be surprised as to how many Googled that question).
- What are the Benefits of Social Media?
- What is Web Content and Its Importance?
- What is a Newsletter and Its Role?
- What is Blogging and Its Role?
For Business and Non-Profits:
- What is Web Content?
- What is the Sales Funnel between my Social Media and Website?
- What is a Sales Letter?
- What is a Fundraising Letter?
- What is Email Marketing.
Please feel free to sign up for my Blog and Newsletter. And should you have questions, you can either contact me through email or Facebook.
In Christ,
P.S. I was unable to post the statistical data from the reliable resources in this article, because I have not yet received a reply giving me permission to do so. Should you wish to have that information, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.
P. S. S. My Ministry is designed in such a manner that I am only able to succeed by helping other ministries to succeed. Therefore, please take just a few seconds to share this article on your media with those whom you feel could benefit.
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