Throw something against the wall and hope it sticks marketing

Having been in the media and marketing business for a while now I have discovered something that truly surprises me: Most businesses don't have a real thought-out marketing plan. They tend to run on the "We need more business, so lets do some marketing and hope that something works" plan. It's not hard to understand, then, why so many businesses are struggling to make it. We can blame the economy or our industry, but perhaps it's because we have no plan, no marketing budget, and no creative ideas about how to reach our customers. From my conversations with business owners I'm baffled at why it's so hard for many of them to understand that if you don't have a plan, if you are not willing to spend money to get your message out to your clients, then you simply can't grow or perhaps even survive. So what's the answer? Get a plan, my brothers. Spend some money, hire some genius you know to help you put your plan together, and then stick to it. Marketing is really not all that hard--you just have to make it a priority if you want to survive and thrive.

Church marketing sucks....how do we fix that

In the last blog we talked about the problem the church has with the marketing of itself and the message of Jesus. I promised an answer, so here are my thoughts: First, leaders and pastors have to come to the painful realization that there is a problem. This might be the hardest thing of all, because if we acknowledge that the problem exists, then we have to commit time and energy and vision to fixing it. Most pastors regularly give most of their time to preaching, counseling, and administration, not to website development, social media,  technology, and marketing. It's an area that is outside the usual pastor's wheel house. For things to really change, Christian leaders and pastors are going to have to make educating themselves in technology, marketing, and media communications a new priority. This will require a real shift in investment for the 40-somethings who are leading the church. For the guys in their 20's it's already a part of their lives. If you are a 40-something pastor and need help, there are a lot of young people in your congregation that can help you get started. Just ask. Believe me, they would love to "school" you on how to live in a technology-driven culture...it's time we embraced it!!!

Church Marketing Sucks

Don't get worked up it's the truth. In fact for many people just using the word marketing and the church in the same sentence is heresy. As if there is something twisted with wanting to present the message of Christ in a way that the culture can understand it. Here is the the truth unfiltered, the church is behind, outdated, and in most cases uncaring in how it presents it's brand and the message of Jesus and His Kingdom. Thinking that it's more spiritual to be boring, and hopelessly out of touch with the way people in the culture communicate. There are some exceptions...my own church Christ Church Kirkland has really taken some amazing steps to press forward in how it shares it's message. The Mar's Hill church in Seattle is leading the way in website development and the use of video. But for the most part we are still the but of jokes on youtube and other social media for the way we present ourselves and sadly Jesus. So what's the answer? Sorry that is coming in the next blog.

Check out this awesome website about marketing and the church. Its called church marketing sucks I love that. Just click this link church marketing sucks

The ever changing face of technology and me

Technology is moving at warp speed with new innovations almost every day. The past 5 years have given us culture changing social media, smart phones, ipods, ipads, really the list could go on and on. The fact is that if you don't continue to change the way you communicate your message people will simply stop listening to you. It's not that people will stop caring about what you are saying but how and where people are listening has dramatically changed. We live in a design driven visual culture and that has dramatically changed the way we have to communicate our message and vision. Business as usual simply doesn't work anymore. Its a whole new game and if you don't choose to get in it you will get left behind. We must make a decision to embrace the media age and then re brand, and repackage our message so that we are communicating how and where people are listening.

Using lighting to tell your story

I fought with the lighting 3 times on this video. It really is the key to telling your story on any video production. I realized that the most important idea on great lighting is....don't give up. We knew what we wanted to do but getting there can really be hard. We ended up putting a "snoot" (black paper) around the LED light that we suspended above our subject and then put about 25 black table cloths around her to create that dark background you see in the video. The moral to this story is that genius does not have to cost a lot of money you just have to use the things you already have around you. Most importantly don't give up, we worked and adjusted till the lighting was exactly the way we wanted it. Take a look at the video and let me know what you think, its posted just below. Great lighting is critical to creating mood and vibe for a video shoot. Try a few ideas and work with what you have, don't give up on the vision you have for your video. Vibe is everything!!!

I found this amazing look on a site called I am second. I was so blown away I had to try it. Check it out by clicking on this link iamsecond