Communicating for a Cause

Energizing Brand Evangelists

Leveraging word of mouth marketing is such a natural fit for ministries-- When you have a great story to tell, people naturally want to share it with everyone they know. But how can ministries be more intentional about getting people to spread the word?

Below is a great post by Jeff Beringer I found on WOMMA's blog today, & I've added some color commentary as it specifically relates to ministries:

Top 5 Ways to Energize Brand Evangelists

1. Find your brand loyalists
   In the ministry world, these are typically people who just recently came to Christ. They are so on fire about what God is doing in their lives & the impact of your church, they're telling everyone they know.
2. Give exclusive access and special privileges
   In addition to new believers, your biggest volunteers are often your best advocates. Identify these folks and form a special team so they can get the "inside scoop" from church leadership on upcoming events, plans, etc. [This team could also work well to execute points #3-5]
3. Respond quickly to comments and feedback
   Jeff sums it up well by saying, "If you're a loyalist, there's nothing worse than a company that doesn't value your input." Granted, this does NOT mean the church should be run from the pews. But keeping a finger on the pulse of your core will go a long way.
4. Monitor and reach out proactively
   Don't just wait for people to approach you. Be intentional about connecting with those already out there and affirm their commitment. Talk to your ministry leaders--who's heavily involved? What stories have they heard "from the field"?
5. Give brand evangelists a voice
   This goes a bit with point #3-- true advocates love knowing they are helping to shape the story. Don't just engage them, but help them to co-create the experience by giving input. This could mean brainstorming outreach ideas, topics for message series, creating street teams that help spread the word, etc.

Lion Pits

Wow. Mark Batterson knocked it out of the park with his latest book, In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day. My heart was racing with each turn of the page, asking myself, "What lions I have chased down recently? How long will my list of, "I wish I would'ves" be?"

The book uncovers an often overlooked passage in the Bible about Benaiah, who early in his career chased down and killed a lion & eventually rose to be the commander in chief of Israel's army. But the core teaching is about risk-taking. Looking circumstances that may be overwhelming in the eye and seeing them as God-given opportunities. Mark goes on to explain that oftentimes as Christians, we're tempted to play it safe. And at the end of the day, the bigger risk is regretfully looking at a long list of things we wish we would've done, but didn't have the courage.

I think this is especially important for entreprenuerial leaders to remember. Risk-taking is critical if we ever want to inspire change and motivate others to get in the game as well. 

For me personally, the book is just so inspiring. It helped me to take stock of what risks really count as "risks" and not just stretching a little :) Like many of you, my list of "I wish I would'ves" is already longer than I care to admit & this helped give renewed motivation to not let it get any longer.