Video content is important for all businesses, including churches. The vast majority of businesses, 86%, use video to market themselves, and of that, 93% of marketers agree that video plays a large role in their marketing strategy. Video content is not just a trend, but rather, a vital piece in your church’s marketing strategy.
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THE MASSES
It’s no question that video is dominating social media platforms. Whether you’re on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, or Tik Tok, video is the most important content to share. Using video on social media platforms is becoming increasingly more important, but why?
The average U.S. citizen has 7.3 social media accounts. Sometimes reaching your audience is as simple as placing yourself where they are most likely to find you. In this case, that means using social media.
To go a step further, video performs the best on these accounts for numerous reasons. Both Facebook and Instagram use streaming, which ranks the highest on feed algorithms, with normal videos following. Ultimately, posts containing videos are just more likely to be seen than those that don’t.
Shortening sections of your service to fit with social media posting is great to keep your viewers attention. This creates 30 to 60 second and 2 to 5-minute cuts with dimensions perfect for social media. It also simplifies social media posting by using content you’ve already captured to reach new audiences.
VIDEO BUILDS TRUST
The emphasis on video and social media may seem overwhelming, but capturing videos in 2024 is easier than ever. Along with professionally-captured videos, marketers and businesses share user-generated content. User-generated content (UGC), is any content–text, images, videos, and more–created and shared by the consumer of a product. Essentially, the members of your church, rather than staff, capture UGC. Videos captured and shared as UGC are increasingly important in 2024.
Now more than ever, people want authenticity in marketing. This is true of people in general, but especially in the now-crucial Gen Z demographic (people born from roughly 1997 to 2012) you will be trying to capture for congregational growth. User-generated content is real and raw, so it builds trust for someone considering attending your church for the first time.
Users are 2.4 times more likely to believe user-generated content is authentic. Whether it’s a restaurant, movie, book, or recipe, people are more likely to trust a recommendation from a real person rather than the business itself. Your church builds trust the same way. Videos captured by the members of your church at a small group, a youth event, or a meal together, reveal life behind the scenes.
This content is easy to access, as the majority of your members likely have social media accounts and phones with cameras. User-generated content proves that video doesn’t have to be challenging or over the top, but in 2024, video is more important than ever.
STREAMED SERVICES CAPTURE NEW AUDIENCES
Video usage by marketers and consumers goes further than social media, The 2020 pandemic forced many churches to embrace online church, but the necessity of streaming continues in 2024. Since the pandemic, consumers consistently watch more videos online, proving there is usefulness for your sermons after the live stream is complete. Streamed sermons create a hub of content, that when optimized correctly, is able to reach new and unchurched audiences. Work with your Video Tech Team to get your Video Content Ready for Streaming & Social Media and start to gain new followers.