Our society is so full of brands. Starbucks, Apple and Nike are just a few brands that are so well branded that everyone has heard of them, even internationally. Have you ever heard of brandng a Church? We have. It is becoming a common thing in this modern society. Three years ago, on Christmas day, a Kansas City Church noticed that everyone was on their mobile phone. They decided to do a social media campaign just wishing people a Merry Christmas and it was a big hit. That is when they discovered the power of social media marketing. Who are they? Let us introduce you to Graceway Church.
The Church started out as Kansas City Baptist Temple in downtown Kansas City, MO. In 2011, they changed their name to Graceway. At that point, they started taking Church branding very seriously as they began to average 1,600 members during their Sunday services.
They started out with no creative department and had multi-websites. This meant every Department had their own website. But, when they asked Jim Edwards to create a communications department, he jumped on board becoming the Director of Communications. In doing this, he was able to bring all departments together under one Graceway website. This consolidation has led to the focus on unifying and becoming one brand, the Graceway brand. People know the brand and what it stands for. It is a multicultural Church in Kansas City committed to bible teaching and discipleship. They believe heavily that it is important to experience what it means to love God and love others, first hand. Love is the key!
An SEM campaign was then used on Facebook and they noticed a 30% online Church attendance jumped up after just 5 days of marketing. They saw how it could benefit as they felt it had huge impact on getting the message out to people even through virtual means.
The great thing about Graceway, is while creating they have their brand, they use it to tell stories that move and inspire people. They’ve found, through personal experiences, that people don’t just want information, they want to be moved. This is what drives people to a Church. Now, 66% of the posts are inspirational and tie to the sermon for the week. Only 33% is informative. (This explains why humanity loves movies, because we love stories. Funny thing, Jesus was the number one story teller in his day.)
Though branding and social media is a great tool that can be used to further God’s kingdom, leadership is necessary for the growth of a Church. “The Senior Pastor, Jeff Adams, is a great leader and gives the employees of Graceway the freedom to do what they are good at,” says Director of Communications, Jim Edwards. He continues on saying, “Pastor Adams philosophy is to give an idea a try and if it doesn’t work than you will learn from it.” In this freedom, there have come many successes. This has resulted in happy, loyal employees who love what they do, where they work and whom they work for.
Next time you give thought to Church branding or a brand that stands for loving Christ and loving others, check out visitgraceway.org. They know what it takes to reach people where they are and now-a-days it’s through social media. Graceway, they touch lives by serving them.