To successfully grow your ministry by live streaming your services, it’s important to ensure your church offers the best live streaming experience for your audiences. Here are some valuable tips:
1. Always test
Make sure all of your equipment – video, audio, and all devices – are online and operational prior to broadcasting a service or event. We also strongly recommend a speed test of your network to make sure upload speeds are solid.
2. Meet, Greet, and Pray With Attendees
We recommend chat and interaction features. Designate a volunteer or regular online attender to interact with folks logging in, very similar to a greeter at your church facility, answering questions they may have. This creates a connection with your viewers. Offering to pray with people online is important as well.
3. Follow Up
Just like you follow up with first time visitors to your facility, follow up with those that attend online for the first time. Use a customized online form that enables viewers to list a prayer request, ask a question or give a comment. You should have a place for viewers to put in contact information so you can follow up.
4. Make Streaming Video Easy to Find
Make sure it’s obvious and easy to find the online live streaming service when visiting your website for the first time. The best ministries will make it obvious where to attend and will usually embed the live streaming service within a page on their website.
5. Address Your Online Community
The announcer, worship leader, and especially the pastor should welcome not only those inside the church facility but also viewers online. This makes those attending online feel like a part of the service and reminds everyone there in person that the service is being streamed. Real time analytics can also give the pastor an opportunity to
specifically welcome viewers from different areas around the world and also encourages the whole church, letting them see a “bigger picture” to the ministry.
6. Equip Members to Invite
80% of all first time attendees came to church because someone invited them. Although let’s face it, it’s very intimidating for newcomers to walk through the doors of your facility for the first time. Attending online as a first time visit is so much easier. Make sure your regular attendees at your facility are aware that your services are streamed every week so they can invite their friends to attend online to experience your ministry. Most of your member’s friends will attend their first service online if invited just because it’s so easy.
7. Create Online Goals and Measure Results
Just like you set your growth goals and measure results for your overall ministry, you can set specific attendance and growth goals for your online ministry. It’s a fact that most will experience your ministry online before they come in person. So set goals for your online ministry and make sure your streaming provider can provide the analytics and detail reports to measure your progress to your online ministry goals.
8. Use Social Media
Social Media is here to stay. Your physical and online ministries should be leveraging the benefits of your social campaigns and regular interactions. If you decide to use some paid social marketing tools, Facebook and Google have also made it easier than ever to specifically target your audience (with a small budget).
9. Make Giving Easy
For those who are ready to support the church, being able to easily donate online while viewing a live or archived service is a great tool. Supporting the online ministry this way can help attendees and visitors feel more connected to your ministry.
10. Make Sure Help is Always Available
It can be very frustrating if you have a problem, especially when there is a lot going on right before a service. Choose a provider that can help you 7 days a week with all of these above points.
Since 2001 our staff has worked exclusively with churches and ministries around the world. We care about what we do because all of us are involved in our own churches serving. Let us serve you. We are available 7 days a week, even on Sundays. Email us at [email protected] or use live chat at the bottom right of your screen.