Every church has a unique story that deserves to be told, and as church communications keep moving online, it’s important that those stories be told through churches’ websites and social media accounts. This is especially important because faith-seekers need to be met where they’re at, which is on the internet, and they’ll be looking at your church’s website and social media when doing research on where they might want to attend. Here are five tips for telling your church’s story online.

Share Your Church’s History

On your church website, a simple way to tell your church’s story directly is to have a section or page that outlines the history of your church. It doesn’t have to be long, but it can help provide context for how you got to be the church you are today. Include milestone dates, which can also be shared as individual social media posts with related photos that link back to your church website. As we discussed in an earlier blog on social media maintenance, it’s important to share content from your church’s website on social media.

Prioritize Visual Storytelling

While directly telling users your church’s story is important, we know a picture is worth 1,000 words (and a video’s worth even more). It’s already best practice to have photos on your church website and social media accounts, so make sure that you take pictures and videos at your key events that showcase what you do, how you do it and the people involved.

Use a Consistent Voice and Tone

Much of telling a story is how you tell it, which is why it’s important the voice and tone of the text on your church website and social media accounts are consistent and reflect the story you want to tell. We’ve written a blog on how to establish a voice and tone that we recommend you read for additional tips.

Feature People

Ultimately, it’s the people who make up the church, and the ways their stories intersect are worth sharing. Showcase individuals whose lives have been touched by your church and have impacted your church in return on both your church website and social media. This will give people a sense of the tangible impact your church makes on the individuals who attend every week and highlight the human element of your church’s story.

Showcase What Makes You Unique

As we started off this blog saying, every church has a unique story, which is why it’s important to leverage what makes you different so that your story stands out from the crowd. Do you have any events that are unique to your church? What niche do you fill in terms of serving your community? What about your mission sets you apart? Be sure to address these questions throughout your church website and in social posts so that virtual faith-seekers understand what makes your church’s story special.

Ready to tell your story online? The UCC Everywhere (UCCE) program is a state-of-the-art website builder for church leaders within the UCC. For a monthly or annual subscription fee, churches, Associations and Conferences get their own site along with other digital marketing tools and support to make sure their message is reaching faith-seekers in their community via the appropriate virtual channels.