July 13, 2015 in Communications
Tell Your Story Through Images
We live in a visual culture, so you’re missing a big opportunity if you don’t use images to tell your church’s story.
People respond to images. Facebook posts, web pages, e-mails and even print pieces draw more attention and shares when there is a compelling image. Recent research shows that the average person has an attention span of a bit over 8 seconds – slightly shorter than that of a goldfish. An engaging picture grabs a reader’s interest faster than a block of text on the screen.
Work to generate images that show people who you are as a church. You want to show people in authentic situations – singing, praying, conversing, eating together, learning. This means recruiting people to take photos at a wide variety of events — even worship. Fortunately, many of us carry high-quality cameras around in our pockets all the time — our smartphones!
Encourage people to take pictures at events. Ask them to be courteous and unobtrusive, and always respect people’s request not to be photographed. When possible get adults to sign photo releases (you can model one after the synod release posted at https://ministrylink.org/resources/resource-library/item/photo-and-video-release-synod/). Do not publish photos of minor children without written permission from a parent or guardian.
Many churches focus their images on their building. But most people, especially younger generations, are looking for relationships, so use images to help people get to know what your church is like. – Bob Fisher
