Pastor, videos may be the solution you didn’t know you need. Often social media popularity helps us see what attracts and holds people’s attention. A 2021 Pew Survey revealed the social media channel that dominates: YouTube (an online collection of videos about everything-under-the-sun including church videos) has captured 81% of Americans (95% of 18-29 year olds) who regularly go to the website.
So, want to be heard more? Most prefer short-form video to get their content. Another reason to try it! Use relevant church video content on your social media, in your services, and even on your website!
Let’s talk about some tips for church videos then. So your congregation and your community will want to watch them! Yes, it’s an effective way to be heard more.
My quick overview tip? Make sure they’re relevant. Make the content about something they’re googling. Then post it on your YouTube Channel in addition to wherever you’re originally using it. If people are indeed searching for what your video is about (and it’s properly titled with great metadata description), then Google will direct them to your church content. Remember, Google owns YouTube.com!
Want to make your church video watched even more? Here are 5 simple tips:
- Make it about your church’s thread. All of us pursue social influencers who are known for a narrow path of needed content. So be a social influencer for Christ; discover your thread boundaries so you deliver content that your congregation and community can rely on; and anticipate.
- Get to the point quickly. Capture your audience within the first 3 or 4 seconds of the video. Get to your point fast — or do something unexpected so they want to watch more. Then reward them for paying attention: give them exactly what they’re needing!
- Say their name or speak their pain. Start your church videos by saying who it’s for, or what need, concern, or goal it’ll solve. This engages them so they listen. Sure, they may not be able to remember your solutions; but because you’re known for a controlled thread of content, they know where to find it again when they really need to access it.
- Caption. We consume digital content in places that don’t allow our volume to be up. So provide captions. Rev.com’s a great online service to create them. It takes longer to produce them but allows more people to enjoy content in a bathroom stall or a coffee shop (where a lot of content is consumed)!
- Keep it short. One of the best tips for church videos? Edit a script and resist rambling. For the first few you do, it’s best to have a teleprompter to keep you on point. There are apps that do this (i.e. PromptSmart) and allow the script to scroll with your voice as you do a selfie video. Oh, and never waste anyone’s time. That’ll help them trust your videos. Be known for great video content.
