What Marketing Methods Are the Most Effective for Your Meetings?

TERRY K. DITTMER
DIRECTOR, YOUTH MINISTRY
DISTRICT AND CONGREGATIONAL SERVICES
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH - MISSOURI SYNOD
ST. LOUIS

The events we plan are primarily for teenagers, young adults, and adult leaders working in youth ministry. That means, the best way to communicate what we are doing is through ALL the latest technologies. It's not that we don't do traditional print things like posters and brochures. But we need to use our Web sites, text messaging, Facebook groups, MySpace connections, Twitter accounts, etc. Our audience is young and stays connected electronically, yet we can't lose sight of the fact that all these technologies are still really new to traditional religious organizations.

PAT THOMAS
EVENTS COORDINATOR
PARISH LIFE AND FAITH FORMATION, BOISE, IDAHO

By far the most effective marketing method for our adult events is personal invitation. For our annual fall conference, we are gathering "friends" of the fall conference in each Catholic parish across the state. They will promote the annual conference through pulpit announcements and personal invitations at meetings and get-togethers. This helps every person across the diocese to realize that this conference is for them, no matter what their level of involvement in the church: staff member; volunteer or parishioner; young or old; new Catholic or cradle Catholic.

For our youth events, the strongest method of marketing is electronic media. All materials are sent out to the youth ministers via e-mail as well as posted on our Web site. We also use Facebook to get the word out. Through these methods and outstanding leadership, in the past three years we have tripled attendance for our high-school-level conference. For our 2011 conference we are going to have to cap attendance because we have maxed out our facility.

ROBERT RUSH
STATE CLERK OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
CORDOVA, TENN.

We market through our church publications and through communications with various stated clerks of presbyteries. These are effective tools for promotion of our meetings.

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