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Is it Propaganda or Buzz Marketing?

By chris | April 28, 2007

Note: Thanks to the good folks at Church Central for publishing my article Be flexible for more effective outreach on their site, please check it out. :) We continue on the topic of ethics in church marketing considering how to avoid using false word-of-mouth promotions.  

The topic of Word-of-Mouth (WOM) promotion is very popular these days in ministry marketing circles. I think it is great that many leaders in ministry are now showing interest in this important subject.

Word-of-Mouth really is the best form of advertising. If your church is motivating and inspiring people to talk to their colleagues, friends, families and neighbors–congratulations! It’s great when people are buzzing about the great things your church is doing.

So what is the word on Word-of-mouth marketing? Word-of-mouth (Also known as Buzz marketing) is the spontaneous passing of information from person-to-person about a topic that result in promotion of the topic. In church marketing, it is getting people talking about your church, your programs, the gospel, and anything else your church is doing. When good buzz is happening, your church reaches more people in effective ways that are the most credible to seekers.

Here are some of the ways Word-of-mouth gets going…

In our wired and connected world there are many more tools available these days that can be used in Word-of-mouth marketing than previous generations had. A church can get a lot of attention and get people all “abuzz” about a topic very quickly. So get buzzy learning how to use them in your ministry!

A few Buzz Books I like…

Are You Creating Buzz or Creating False Propaganda?

I heard of one church that thought they were being creative by developing a campaign where members were trained to go out into the marketplace of their city to be overheard talking about their church at coffee shops, malls and other public places.

The premise was people would hear about the church through eavesdropping in on conversations overheard around the city. The idea with this tactic was that there is more power in something people overhear, since people are not being confronted directly. Very psychological, don’t you think?

It may be true that people like to snoop on what others are saying, but using this tactic is a more than a little underhanded. By training people to buzz the church in this way, there were creating the impression the community is “all abuzz” about them when it is it not. I think the technical theological term for that is “lying”. Manipulating people using communication in ways that don’t respect them or are not based in fact is propaganda.

(BTW, check out the Propaganda Critic website it can help you know when you are being used by propagandists—it will come in handy during election year. :) )

Professional Word of Mouth Marketing organizations don’t use false WOM tactics because it is considered unethical. The Word of Mouth Marketing Association says…

Word of mouth can’t be faked or invented. Attempting to fake word of mouth is unethical and creates a backlash, damages the brand, and tarnishes the corporate reputation. Legitimate word of mouth marketing acknowledges consumers’ intelligence — it never attempts to fool them. Ethical marketers reject all tactics related to manipulation, deception, infiltration, or dishonesty.

Make sure when you create your buzz marketing campaign you are doing everything “above the table”. One way to do that is to make sure you consciously consider the ethics behind the approach you plan to use. If what you are doing is considered by the secular world to be unethical that should be a real sign to make other plans.

Going Sleazy for Jesus?

Still some churches seem to think the “end justifies the means” in outreach. They want members to get active inviting other people so they make them feel guilty, put people “on the spot” getting them to do things they really don’t want to do, and use other means to get free publicity. Good church buzz is voluntary word-of-mouth.

Churches that do false or unethical word-of-mouth…

How to get Word-of-Mouth Going without Going Sleazy

You can create Word of mouth with your members ethically by giving them the tools they need to tell their friends about what is going on at their church. Here are a few ideas

When I ask church leaders in my seminars if they know why their members don’t invite others to church, they usually sit up and lean forward in their chairs hoping for a piece of secret advice. Then I tell them the truth that is no secret: The reason your church members don’t invite others is….they don’t want to.

The real secret to getting real word of mouth advertising from your church is to treat people with respect and meet their needs better. Many churches are so busy looking for the next person they want to invite to their church, they overlook the active members and let lapsed attendees slip through the cracks.

If you want to get people spreading the word about your church, take American Idol Sanjaya’s advice , “Give them Something to Talk About”
 

Topics: Deliver the Message |

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