In this modern information age, almost everyone takes advantage of the Internet to reach a wider audience. In keeping with the tides, it isn’t uncommon for churches to put out content to spread their message to connect with more people. But like others who try to put content online, churches are also prone to some common pitfalls of content creation.
As a church trying to create content, you should avoid these common mistakes. This is crucial because you want your content to reach your target audience, deliver the right message and have the desired impact on people. In doing all these, there are technical and nontechnical content creation rules that you must follow. Some rules are unspoken, and even though they are not set in stone like the laws of Moses, following them will ensure that you write content that wins always. Here are some of them.
Plagiarism
Content should always be unique. Although no idea is ever absolutely original, this doesn’t mean you are at liberty to copy content from anywhere and post it as yours. This is a terrible practice that many people try to pass off as normal especially when writing church content. Always try your best to maintain the integrity of your work by avoiding plagiarism. And, it goes against the 7th Commandment, “Thou Shall Not Steal.”
Of course, you may quote from the bible and other texts. But ensure that you indicate quoted text wherever you use it and include references where necessary. To be sure that the content you have written is unique, you can use an online plagiarism checker tool.
A similar mistake that churches commonly make in church content is using images without permission or credit to the owners. This seemingly harmless act is a form of copyright infringement that is consequently a crime. You can’t simply find images via Google and use them in your content without permission from the owners. If you will use images that are not yours, you should download stock or royalty-free images. In Google, you can use the images marked as allowed for reuse.
Not speaking to your audience
The truth is, the gospel might be for everyone but content isn’t. It is almost impossible to write content that speaks to every group of audiences possible. If you are creating content for a church, you need to keep this in mind. You must identify the target audience for every article you intend to put out and tailor the content to suit its specific needs. This isn’t about restricting the message. Rather than shooting widely into the crowd, it is best to pick a target audience and write content that speaks to that group directly.
Your content may be specifically for members of your congregation or the entire body of Christ. You may also write content that speaks specifically to people outside the body. A post that comments on a social issue for instance should be crafted in a way that every member of the public (whether Christian or not) can easily relate to it and understand it.
Writing unnecessarily lengthy content
This is one of the common mistakes people make when writing church content. Good content is one that is at an optimal length. This doesn’t necessarily mean short content. More accurately, keeping your content at optimal length means the value of the content is perfect for the length of the article.
But short content may sometimes be desirable. In this age of information overload, the average attention span of every individual is at an all-time low. People want to read content and move on to the next interesting one. So, keeping your content short and insightful is important. The next best alternative if you have to write long content is to make it engaging, highly interesting with lots of valuable lessons. This way you can keep your audience’s attention and pass your message across effectively.
Poor writing quality
Many churches make the mistake of thinking people will read their content no matter the quality. After all, it is the content that matters and not how it is written. This is a wrong assumption. The truth is that people (even members of your congregation) can recognize good quality writing and are more likely to engage with it. If the quality of your content is poor, they may not even read till the end. Even if they do, poor content will never have as much impact on a person as good content. So, pay attention to the quality of your articles. Avoid and limit grammar errors to the barest minimum. Hire an editor before posting. Double-check for issues with spellings and punctuation. You should also make sure that the content is well structured with all the parts nicely fitted together.
Lack of a Posting Schedule
Whether it is a social media post, blog article, video or any other type of content, consistency is important to keep your audience engaged. A lot of churches ignore this rule and will only post when it is convenient. Although it is great to write from inspiration and positing daily is not compulsory. When you post on a schedule, your audience can know when to expect your next post. This will not only keep their minds prepared to receive it but it also ensures that they don’t miss your posts. There is no hard rule about how often you should put content online. But the importance of consistency can not be overemphasized.
Conclusion
Content for churches is special and you must take special care with them. It embodies the image and reputation of the church, so every part and detail must be well-worked out. The efficacy of the message you intend to pass across is wrapped up in the quality of the content. Pay attention to these common mistakes and avoid them in preparing content for your church. Some may seem insignificant, but they matter in the grand scheme of things.
