Branding for Ministry

Jamie Jean Schneider Domm

Digital Strategist for the North American Division

Branding is the process of revealing a holistic picture of an organization to its audience by curating a perception, experience, and essence. Brands are communicated, not just created. A brand is based entirely on a person’s experience.
—Heidi Baumgartner

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This process begins with one question: ​

How do you want your organization to be known? This is its brand. Once you understand your organization’s mission and purpose (as discussed in the previous section), you can then shape your brand around those goals.
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Components of your brand strategy should cover three areas: marketing, public relations, and corporate communication. Think of marketing as evangelism (OUTREACH) and corporate communications as internal or member-focused messaging (INREACH). Public relations can be understood as what the general community knows, or thinks, about your church or organization. In other words, what are you known for in the community? Too often, our churches are simply “the building on the corner” and not perceived as a center for positive influence.  

To help shape this process, ask: What can your church or ministry become known for? What is unique about what your organization has to offer the community? ​

If you don’t already have a ministry name, website domain, and social media handle, choose a name based on your organization’s mission or purpose that can be used across all channels. For established ministries, intentionally devising handles and constructing social media profiles can help you reshape or rebrand your image and voice for your online audiences. Base decisions on the vision you want to cast. Determine whether your primary goal falls into either the outreach, inreach, or public relations area. It’s possible that your mission may cross over into more than one area. Then brainstorm name/handle ideas with your team, board, or members that could fit into one, two, or all of the three categories below. Through a process of elimination, narrow down the options and come to a final decision. Make sure that, before you identify the top choices, you have first checked their availability on sites like knowem.com (social media platforms) and godaddy.com (for website domain names).
 
Refer to the chart below when brainstorming name/handle ideas for your organization.

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Ideas for Developing Handles:

Credit: Heidi Baumgartner, edited by Jamie Domm

Your social media handle should reflect your brand and your purpose for being online or using the platform. A handle is a unique identifying username representing your organization. In other words, it’s your social media nickname. Keep your handle consistent across all platforms so potential followers can find you easily. It’s also a good idea to reserve your handle on a wide range of platforms, even if you aren’t able to consistently post on all of them right now, to prevent brand confusion and to save them for future use in case your social media strategy expands. We recommend also choosing a website domain that matches your ministry’s name and handle to further reinforce your brand across multiple channels and touchpoints. An example of a ministry with consistent branding is Gorgeous2God, whose mission primarily falls under outreach. Their social media handle across all their platforms is @gorgeous2god, and their domain is gorgeous2god.org. They even utilize a branded hashtag when relevant, #gorgeous2god.

​Your branding should:

• promote awareness
• foster emotional connectedness
• communicate your mission and values (brand story)
• encourage brand ambassadors
• provide strategic direction to your team and set clear goals/objectives (mission/vision)
• shape expectations for those you serve (brand promise)

 
Your brand strategy and digital strategy work together and are part of an overarching grand communications strategy that includes, and does not replace, traditional means of outreach and marketing as well as in-person experience.

Redeveloping your brand and your overall communications strategy takes a lot of behind-the-scenes homework. Involve people in your team throughout the process so they could share in ownership and add new insights you may not have considered. 

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Brand Basics: 

​Brand: represented by its logo, its color, its typefaces, its images, its designs, its tone of voice, and its customer service

Brand strategy: defines the organization’s central message and how to say it

Brand guidelines: a system of managing the brand visually
 
The biggest problem I see with ministries using social media is that they have no clear objectives. You must determine your purpose and shape your online communications and brand accordingly. In addition, determine your target audience, goals and key performance indicators as discussed in the previous section on strong foundations, and conduct a thorough communications and social media audit (examining all touchpoints). Then, based on all your findings, conduct a thorough branding audit, establishing where you currently are and deciding where you want to go. This process helps you to evaluate your overall communication strategies and can direct your rebranding. Once you’ve defined your purpose(s), shape your brand name, design, and messaging style in a way that will help you steer toward the desired perception and achieve your mission goals.
 
Next, develop your identity across all platforms and channels as part of your overall brand. Social media does not work in a silo; it should be integrated in your broader communications, both digital and traditional. 

Helpful resource: identity.adventist.org

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Establish Branding Consistency

Make sure all your social media profiles look consistent and use the same name.

• Reserve your name on all platforms.
• Use a consistent name (15 characters or less; short/simple; stands test of time; no numbers, symbols, or punctuation).
• Use the same profile photo & a consistent design look.
• Use the same headline, blurb, or bio.
• Develop a consistent voice/tone.
• Clearly articulate what you do and offer through your mission, brand promise, and brand story.

Your digital presence is an extension of your church brand and voice into the online world. Your brand is how your church or ministry is perceived. 

​How we feel about a brand ultimately stems from our experiences with it. Put yourself in the shoes of a person experiencing your brand for the first time, and view your ministry through an outsider’s perspective. Evaluate their experience objectively and make changes based on your communication objectives. Develop a clear brand promise (what your organization has to offer) and make sure all aspects of your organization deliver on that promise.  

Strong digital brands create connections with real people and take a comprehensive approach to the member experience. Have guidelines for every part of an audience member’s journey (case study example: Dan Serns, Evangelism Coordinator, Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists), including in-person, on-site interactions. Remember every experience—physical or digital—says something about your brand. Utilize all your possible brand touchpoints (see graphic below) to tell one consistent story. Remember to view all of your touchpoints as part of a holistic experience, as a seeker does not experience their journey in silos.    

Credit: Heidi Baumgartner, modified by Jamie Domm

​How your online followers and community perceive your ministry influences their perception of not only the Church corporately, but God, even if you haven’t put any effort into creating or managing your brand. In the absence of your story, people will fill in the blanks themselves. Your digital voice may be the only opportunity your followers have to see Christ’s love demonstrated in their life.

People search online for answers to their problems; what better place for the Church to engage them?

​But first, we must have a clear understanding of who we are and be able to clearly demonstrate our mission, vision, and value. Create a brand that your target audience can recognize and connect with in a meaningful and positive way.
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Having a strong brand and digital communications strategy won’t cost a lot of money but will involve a lot of time. Consider this an opportunity to build a team of digital disciples and brand ambassadors within your church or ministry. These people will become the human face and voice of your brand 24/7. Investing in their talent can also positively influence their level of investment in the Church long-term. 

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