It’s amazing to think that churches are seeing greater numbers online than they saw in-person. The barrier to entry is so much lower, and the anonymity is so much higher for people who have wanted to find out what your church is like, but weren’t sure they wanted to actually build up the courage to meet in person.

Social Proof is a term in marketing which talks about the “fear of missing out” and proving that other people are finding value – you’ve probably joined a facebook page because you saw your friend has, or you’ve joined an email list because you were told there are 20,000 other people on the list, or you rushed to buy something online because “there are only 20 left!”

For your church, you can put these two ideas together: Social Proof + the growth of Online Church.

Let’s say you have a banner at your church inviting your community to watch online or join you in person. It will come across as welcoming and invitational, but it still comes across as your organization inviting people to your church.

Now, consider if you offered everyone in your church a yard sign that they could put on their front lawn inviting their neighbors to watch church online. This taps into social proof.

“Did you know Jim and Jane go to that church? There’s a sign on their lawn!”

“I didn’t realize how many people in our neighborhood go to that church.”

“I keep seeing these signs everywhere. Maybe there’s something special about this church.”

Providing yard signs to your members for their homes or businesses allows you to get a wide spread of exposure (not just centralized on your church property) plus includes the “Social Proof” factor.

Will people actually put a sign for our church on their lawn? (church yard sign examples here)

You might be surprised how many people would LOVE to be able to invite their friends to visit your church, especially in a time of social distancing when they may not have much contact with their neighbors.

Here are a few tips to make your “Social Proof + Church Online” campaign a success:

• Have our design team design your sign for you. We’ll send you a mockup version so you can see exactly what your sign will look like. Keep the details simple and the colors a high contrast so people driving by can easily read the information.
• Email that mockup image to everyone in your church, and ask how many each person would like. Most people will choose 1, some will decline, and some would like more if they have a large yard or a business that they can also post.
• A general rule of thumb would be 1 per household in your church. You can choose to purchase the signs from your outreach budget, or sell them to your members to offset the costs, and they’ll be more likely to use a sign if they paid something for it.
• Order extra. You’ll want a few around your church’s property, a few to have on hand in case the wind blows someone’s away and they need a replacement, and you’ll have a few people who didn’t order one but change their mind when they see everyone else posting their sign.