 An interview with Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law appeared in Forbes Magazine just after Trump’s stunning win in the election. The article was entitled,How Jared Kushner Won Trump the White House. Now you may or may not like Trump for any number of reasons on either side, but everyone admits it was a shocking win. How did he do it and what can the church learn from his campaign strategy that can apply to our desire to communicate to and reach people with biblical Truth. Here are 7 takeaways from the article. These conclusions and others that are similar can be found other places as well across the web, but I’ll source my points using the one intriguing article in Forbes. Here’s what can be applied to your church outreach that’s been proven to work. 1. Social Media is the best way to communicate your message on the internet From Google AdWords to websites and retargeting efforts, there are a plethora of ways to communicate online. Most churches and their leadership conclude that a great looking website with a fantastic visitor’s section is enough. Many erroneously believe they can throw in a Facebook page with pictures from last month’s children’s program and their church is all set with online outreach. If you happen to “live stream” or post sermons online, then they think they are advanced. Like Trump’s opponents and specifically Hillary who spent about twice as much as Trump on her campaign, these type methods on their own lead to a lack luster losing strategy. The article mentions that Hillary followed the Obama playbook, which was advanced for 2012, regarding online sites. However, according to the article, much has changed with social media since 2012. Fantastic websites aren’t enough anymore. You must take full advantage of social media and specifically Facebook to succeed in today’s communication atmosphere. What is your social media strategy and how can you learn from this winning strategy? How much traffic does your website have without social engagement? 2. If you must pick one social media channel, use Facebook. According to the article, the decision that “won the presidency for Trump” happened on Trumps private 757 the previous November in 2015. Trump and Kushner were conversing about the campaign’s lack of use of social media over McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwiches. Trump asked Kushner then and there to take over his Facebook initiatives. Kushner called some friends to help him learn how to set up some Facebook advertising. He experimented first with Trump merchandise. I assume specifically it was hats. Within a very short time they want from selling $8000 worth of merchandise a day to $80,000 per day. Kushner knew Facebook was the key way to communicate all the messages to the masses. How are you reaching the masses in your target area using Facebook? How strategic are you? 3. Slogans and Themes Work Great I am sure you noticed like I did that simple slogans and themes worked great for this candidate. From MAGA to Crooked Hillary to Drain the Swamp, it seemed during the election (and even since in his presidency) every few weeks brought a new slogan or theme which was repeated over and over on Facebook where it was then shared by millions of followers and went “viral.” How are you using slogans and themes to captivate your target audience and shape their conversations and thinking? You can check out a social media usage comparison graphic here. 4. You Probably Shouldn’t Attempt to Do It Yourself Although Trump may or may not (depending on your perspective) seem very capable with his Twitter account, according to the article, Trump is a print kind of guy even to the point of handwriting notes which his assistants scan and attach to emails. He really isn’t a techie kind of person. He also was obviously extremely busy. Trump delegated his Facebook initiative to others to carry out for him. He provided the ideas, the content and the themes, but others made it happen. What capable and strategic person can you delegate this extremely important task of online communication to and expect results? Is the return on investment worth allocating budget dollars toward for your church? 5. Dollar for Dollar there is no better way to reach people with your message Trump spent about half of what Hillary spent on this election. Conventional wisdom and history itself said that the candidate that spends more always wins. However, we know that in this case like so many others with this election, the status quo was upended. Data-driven decision-making, the low cost of Facebook advertising compared with other traditional marketing costs and the power of social sharing kept the costs low in comparison. Even with less spending, the campaign could reach more of the exact people they knew would be ideal Trump supporters with a message they knew would resonate with them. Through Facebook features, they could stay in touch with them day after day for thousands less than traditional means of staying in touch with supporters such as direct mail campaigns, phone calls or tv ads. Are you spending way too much on conventional forms of advertising like direct mail, radio, billboards etc. when you could save money and reach more of the right people with your message? Have you compared the costs? 6. Make decisions about online and social media use based on data, not gut feelings Eventually Kushner took over the campaign’s Facebook data management. Through about 100 workers in an undescriptive looking building in San Antonio, Kushner could make decisions on marketing and spending with pin-point precision. What about your decisions for outreach? Are they based on data? Do you know your Facebook page usage trends? Do you know how many website hits you’ve had in the last six months? Do you know what pages are being visited and have you thought about how to improve those pages to capture more interaction and engagement? 7. Figure out who your target audience is and reach out to them with messages that resonate and engage. As the data kept rolling in, Kushner and his team could continually hone their target audience and reach them through Facebook. He could tell which messages people responded to better, which issues mattered most and what was most relevant in their supporters’ thinking on any given day. He could spend money strategically to reach narrow segments of their audience with specifically crafted messages saving money by not spending on mass media to reach people who didn’t care about a theme or cause. The article quotes the former CEO of Google, a Hillary supporter, “Jared understood the online world in a way the traditional media folk didn’t. He managed to assemble a presidential campaign on a shoestring using new technology and won. That’s a big deal. “How well do you know the people most likely to respond to your message? How are you crafting your messaging to captivate and engage them? Summary Conclusions for your Church or Ministry
What can you do better with your Facebook page and other web properties? Some are using them to reach millions and others neglect them. At Purpose Launch, one of our biggest objectives is to help churches and ministries utilize the full power of digital outreach at the lowest prices possible. Don’t try to DIY unless you have professionals on your staff or in your volunteer pool. Dedicate some financial resources to this fantastic tool. This commitment will help insure you and your team are accountable to use the tool effectively on consistently. You will reach your community in a whole new way like never before. Although geared for marketing, you can learn a lot about how the process works from these short videos. Click here to watch. Get in touch with me and let’s have a conversation. I would love to be of help to you and your ministry. Even if you do want to do it yourself, our website has many resources that will be helpful.
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