Mission-driven, Data-informed Church Communications
Data-informed, not data-driven
In the past decade, there’s been a huge uptick in the use of the buzzword “data-driven.” As Northeastern University puts it, “Data-driven decision making is the process of making organizational decisions based on actual data rather than intuition or observation alone.” Like every buzzword, though, it’s lost considerable meaning over time. After all, who would claim they aren’t data driven, or purport to ignore evidence when presented with it?
When working with church communications, I use slightly different language, that might thread the needle. It’s partially semantics, yes, but as every pastor knows, semantics matter.
Instead of data-driven church communications, we can aim for mission-driven, data-informed church communications. The emphasis is on church mission, rather than data. Data is in service to the church’s broader goals, rather than becoming an end unto itself. There’s more than enough room for data, intuition, and playfulness to co-mingle (as an aside, there’s an argument that those belong in data-driven decision making, too).
Even still, when staff or pastors suggest using empirical evidence to inform communications, there are a few classic arguments by well-meaning but under-informed members that inevitably surface.
Argument 1: “We’re not a business. We’re a church. Talking about data makes it cold and lifeless.”
There are few things more arbitrary than members’ opinions on whether the church is a business or not. In my opinion, it’s a boring discussion that’s always about something else.
When it comes to church finances, we’re dramatically data-driven. We’re immensely attuned to the nitty-gritty details of interest rates, investment portfolios, and annual distributions from endowed funds. Why are we data-driven with finances, but not communications? What does that say about our approach to church communications, serving our neighbors, or our baggage with outreach? And what does it say about our disinterest in accountability or an honest glimpse at the condition of the church?
To be fair, some nervousness is justified. National consulting groups, coaches, and other for-profit “social enterprises” are professionals at weaving stories with data that may or may not reflect reality. Data can easily become a trojan horse for data-driven snakeoil. Or for pastors working with staff in-house, obsessions with data-driven ministry can easily fuel analysis paralysis.
Argument 2: “We already know what works and what doesn’t. We don’t need to use data. It’s not worth the trouble.”
The other argument against data-driven decisions is that we already “know” what works and what doesn’t. “It’s always been done this way” and we assume it works.
The reality is that when we say “it works,” it’s usually because congregants and visitors struggle through communications until they adapt. People learn to look in obscure places for information, or they know a single, printed flyer on the door of the Fellowship Hall is a single point of failure.
But there are two reasons this argument is a little flimsy:
You don’t know what works, because you haven’t examined the data.
Making mission-driven, data-informed decisions doesn’t require advanced analysis or computer modeling. Understanding basic social and web data has never before been so accessible, regardless if you’re a tech wiz or a studious layperson.
Start Thinking Through Data-Informed Communications
Now that you’re ready to make some cultural course-corrections, there are a few items to think through.
Assess and Evaluate
What are your immediate goals regarding church communications? For most congregations, this is going to start with a thorough, empirical assessment and evaluation. Pastors usually know the subjective feedback from members, so focus your attention on the empirical.
The temptation is to ask your communications staff or church committee to simply “conduct an audit” or “assess church communications.” But you need to articulate a basic methodology: what you’re assessing, what data should be used, and how you’ll interpret the information. What are you looking at, and what is it saying? For example, if you want to assess whether the church is reaching non-followers, you can look at your social media reach (the number of people who saw at least one post) for 90 days, and the percent that are non-followers.
Identify Measurable Goals
Once you have an empirical baseline, start identifying measurable goals. It could be improving your website’s reach, increasing the regularity of social media posts, or heightening overall engagement.
Whatever the case, repeatedly assess your progress in the coming year. Adjust a variable in your strategy–maybe it’s adding videos to your website, or adding an email signup form to your Facebook page–and see if it makes a difference. If not, that’s fine - try again with a different variable!
TL;DR
Pastoral leaders can develop more robust, effective church communications through mission-driven, data-informed church communications. There’s no secret sauce - just some assessment, goal-setting, and follow through. I’ll be sharing more information on the assessment process, so stay tuned!
