In an era when churches’ digital presence can make or break community engagement, finding innovative ways to reach your congregation and attract new members is paramount. The Cross Church’s Easter ad campaign is a compelling case study that demonstrates how strategic digital marketing can significantly boost church attendance and community awareness. This post divulges the details and results of their successful campaign, offering insights and inspiration for other churches looking to expand their reach during crucial holidays on the Christian calendar.
Why your church needs an Easter campaign
Easter is one of the most attended days on the church calendar, making it a perfect opportunity to reach out to those in your community who might be searching for a church for the first time. In today’s digital age, most people’s first touchpoint with a church is online, when they search for churches near them. An effective Easter ad campaign can help your church be the first result on the page, creating an instant connection that encourages potential visitors to walk through your doors.
The difference between Google Display Ads and Facebook ads
When it comes to digital advertising, two popular platforms stand out: Google Display Ads and Facebook ads. They each have their strengths.
-What are Google Display Ads?
Google Display Ads appear on websites across the internet, reaching people as they browse various sites. These are ads users see during their typical internet use and can click on to view your website. Google Display Ads are a great way to build brand awareness and reach a broader audience already searching for keywords related to your outreach campaign. They make a great addition to your church’s other marketing efforts within your community.
-What are Facebook ads?
Facebook ads appear in a user’s Facebook and Instagram feeds. This offers a way for you to create highly targeted ad campaigns based on the demographics, interests, and behaviors of your target audience. Facebook and Instagram ads can provide additional ways to engage with potential church visitors and drive new traffic to your website.
Hiring Missional Marketing to solve problems
The Cross Church recognized that reaching its community effectively during the Easter season needed to be a high priority. So, they partnered with Missional Marketing to leverage our expertise in running church marketing ad campaigns. The Missional Marketing coaches understand the nuances of digital advertising and how to create campaigns that resonate with potential church visitors. As specialists who do this for a living, we bring an array of skills and knowledge to your ad campaign, so you don’t need to spend extra hours researching technicalities and can focus on the areas of your ministry you’re most passionate about instead.
The Results: An Effective Easter Ad Campaign
The Cross Church Easter ad campaign managed by Missional Marketing yielded impressive results. Simply looking at these statistics demonstrates the scope to which this ad campaign positioned The Cross Church to connect with new visitors in the community throughout the Easter season.
-Google Display Ads
The Google Display Ads our team ran for The Cross Church were budgeted to be shown within search results and web pages approximately 9,643 times. However, because of our skillful ad optimization, the ads were actually shown a total of 42,604 times, which is 4.4x more than initially expected! Because they achieved such visibility, the Google display ads alone resulted in 461 clicks to the church website.
-Facebook/Instagram ads
For The Cross Church Easter ad campaign, Facebook and Instagram ads were budgeted to be shown 10,000 times. As the campaign gained traction, however, they ended up being shown a total of 20,515 times, which is more than twice the projected amount. Because of this, these ads reached more than 10,000 people locally and generated 1,620 clicks to the church website.
Throughout the campaign, several distinct Facebook/Instagram ads ran, so here is a snapshot of some of the most successful ads and their individual traction:
- Ad A: 1,420 clicks, 19,550 impressions, 7.26% click-through rate (CTR)
- Ad B: 112 clicks, 527 impressions, 21.25% CTR
- Ad C: 30 clicks, 399 impressions, 20.05% CTR
- Ad D: 8 clicks, 39 impressions, 20.51% CTR
Overall, these ads were shown a total of 63,119 times and generated 2,081 clicks to The Cross Church website.
These results demonstrate the campaign’s success in reaching and engaging the local community, leading to increased Easter service attendance.
How Missional Marketing can help your church
Missional Marketing partners with churches to provide coaching and ad campaign management. This allows you to focus on your ministry while our team handles the complexities of digital advertising. Our team of ad campaign professionals brings years of experience and in-depth knowledge of running successful church-focused campaigns.
The purpose of running ads for your church isn’t to be sales-y or to “sell” Jesus. Rather, it’s about creating visibility and extending an invitation to those in your community who might be seeking a church home. By partnering with Missional Marketing, your church can experience the same kind of impactful results that The Cross Church saw with its Easter campaign.
Ready to reach more people in your community? Book a consultation call with Missional Marketing today to discuss how we can help create an effective ad campaign for your church.