The easiest hi-tech way to reach visitors and members on autopilot.
Email and text is not enough. Don't forget about chat. Affordable and easy to use.
Are you taking full advantage of the latest technology to connect with your vistors and members?
Is your weekly attendance not where you know it should be?
Do more of your members need to be engaged in ministry?
Would you like a better way to follow up with visitors?
Need a better way to collect info from vistors (and members)?
Are your emails and newsletters not getting read like they should?
Would you like to automate more of your church's social media?
Text and email are no longer enough. Today's audiences communicate across multiple platforms.
Chat is the latest communication to emerge as a must have for any organization serious about reaching more people.
Today's audience is "OMNICHANNEL"
Omnichannel = Accessing content and communicating across multiple platforms:
Some onmichannel data you should know:
- Organizations that adopt omni-channel strategies achieve 91% greater year-over-year retention rates compared to those that don’t.
- 98% of Americans switch between devices in the same day.
- 15 years ago the average consumer typically used two touch-points when buying an item and only 7% regularly used more than four. Today consumers use an average of almost six touch-points with nearly 50% regularly using more than four.
- 64% of people expect to receive real-time assistance regardless of the channel they use.
- 90% of people expect consistent interactions across channels.
"OK, but what does all this have to do with my church?"
While your church may not be a store selling a product, the trends in communications and marketing technology are grooming your members and potential members to expect the same methods of communication from your church.
Do you have to stay up to date with every latest technology the business world is using to connect and retain customers? No, of course not.
But you also can't afford to ignore what the data is teaching us the people we are called to reach.
As churches, we must do all we can to communicate our message to the world however they are listening and across whatever platforms they are using.
Today, that means websites, social media, text messaging, and yes Chat!
What is a chat?
Online chat is also referred to as instant messaging or direct messaging.
It's a back and forth, real time conversation where each person is actively waiting to receive and reply to the other person's message.
It's like text messaging, but it doesn't happen via your phone number. Instead, the chat happens on a chat or messaging platform, such as Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, or a website's chat widget where you communicate real time with someone from customer service.
Chances are, you're already using chat to communicate with friends, family, and businesses online.
What is a chat bot?
A chat bot is a specific type of computer software that preprograms conversations that happen in an online chat.
Think of it as having hundreds or thousands of simultaneous online chats with different people about your church... all on autopilot.
With a chat bot, you don't need to have someone present to respond to every message someone sends you. The bot replies to the person based on what they say.
It's a way to get people the info they needs immediately, which the data today has demonstrated to be a priority for today's audience.
What is a Messenger Bot and how will it benefit my church?
A Messenger Bot is a chat bot that lives inside of Messenger.
Messenger is Facebook's chat app. When you "inbox" someone (send them a message) in Facebook, you are using Messenger.
7 benefits of Messenger Bots by Church Chat Bots
Over 2 billion people are already using Messenger
You get the opportunity to converse about your church on a platform your visitor and members are already using daily to talk to their friends and family. It's like being welcomes into their living room!
Your messages will have an 80% open rate
Most organizations find that only 20% of marketing email they send gets opened. Churches tend to see a bit higher open rate, but with messages you send through Messenger statistically see an 80% open rate!
Your messages will follow each recipient
Most organizations find that only 20% of marketing email they send gets opened. Churches tend to see a bit higher open rate, but with messages you send through Messenger statistically see an 80% open rate!
Messenger inboxes are way less crowded than email inboxes
The data shows that the average person receives 121 emails per day. As you can see it's VERY easy for your church's emails to get lost in this sea.
Saves you weeks and months of man hours
We save you time 2 ways.
- By using our church chat bot templates, you'll save weeks and even months of man hours by not having to create them yourself.
- Once up and running, the chat bot will save you additional time indefinitely since you won't need to have anyone responding anymore to messages people send you through Facebook. And even if you don't get a lot of messages now, once your bot starts working for you, that will increase.
Saves you over $2,000
We've spent countless hours strategizing and building church chat bot templates to be effective for a myriad of needs churches have. Most custom made Messenger bots with the amount of content a church needs start around $2,500. By creating quality templates, we're able to provide this service at a 90% discount, saving you at least $2,000.
Position your church at the head of latest digital communication shift
Data has shown that chat is becoming a necessity for winning organizations. You can position your church ahead of this shfit today with a Church Chat Bot.
Here's a live bot in use by a church using one of our templates. With Church Chat Bots, you will get this exact bot, but of course with the ability to customize the names, locations, times, etc. for your church.
Church Information Station
- Your virtual church receptionist in Facebook Messenger including:
- Call the church
- Get Directions
- Email the church
- Service Times
- Visit your church's website
Unlimited Bot
- Includes everything in Church Information Station and the Starter Bot plus these additional Church Chat Bot conversations:
- Your sermons in audio or video
- Upcoming sermon promotion
- Sermon discussions
- Testimonials / Member spotlight
- Weekly devotionals or inspiration messages
- Follow up with visitors
- Follow up with salvation decisions
- Follow up with rededication decisions
- New member follow up
- Plus all future Church Chat Bot conversations including:
- Holiday conversations
- Event registration
- Volunteer recruitment
- Christian education
- Surveys
Starter Bot
- Includes everything in Church Information Station plus these additional church chat bot conversations:
- Plan Your Visit Walkthrough
- Invite A Guest
- Online Give
- Prayer Requests
- Meet the Pastors
- Ministries
Between Facebook Posting, Commenting, Sharing, And Going Live, Do You Ever Wonder...
Is The Time I Spend On Facebook Trying To Promote The Church Actually Worth It?
Or
Are you seeing good results from your efforts on Facebook, but you simply don't have the time to do as much as you could?
Whether you're a pastor, a church staff member, or a volunteer that's tasked with managing your church's social media pages, you fall into one of these 3 categories:
You're a social media natural.
You've got large followings and you're all over Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and maybe even Snapchat! Your social media posting, commenting, and sharing is worked into your everyday routine and is simply a part of your life.
You know you're way around social media.
You know the importance of it, but you find the amount of time it takes to do it right a bit daunting. You know you should be posting more than you do to interact with more people about the church, but a lot things in life take priority over social media, right?
You know what it is, but you really don't do social media.
You know you're supposed to be doing it because that's where everyone is, but you're not really into it, you don't really want to learn how to do it better, and you have no idea where you'd find the time even if you wanted to.
I personally fall into category 2 most of the time.
I'm a church volunteer staff member. I'm not paid and I'm part time, but I manage our church's website, app, and I'm supposed to be over the church's social media. However, I must admit that while I have plans on how to promote our church and attract more visitors on social media, I simply haven't managed to find the time to do it.
EVERYONE IS ON FACEBOOK RIGHT?
If you're like me, you know it's important for a church to be active on social media, especially to reach people 35 and under. But truthfully, Facebook's reach goes well into people in their 60's now, so you really can reach everyone from teens to seniors there.
But no matter how well my intentions have been, I simply haven't found the time to make the most out of Facebook for our church.
And whether you fall into categories 1, 2, or 3 above - a social media wiz, knowledgeable but lacking time, or a total novice - we all share the same limitation, and it's a limitation that is costly for anyone trying to accomplish anything on social media, and that is TIME!
Social Media is Time Consuming
I don't mean posting a few times here and there. I mean that doing social media right and in a way that attracts new people to your church CONSISTENTLY IS SOOOO TIME CONSUMING 🙁
SOCIAL MEDIA CAN EAT UP VALUABLE TIME
It just takes a lot of time to get the most out of social media. Posting, going live, looking at other people's posts and then commenting on theirs can end up stealing away a lot of your time. I know it has mine.
I KNOW BECAUSE I WAS THERE
Like you and your staff, I was tasked with attracting new visitors to church through social media, as well as with training others to do so. It wasn't easy to do as a part time volunteer, working with other part time volunteers. And even if you're a full time paid church staff, you're plate is already overloaded. I know how it is working in ministry, whether as a paid staff, which I have been before, or as a volunteer, which I am now.
LOOKING FOR A SYSTEM, BUT...
Churches are all about systems. There's systems for growth, systems for discipleship, systems for finances, systems for training, systems for systems lol. I had even put together my own social media system for the church, but I kept running out of time. Other than finding more hours in a day or a new person joining the church who was already a social media expert with a lot of time on their hands, I wasn't sure how this situation was going to change for me.
BUT THEN I DISCOVERED A POWERFUL NEW TIME-SAVING SOCIAL MEDIA SECRET THAT MANY EXPERTS HAVE RECENTLY BEGUN USING
What did I found out? Believe it or not, what I found out is this: A lot of big companies and internet marketing pros have begun using software to automate their conversations on Facebook, meaning they can have hundreds and even thousands of simultaneous conversations going on with different people all at the same time...all on autopilot, meaning they don't have to have someone in Facebook replying to people 24-7. It can even happen while they're asleep!
So when I found out about this little secret the experts were using, I knew I had to see how to apply this to my work in ministry. If this stuff worked like the technology promised, it was going to be the answer to most of my church-related social media woes.
First and foremost, I would go from being time-poor to time-rich when it comes to social media, meaning this software would begin to put the hours in for me. All I would have to do is set it up, and it would then run on autopilot.
I knew if this software could be used to help companies sell widgets, weight loss pills, and shoes on the internet, it could certainly be used to help bring new people to our church to hear the gospel and connect with other people who could help them along their journey to becoming the person God created them to be.
I believe in our church or I wouldn't be there. I know you believe in your church also. As the (capital C) Church, we have the best product on the planet. We just need to share it with more people, and inviting people to church has always been a good place to start.
I thought to myself, this technology could basically get Facebook to start connecting with new people and inviting them to church on autopilot. This is amazing!
Introducing Facebook Messenger Bots for Churches and Ministries
The new way to automate your church's Facebook marketing efforts.
Literally talk to hundreds or thousand of prospective new guests simultaneously...on autopilot!
Like I said, I was supposed to be managing our church's social media, but I simply had not been able to find the time or adequately train other volunteers.
I had even wrote down an elaborate plan to promote the church on Facebook. It involved posting weekly about the sermons, coordinating the sharing times, integrating our members into the plan, and a bunch of other stuff. However, lack of time to execute all this kept holding me back.
Automated church marketing on Facebook
But with Facebook Messenger bots, I had the opportunity to create automated conversations with unlimited people about our church...right inside of an app that people are already using everyday. It doesn't get any better than that!
Better than trying to market the church by email or text messaging
That means I didn't have to try to email people, only to see my email get lost in their inbox and never opened. And I didn't have to try to get people to give me their cell phone number so I could put them on a text list, which only works for people who are already members of your church. It's not likely you're going to get a new person to give you their cell phone number and volunteer for you send them automated text messages.
Doesn't require much technical training
Training people to manage a website, do graphic design, or write email newsletters is either highly technical, requires a creative aptitude, or simply takes a lot of time. This can make it difficult to build a volunteer marketing team at church. The other option is paid professional marketing staff, but most churches don't have a budget for that.
Messenger bots solve of lot of these problems. Once configured, they run on autopilot. No need for a lot of ongoing technical maintenance from a human.
Spend less time on social media and more time with real hands on ministry
And most importantly, I don't have to spend tons of time on Facebook trying to grow my church's social media following manually with a bunch of posting and commenting if I didn't want to. I could spend time with my wife and kids instead. I could spend time on other more direct forms of ministry, making personal contact with people, or whatever else I could doing with my time.
And I could develop a duplicatable system that other churches can use!
Robert Taylor, Founder of Preachnet and Builder of "Brother Bot"
My name is Robert Taylor. I have been managing church marketing and websites as both paid staff and a volunteer since the turn of the century. That makes it sound so long ago, but literally, I started volunteering with a ministry in 2000, and shortly thereafter began managing that ministry's marketing efforts.
Currently, at the church I attend in Houston, TX, I designed and manage our website and our app, and I am assembling a new volunteer marketing team.
I also serve on the church's business team and board of Elders. I also teach at various functions inside and outside of the church, including small groups and prison ministry.
Imagine connecting with hundreds of potential visitors with little to no effort on your part or that of your team!
As well as get more of your existing members involved in ministry.
Bring more visitors every Sunday morning.
Get more people to join small groups, Sunday School, or your disciple programs.
Remind missing members to come back.
Increase tithes and offerings.
Connect with more people in need of prayer.
Target specific people (both members and non-members) with sermons you preach about issues that relate to them specifically because you used a bot to engage them in conversations in which they tell you what issues are most important to them.
And so much more than can all happen on autopilot, at the convenience of the person you're trying to reach, and all inside of an app they're already used to using everyday, that already has their email address, and sometimes even their phone number. Your ability to follow up with new prospects before they step foot in your church is exponentially higher in Facebook Messenger bots than any other form of marketing.
And spend less time on your phone on social media when you should be spending it engaged with your wife and kids (oh wait... maybe that's just me lol).