Pro Church Podcast With Brady Shearer

My entire professional career is dedicated to helping churches understand digital media. And in my experience, I see churches generally take one of two routes: either they’ll blindly copy other churches they look up to - or, they’ll work to understand how digital works for themselves. Here’s the secret though: copying another church can actually be a smarter option than learning everything yourself. The problem? You need to do it the right way. And in this podcast, you’ll learn exactly how to do that.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/how-to-copy-other-churches-and-get-away-with-it/   What's In This Session? This topic is important to us (0:45) Our most popular video (1:46) Three layers: Strategy/Structure/Style (2:12) #1: Church App (2:50) #2: Live Streaming (4:01) #3: Instagram (5:45)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: 21-Day Social Media Case Study Why You Should Never Copy Elevation Church Elevation Church on Instagram The Worst Current Graphic Design Tre

There’s a certain category of social media post that most churches shy away from. But I don’t want you to be one of those churches! Because when you exclude this type of post from your social strategy - not only will your church’s social identity appear a lot more boring - but there are a trio of negative consequences you’ll have to deal with as well. So in this podcast, I’ll reveal what this category of social post is - and why every church needs it.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/1-missing-ingredient-for-most-churches-on-social/   What's In This Session? A Facebook Thread (0:53) A Fundamental Misunderstanding (1:35) #1: Micro content is telling a story over several days (2:34) #2: Your social identity should be congruent with your in person identity (4:47) #3: Algorithms are constantly adjusting based on response (6:17)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: 21-Day Social Media Case Study 5 NEW & INNOVATIVE Social Media Templates For 2019 Pro Church Tool

Millennials are currently the largest generation in the North American workforce. Meaning, if your church is trying to reach your community, the largest cohort you’ll be aiming to reach…is likely Millennials. So what do we know about this age group? What's unique about the first generation to reach adulthood after growing up on the Internet? In this podcast, I’ll share seven revealing facts about Millennials to help you understand what’s really going on with the Millennial generation.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/7-new-revealing-facts-about-millennials/   What's In This Session? #1: High Education (2:10) #2: Lots Of College = Lots Of Debt. (2:23) #3: Lots Of Debt = Lesser Home Buying (3:54) #4: A Delay In Having Kids (4:17) #5: Living At Home, Living With Others, Workaholics (5:41) #6: A Cloudy Future (7:17) #7: A Change Of Culture (7:40)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: 21-Day Social Media Case Study We're Making Life Too Hard For Millennials | New Yo

A lot of churches want more followers on social media. But how do you actually get them? In my experience, there are four different tactics you can use to earn more followers on social media...the right way (no buying followers here). And in this podcast, you’ll learn what these four tactics are and why your church has an unfair advantage that you may not even be aware of.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/how-to-get-more-social-media-followers-for-your-church/   What's In This Session? #1: Cross-promote (1:36) #2: Contest (2:54) #3: The Snowball Effect (4:53) #4: Paid Advertising (8:00) Don't buy followers (9:10)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: 21-Day Social Media Case Study Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram  

A three-axis gimbal is a camera stabilizer that allows you to perfectly balance your video camera in order to capture buttery smooth and cinematic shots. Frankly, it’s an amazing video tool that wasn’t accessible to churches even ten years ago. But, how do you use it best? In this podcast, you’ll learn five advanced gimbal moves that we like to use every time we take out our camera.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/5-advanced-gimbal-movements-for-church-videos/   What's In This Session? Our Preferred Gimbal (1:12) Move #1: Endless Dolly (2:41) Move #2: Low To The Ground (4:32) Move #3: Straight Up (5:47) Move #4: Drone In A Car (7:23) Move #5: Infinity Roll (9:02)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: 21-Day Social Media Case Study DJI Ronin S Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram 

Imagine working on an awesome social media post for your church, only to publish it and see it fall flat. None of us want that. And this is why it’s important to understand the best and worst times to be publishing on social media. On the other hand, there’s really no exact science to this. So in this podcast, you’ll learn about the research we do have for optimizing post times - along with a number of other methods we like that you can use to maximize engagement on your next social media post.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/how-churches-can-identify-the-best-times-to-post-on-social-media/   What's In This Session? #1: Post quality (1:24) #2: Use the social media grading formula (3:35) #3: Find the wave, not the spike (5:16) #4: Industry data (6:03) #5: Facebook (Non-profits) (6:25) #6: Instagram (Non-profits) (7:20) #7: Native insights (7:54)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: 21-Day Social Media Case Study Best Times To Post On Social Media: 2018 Industr

Scheduling your church’s social media posts ahead of time is a great way to save time and automate a tedious chore. But with so many scheduling tools available - how can you know which one is best? Moreover, what about Instagram and it's strict scheduling rules? In this podcast, you’ll learn the only two social media scheduling tools I recommend for churches - along with a host of other scheduling tools that I think aren’t worth your time.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/the-best-worst-social-media-scheduling-tools-for-churches/   What's In This Session? Intro (0:40) Buffer (2:02) Sked Social (3:37) Honorable Mention: Sprout Social (6:40) Platforms we used to use (7:08)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: 21-Day Social Media Case Study Buffer Sked Social Sprout Social Grum Hootsuite Edgar Later Hopper HQ SmarterQueue Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Ins

I’ve professionally photographed everything from weddings to portraits, from concerts to corporate, and in every one of these situations I use 3 advanced techniques that help me get the job done. Taking photos in church is no exception, and in this podcast you’ll learn 3 advanced church photography tips from a professional that will surely help take your photo game to a whole, notha, level.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/3-advanced-church-photography-tips/   What's In This Session? #1: Foreground Element (1:37) #2: Backbutton Focus (6:17) #3: Make Use Of Artificial Light (8:23)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: 21-Day Social Media Case Study Prism Backbutton Focus Explained Off Camera Flash Triggers Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram  

Scheduling your church’s social media posts ahead of time is a great way to save time and automate a tedious chore. But with so many scheduling tools available - how can you know which one is best? Moreover, what about Instagram and it's strict scheduling rules? In this podcast, you’ll learn the only two social media scheduling tools I recommend for churches - along with a host of other scheduling tools that I think aren’t worth your time.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/7-strategies-your-church-needs-to-try-before-the-end-of-the-year/   What's In This Session? You don't know until you try (1:00) #1: Limit your Sunday morning announcements (2:25) #2: Host a contest on social media (3:13) #3: Set your baseline for church growth and health (4:37) #4: Publish a volunteer story post on social media (5:50) #5: Remove any stock images of people's faces on your website (7:18) #6: Score the last 90 days of social media posts (7:58) #7: Follow me (8:34)   Show Notes & Resources Mentione

Over the years, I’ve offered advice and had 1-on-1 conversations with thousands of churches - big churches, small churches, and everything in between. And through these back and forth discussions, it’s become apparent to me that certain beliefs exist about smaller churches - beliefs that are simply untrue. And so in this podcast, you’ll learn about five small church beliefs that I continually encounter - and you’ll also learn why each of these beliefs is actually a myth, because all five of them are demonstrably untrue.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/5-myths-about-small-churches/   What's In This Session? #1: Most people prefer megachurches (0:58) #2: Young people prefer bigger churches (3:23) #3: Smaller churches lack [INSERT HERE] that bigger churches offer (5:19) #4: Smaller churches are at a disadvantage because they are under resourced (8:29) #5: Smaller churches will never have the impact that larger churches do (9:28)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resour

There’s a new graphic design trend that is the absolute worst. But also…the best. Not surprisingly, you can blame young people for the popularity of this design trend. What is this design trend you might be wondering? And how can it be so amazing yet simultaneously terrible? By the end of this podcast, you’ll have your answer.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/the-worst-current-graphic-design-trend-and-why-i-love-it-so-much/   What's In This Session? A copy of a copy (0:36) Brutalism - "ugly is the new black" (1:30) Example #1: Microsoft Word Lord's Prayer (5:16) Example #2: Bible Reading At The Well (5:26) Example #3: Email From Paul (5:38) Example #4: Microsoft Word (6:22) Like all trends, this trend will die (7:38)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: The Ultimate Guide To Measuring Church Growth The Endless Struggle Between Attention & Artistry Gary Vaynerchuk on Instagram Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady S

Young people are leaving church at an alarming rate. So what can your church do about it? How can you make sure that young people never leave *your* church? Simply stated, there’s one thing you should be focusing on more than anything else. It isn’t more extravagant lighting or stage design. And it isn’t a haze-filled auditorium. In fact, this one thing couldn’t be more different from those types of aims. The best part? We’ve actually got real data from churches on how this one thing makes a difference. And in this podcast, I’ll share with you what that one thing is.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/how-to-make-sure-young-people-never-leave-your-church-gen-z/   What's In This Session? We talk a lot about young people (0:46) One thing your church should focus on to keep young people (1:20) Storytime (1:41) Close personal friendships (4:18) Intentional relationships (4:28)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: The Ultimate Guide To Measuring Church Growth Barna 5

Churchome, the popular Seattle-based church founded by Judah Smith, has launched a brand new campus. Not in Nashville, not in Toronto, and not in Boston - so where? The palm of your hand. That’s right. Instead of launching a physical campus, Churchome launched a digital campus. And to put it lightly, a lot of people think it’s a bad idea. So in this podcast, we’ll explain exactly what Churchome Global is, its flaws & triumphs, and what it all means for the future of how we do church.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/churchome-global-review-yay-or-nay/   What's In This Session? The DM (0:45) About Churchome (1:26) #1: A church app?? (2:19) #2: Judah got ratio'd (2:58) #3: Community is a core goal (5:04) #4: This can be good for the disenfranchised (5:36) #5: Oversimplified two camps of church (7:34) #6: I'm okay with trying different things (9:37)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on In

We’re living through the biggest communication shift in 500 years. Church attendance is declining - especially amongst younger people - so what can we do? Especially if you’re a church that's trending in the wrong direction - what can be done? In this podcast, I’ll share my experience of consulting with churches that have turned it around (and churches that haven’t) and present you with a 3-step framework for making real and lasting change.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/how-to-turn-around-a-dying-church/   What's In This Session? The disclaimer (1:08) The biggest communication shift (1:33) Step #1: Acknowledge (2:58) Step #2: Solidify (4:19) Step #3: Experiment (8:06)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: The New Social Media Checklist For Churches Church Growth Calculator Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram 

   There are a series of social media tools that I use every single day to schedule, collaborate, and evaluate my activities on social. Many of these tools are free to use. And frankly, I couldn’t do what I do on social without them. And by the end of this podcast, you’ll know what these tools are and why I love them so much.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/5-social-media-tools-i-use-every-day/   What's In This Session? Buffer for scheduling (0:58) Airdrop/Dropbox for sharing (1:57) Sproutsocial for managing (3:25) Instagram for experimenting, DMs, and insights (4:33) Trello/Google Sheets for inspiration and planning (7:02)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: The New Social Media Checklist For Churches Hootsuite Later Instagram Layout Buffer Airdrop Dropbox Sproutsocial Trello Google Sheets Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram  

When a person thinks about attending your church for the first time, there's no shortage of questions and concerns that can run through their head. What about kids? What about parking? What should I wear!? Sadly, many churches actually make this worse by not considering what it’s like to be a visitor in their services. So in this podcast, you’ll learn what tends to make church visitors uncomfortable and how to avoid those pitfalls.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/7-ways-churches-make-visitors-feel-uncomfortable/   What's In This Session? 1: Parking (2:35) 2: Kids (2:35) 3: Dress Code (2:35) 4: What's a Service Like? (5:24) 5: What If I'm New? (6:04) 6: Explain Christian Language (6:20) 7: Asking For Too Much Information (8:12)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: The New Social Media Checklist For Churches 7 Social Media Metrics You Should Care About (For Churches) Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Inst

In this podcast, you're going to learn three advanced tips for prepping your church's services. I'll show you how my church prepares for Sunday each and every week, and by the end of this episode you'll know exactly how to implement these tips in your church as well.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/7-fixable-mistakes-churches-make-on-social-media/   What's In This Session? #1: Infrequent Posting (2:25) #2: Choosing Width Over Depth (3:07) #3: Consistent Visual Branding (4:24) #4: Being Overly Promotional (7:03) #5: Lack Of Responsiveness (8:09) #6: Failure To Measure And Adjust (9:08) #7: Disrespecting The Importance Of Social Media (10:03)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: The New Social Media Checklist For Churches 7 Social Media Metrics You Should Care About (For Churches) Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram  

There’s a new camera that has just been released and it's completely disrupting the video production world. Not only that, but I think this camera is one of the best options for churches in 2019. It’s affordable, it’s versatile, and it’s extremely high quality. And so in this podcast, I’ll reveal what camera I’m talking about, along with my preferred configuration for it when it comes to lenses, stabilizers, and more.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/the-ultimate-church-camera-setup-for-2019/   What's In This Session? Story time (1:13) Pros (3:21) Lens options (6:56) Cons (10:12) What it's good for (11:19) What it's not good for (11:40)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resources: The New Social Media Checklist For Churches Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K Ronin S Panasonic 14mm f. 2.5 Metabones Ultra Speedbooster Tamron 24-70mm Panasonic Gh5 Ursa Mini Pro Ronin M Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram B

Social media has completely changed in the last couple of years. And traditional tactics like consistent branding and promotional posts don't work like they used to. So...you might be wondering: what DOES work on social media? In this podcast, I’ll be revealing five social media templates that are completely new & innovative - and unlike anything you’ve probably seen churches post on social media before.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/5-new-innovative-social-media-templates-for-churches-in-2019/   What's In This Session? Goals (1:22) Template #1: Countdown (2:51) Template #2: Elimination (4:33) Template #3: Slideshow (5:46) Template #4: Bible Reading (7:31) Template #5: Myth/Fact (9:15)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: The New Social Media Checklist For Churches Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram

Here’s the deal: every smart social media strategy begins with three simple words: stop the scroll. Because if you can’t get your audience to stop scrolling on their social feeds, it doesn’t matter how amazing your message is - because no one will ever hear it. But you might be wondering…how do you actually get people to stop scrolling in the first place? So in this podcast, I’ll share with you five strategies to earn attention on social media - five simple ways to stop the scroll.   ***VISIT THE FULL POST HERE: https://prochurchtools.com/5-ways-to-stop-the-scroll-on-social-media/   What's In This Session? #1: Images of human faces (1:39) #2: Focus on the first 3 seconds of your video (2:24) #3: Use familiar designs in unfamiliar places (4:44) #4: Extreme minimalism (6:15) #5: Repeat equals defeat (8:42)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned: Featured Resource: The New Social Media Checklist For Churches Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram B