Have you ever wondered how ministries like The Tide come up with a media strategy to reach people for Christ and to train disciples? Are you perhaps interested in tapping into media to help carry out the Great Commission in your own life?
An effective media strategy has the same foundations as any ministry strategy. There needs to be a clearly defined vision for a target audience or people to be reached. There also needs to be a committed and united team which is dedicated to following the Lord. The entire pursuit must be bathed in extraordinary prayer.
There are also several challenges and opportunities specific to media which should be considered, and we will focus on one here.
In traditional ministry, outreach is done in-person. Sometimes, there is a proclamation in a public space, such as a concert or rally, but more often contact is initiated with people in our spheres of influence – family, friends, co-workers, and the like.
One of the advantages of media is its potential to reach a much broader audience than an in-person ministry. Media has the potential to engage thousands of people who tune in via radio, scroll on social media, watch on YouTube or satellite television, etc.
This is a significant advantage, because media can penetrate geographic, demographic, political, and technological boundaries and reach people who would otherwise be out of reach. For example, those in remote areas without Internet access can be engaged via short wave radio players. Various media – satellite TV, radio, Internet – have the potential to penetrate borders into regimes where Christian preaching is illegal or otherwise restricted.
However, there is a flip side to this. Media is generally broadcast widely, sometimes indiscriminately. This is a double-edged sword, since an effective media strategy is one that is directed at a target audience. In order to fine tune our approach, we need to develop what is called a “media persona.” In marketing, a persona is a generalized, fictional character who has the traits of the target buyer. In a media ministry, a persona represents the target audience that the ministry is trying to reach for Christ.
These are some questions to consider when developing a media persona:
- What is their spiritual background? How do they perceive the Christian faith?
- What is their socio-economic status and level of education?
- What is their environment (agrarian rural, busy urban, inter-connected village, large family, etc.?)
- How (radio, television, cell phone, laptop, etc. ), where and when (during commutes, evenings, Sabbath days, etc. ) do they access media?
- What is their age and phase of life?
- What kind of relationships do they have?
- What are their typical felt needs?
These are the types of questions that our ministry partners wrestle with as they develop their strategies and their broadcast messages. By defining a media persona carefully and accurately, the media ministry can then develop content that is tailored specifically to reach its target population.
This is usually better than a generic message, which may draw in people from all walks of life and could overextend the ministry team and cause it to lose direction.
One example of this strategy being implemented is as follows: here at The Tide, our broadcasts are driven by local ministry partners, who know their target audience more deeply than we could. We believe this results in messages that are more relevant to their intended audience.
In future blog entries we will discuss other aspects of developing a media ministry. Stay tuned!