6 Tips for How Your Church Should Use Canva for Marketing and Design - katlyn durrence, marketing communications coordinator
In today’s digital age, it is important to recognize that your first impression is no longer the physical presence of your church property; instead, your first impression as a church is through digital platforms like your social media accounts and church website.
76% of consumers look at online presence before physically visiting a business (Visual Objects). This stat translates to your church.
The perk of living in the digital age is that there are now so many resources and software out there that can help you get started in establishing and maintaining your online presence as a church. The tension here lies not with the decision to have an online presence or not, but how to stand out amongst all the digital noise. In this article, we will explore the tension of how to stand out amongst the digital noise and why it’s important to avoid being a Canva template church
First, let’s establish what exactly a Canva template church is. While it is convenient, using just Canva templates is not overall beneficial to your church’s presence. A Canva template church can be defined as one that repeatedly relies on cookie-cutter design templates that could be claimed and used by any entity. We understand the ease of logging onto a digital design platform, clicking the first template that catches your eye, dropping in your church information, downloading the design, and then having your next event graphic or social media post. However, this process takes the unique identity of your church and your community out of consideration.
Let’s address the problems your church could face by only using generic templates for your designs:
Saturation in Similarity: Have you ever Googled church events in your area or been scrolling on social media and thought to yourself, “I feel like I’ve seen this post before,” or “this graphic looks very familiar”? Your eye recognizes when you have seen similar designs or imagery before. Because this happens, it becomes harder to grab someone’s attention as they are scrolling on social media or browsing the internet because their brain computes that they have already seen this before and not tell them to stop and look at the content you are putting out there.
Lack of Consistency: In a related thought, your church needs to establish a consistent digital presence. If you are selecting a template design for every website graphic or event design, then chances are the content designs are going to look very different every time you start designing something. While this process is convenient for you, it can be confusing to your church members, even if they don’t verbalize it. It is important to have a consistent digital presence and visual identity, so when your church members, or even new people, see your designs and imagery, they recognize that those things are from your church.
Missed Opportunities to Portray the Church’s Personality and Create Connection: When people are browsing the internet and searching for a church to go to, they are more often than not searching for people who look and act like them. They are searching for a sense of belonging. They want to find a community to belong to. Believe it or not, your digital identity communicates this concept of belonging. If you choose to design graphics that look the same as every other church, you are not showing potential new guests the unique community your church can provide them!
So now you are probably saying, “I understand the importance of not being a Canva template church.” But now there is a new question: “How do I practically not be a Canva Template church?” Here’s how:
Create a Style Guide: This is your first step in moving away from being a Canva template church. As a church staff, establish what you want the external (and digital) look and feel of your church to be. This can include fonts, colors, and other design elements that will remain consistent across every design or graphic your church creates. This helps to reinforce your church’s brand and overall presence in your community so that when potential first-time guests see your design, they recognize it as part of your church. Additionally, this helps to communicate the personality and unique community that your church can provide a visitor. This is how you will actually stand out and visually differentiate yourself from other churches.
Use Templates as a Starting Point: Templates or generic designs are not all bad. They are a great starting point once you have your style guide in place. Templates provide an easy and great start to applying your church’s look and feel. Pick your design template and apply your brand standards (or style guide) to the design. This will utilize your church’s specific fonts, colors, and design imagery so that the designs look and feel like your church.
Resource Other People who are Skilled in This Area at your Church: Finding members of your church to be on a content/design team is a great place for people to serve. You probably have a church member or two who do marketing and communications for their full-time jobs or hobbies. Intentionally ask them to serve your church by taking photos, editing content, creating graphics, or helping institute your style guide! Maximize the leadership and expertise of your church members to further the mission of your church in your community!
While design tools like Canva help remove the burden of getting started with content creation, it is important for your church not to be a Canva template church. To most effectively meet new people in your community, you need to communicate the look and feel of your church and the unique sense of belonging that your church provides to your community. The next time you are using a template design for your church, ask yourself, “Does this clearly communicate who we are as a church, or does it look like it could also come from the church down the street?”