Learn how church communications expert Katie Allred navigates digital platforms to enhance online church engagement and community-building in the digital age.
Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Amazon
In this episode
Learn practical strategies for enhancing your church's digital communications with expert Katie Allred, founder of Church Communications Group. From managing social media engagement to optimizing YouTube content, discover how to create meaningful two-way conversations with your congregation online. Katie shares insights on effectively using Facebook groups, responding to comments, and leveraging AI for ministry efficiency.
Key Topics:
-
Engaging authentically with social media comments
-
Creating searchable YouTube content for ministry
-
Using Facebook groups vs pages effectively
-
Positioning church content for better reach
-
Managing digital community conversations
Related episodes:
Episode transcript
Ryan Dunn [00:00:03]:Welcome back to another episode of my comm, the podcast providing tools to communicate your church's story and bring your congregation into the digital age. In this episode, we get to know Katie already, a church communications expert. Who's been at the forefront of helping churches navigate the ever evolving digital landscape for over a decade. Katie communicates her unique journey from moderating Harry Potter forms as a kid to founding the church communications group, a company dedicated to enhancing how churches communicate both internally and externally. In this conversation, I really wanted to explore how we can best utilize digital platforms for two way communication. And Katie offers some practical strategies, such as engaging with social media comments, like replying to all of them, optimizing content on platforms like YouTube and Facebook, and even integrating AI to streamline ministry work. Whether you're a seasoned church communicator or you're just getting started, there are plenty of insights and actionable tips in this episode to help you effectively communicate your church's story in the digital age. So get ready to be inspired and informed by Katie Allred's remarkable expertise and passion for church communications.
Ryan Dunn [00:01:21]:
And I'll tell you, if conversations like this are helpful for you, then we'd appreciate you sharing your gratitude by hitting the subscribe button on your podcast listening platform. If you've already done that, then maybe you wanna take that next step and leave a rating review or comment that really helps other people recognize the value of the Mycom podcast. Speaking of value, there are all kinds of valuable tools for ministry atcoaksbury.com. Are you looking for a small group study for lent perhaps? Well, check out a favorite, give up something bad for lent from beloved author, James Moore. That's available atcokesbury.com. You can get it today. All right. It's time.
Ryan Dunn [00:02:05]:
Let's get into that valuable conversation with church communications expert, Katie Allred. Well, Katie, I know I sent you a list of questions that kind of prepped our conversation. I'm actually go off script a little bit here just because I've never really met anybody who, got like a message from the Lord when they were 70 years old saying you will be a church communicator. I'm wondering how did you get into this work?
Katie Allred [00:02:33]:
Yeah. Well, I don't know if it was that clear. I, you know, stumbled into it. I think just as much as anybody else.
Ryan Dunn [00:02:42]:
I feel like, yeah, that is, somewhere out there, somebody is saying, well, you know, I didn't just stumble into it. I planned to it, but 90 something percent of us are like,
Katie Allred [00:02:51]:
oh, I'm
Ryan Dunn [00:02:51]:
just gonna find my way here.
Katie Allred [00:02:52]:
Exist really as a position or as a, field or an industry really before. So, yeah, it's definitely a new a a new thing which is great, but yeah. How did I get into it? I well, it goes back a while, and and it's because I started with Harry Potter forums as a kid. Yeah. So that's that's probably what you found on the internet. Is that what you found? Is that how we started this conversation?
Ryan Dunn [00:03:23]:
Well, yeah, I found that in your book. And I do want to note there that, you know, when I was in youth ministry, people were warning that, oh, Harry Potter is going to lead people away. Right. We can't let them read the books. And now here you are like, you know, I'm kind of doing this ministry because of Harry Potter community. That's amazing.
Katie Allred [00:03:41]:
Right. And the internet. Right. Which is, I was every parent's first nightmare, back in the late nineties and with with my Internet privacy. My parents had no idea what I was doing online, which you know was maybe to my benefit at the time, but I and I'm grateful that nothing bad happened, and that I was smart enough, I guess, to not give them my direct address. I was also, like, I lived on a dirt road in the middle of rural Alabama. Like, if somebody was gonna come find me, like, good luck. Like, you can hear some banjos playing or something.
Katie Allred [00:04:17]:
But I, yeah. So I I did Harry Potter forums as a kid. I, started 1, administrated 1, and, that's where I kind of fell in love with, like, online community in general and and not really knowing what that meant because online community wasn't a thing yet. But we did like these online events, and I just really fell in love with sharing the gospel online and, you know, just telling people about the good news. And I started looking into well, how does this translate really into my spiritual life? I have these giftings and that I feel like God has given me, but I'm not too sure where they fit. And but I do feel called to ministry in some kind of way. I've always felt that, and it's, you know, awful and great. I think everybody can probably.
Ryan Dunn [00:05:13]:
Yeah. Well said.
Katie Allred [00:05:15]:
It's it's awful and gray all at the same time because it's like, okay. But what does that mean? And then also, like, but where do I fit? You know? Especially if you don't feel like you're called to be a pastor necessarily.
Ryan Dunn [00:05:26]:
Yeah.
Katie Allred [00:05:27]:
And so I kind of just wondered with that for a while and studied computers in college because I thought, like, well, technology is sort of where I wanna go, but it didn't exactly make sense. And and I thought communication as it's so funny. As a study was too easy.
Ryan Dunn [00:05:49]:
Ouch. I
Katie Allred [00:05:50]:
know. I'm sorry. My eyes, I was told that the communications degree was too easy. So, I was told to do something else. And, it's funny though because I ended up getting my masters in communication, so don't worry. And it was not too easy. But I, yeah, I studied, like, computer science, which was way too difficult but silly, and I I enjoyed it. So I learned coding and stuff and thought that's where I was gonna go.
Katie Allred [00:06:15]:
And, yeah, God really changed my mind when I ended up at a church working in social media and websites and didn't know that that was going to be a thing or even an option and, really just fell in love with the whole idea of what church communication means, you know, externally and internally, like, what it means to your community as well. And that's when I started the Facebook group. Really was hoping to find some other people. So for those that don't know, I have this Facebook group that is for church communications, and we discuss all sorts of crazy things in there. But it has been a wild ride in the last, I don't know, 10 ish years almost for the for the group, which is insane.
Ryan Dunn [00:07:04]:
Yeah. Well and now you've, rolled a company out of it. Is it a company? Or Yeah.
Katie Allred [00:07:11]:
Yeah. It's a company. A church communications group is a company that, helps churches with their communication. We can be your church communication director if you need 1, interim or permanently. We can do we have cohorts to help communication directors that go for 12 weeks. We have coaches that will walk with you all year long if that's something you're interested in because the job itself is a lonely job and is almost always a solo job. Yeah. And a lot of times it could just be the minister himself or herself, and it's just yeah.
Katie Allred [00:07:51]:
It's just a it's it's a lonely position, and you're carrying a lot of hats. And so having someone to walk alongside you just to be a brainstorm partner or to be a partner in creating, I think is huge. So we we do that in social media posting and all sort of social media strategy, all that kind of stuff. And, right now, I've actually kind of pivoted. I am also doing AI for churches as well. So helping churches think through their AI strategy, whatever that might be. Yeah. That's confusing.
Katie Allred [00:08:23]:
Right? Like Mhmm. That even mean. But the truth is is that a lot of your job could be so much more efficient if you used AI to help you do it, especially at churches where you could be more, focused on ministry and actually, like, hanging out with people and not having to necessarily do so much work. So Mhmm. Work smarter, not harder. Right? So that's, yeah, that's kind of what we're working on. We have cohorts and coaching and all that kind of stuff same similar, but with AI. So it's it's been an interesting, foray into a different world.
Ryan Dunn [00:09:01]:
Yeah. And it sounds like you're able to kinda follow your passions and interests, which makes it very cool.
Katie Allred [00:09:06]:
Yeah. It's fun.
Ryan Dunn [00:09:08]:
You've been now coming alongside churches and their communications needs for over 10 years, and, no doubt having, a lot of invitation to be critical of some church communication over that time. Let's just kind of start with that point of conviction where somebody is coming to you. What are some of the, I guess, common things or themes that you see coming up again and again, that you're like churches, can we just stop doing this in church communications?
Katie Allred [00:09:42]:
Yeah. There's a few. I mean, I think the biggest one to me right now is neglecting the comments across social media, like neglecting to engage with the comments, like or not responding promptly to comments, because you're missing a real opportunity to, like, nurture relationships and and demonstrate care for your community members. But also, like, the best brands in the world right now are engaging in comments of other brands and people. And, I mean, I think we've seen this really well with Duolingo. Right? So if you, watch Duolingo's account, they're going to be commenting on all sorts of different people's content, you know, hyping them up or whatever. And why shouldn't a church do that is the question. I I used to think it was awkward.
Katie Allred [00:10:36]:
Like, it it would be awkward if I just showed up in a random member account or whatever.
Ryan Dunn [00:10:43]:
Yeah.
Katie Allred [00:10:44]:
I I used to feel that way. I don't think the awkwardness is is worth the I think it's worth to get over the awkwardness. Okay.
Ryan Dunn [00:10:53]:
That's what
Katie Allred [00:10:53]:
I'm trying to say here. I I think that you're going to see better engagement. You're gonna see more people following you. You're going to get more followers because your name's getting out further because you're using other people's platforms by commenting. But also like just commenting and engaging on the comments in your own social media post will increase the algorithm and your reach. So, like, you're going to it's going to benefit you in a in a bigger way. But I think a lot of churches just kinda like negate it and don't really think about it.
Ryan Dunn [00:11:24]:
Yeah. Most of our churches are are probably most we using or most likely just using Facebook. So from that standpoint, if I'm commenting from a church's Facebook page Mhmm. Are there specific areas that I might wanna look for being that engaging in?
Katie Allred [00:11:45]:
Yeah. You know, with a Facebook page there, are you talking about, like, specifically within the comments or
Ryan Dunn [00:11:53]:
Yeah. So it sounds like you're you're inviting us to to not just reply to comments on our own content, but to maybe look for other pieces of content on on which we can Yeah. Comment on. Are we just, you know, gonna comment on followers of our page? Or are there Yeah.
Katie Allred [00:12:10]:
I mean, comment on followers, comment on other pages, comment on, you know, other churches. I mean, I think, like, be the be the kindness, the positivity that you wanna see on the Internet. You know? And that will also help your your reach. It's not going to harm your reach at all. So I think, you know, just saying, wow, this is great or, like, we're proud of what you're doing or whatever, you know, or what a beautiful family. That kind of thing is, like, great. I don't think there's any problem. If you wanna sign off with some initials or your name because it feels better, that's fine.
Katie Allred [00:12:50]:
I think that makes it a little, maybe less creepy from your end. But at the same time, like, it's not it's not creepy. It's it's it's just what brands are doing now online, and your church is a brand. And so, keeping up with what, you know, works is a huge part of it, and that's gonna help just increase your reach.
Ryan Dunn [00:13:13]:
We've got a little bit more from Katie Allred of Church Communications Group coming up. This Lenten season, guide your congregation towards a meaningful spiritual experience with the sanctuary for Lent 2025 devotional by Justin LaRosa. This favorite devotional offers daily readings from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, featuring suggested scripture, a brief devotion, and a short prayer or practice, all rooted in the revised common lectionary. It's the perfect tool for both your congregation spiritual growth and your outreach efforts. Shared during services, mailed to members, or gifted to visitors, the devotional is a thoughtful and affordable way to connect. The ability to personalize each booklet with space for custom stickers, featuring your church's details, helps you create a lasting impact that strengthens your community ties. Or if you prefer digital, the devotional book is also available as an ebook or downloadable option for email outreach. Visitcokesbury.com today to order your copies of the sanctuary for Lent 2025.
Ryan Dunn [00:14:23]:
And now back to the conversation with Katie Allred on mycom. Following up on the idea of generating conversation from the content that we do produce, I think a lot of us tend to shy away as church communicators. We we shy away from the con from the comments because, well, maybe the biggest reason is that we just don't wanna have conflict with people. But
Katie Allred [00:14:49]:
Yeah.
Ryan Dunn [00:14:49]:
But secondly, it's because, we either don't get a lot of comments and so it's just not on our radar or the the comments are fairly, I don't want to say superfluous, but you know, they're, they're just not inviting of engagement in. So for example, when I post something, if I get 10 comments, 9 of them might just be amen. How do you, so are there some ways that we can be mindful of how we, invite more commenting in the content that we're producing through social media?
Katie Allred [00:15:24]:
Yeah. So, it's funny because I can remember, getting some churches, tagging me because they had so many amens on their post that that they thought it was a bot or something. You know what I'm saying? Like, it was inviting spam or whatever. So a lot of times, like, churches will get there. So you actually probably should encourage people to put something else besides amen in the in the comments. But, you know, just replying back, like, you know, how did this message touch your life? Or, like, what did this mean to you? Or, like, at what point, like, were you amening? Like, what, you know, what what about this did you, like, appreciate or that kind of thing, I I think is helpful. And and maybe it will also make them realize, hey. I could share a little bit more than just amen next time.
Katie Allred [00:16:17]:
So, yeah. And also, like, making it clear, I think, to your audience that you're allowed to, yeah, you're allowed to speak and, like, have a voice as well.
Ryan Dunn [00:16:30]:
Okay. That's good. Do you see, specific kind of posts that churches are putting up that invite that kind of engagement well, that kind of two way engagement?
Katie Allred [00:16:42]:
Yeah. For me, I I think I've seen a lot of churches do some really great kind of, like, live, sessions. You know? Maybe it's like a a weekly Instagram prayer session where, like, community members can share their prayer requests, and and they might hop on and pray together in real time. I've seen a lot of really great dedicated, like, Facebook groups where small groups, like, continue their discussions throughout the week. I think that is really useful. I mean, I think we are also seeing a lot of YouTube channels instead of just being the sermon every week, also creating, like, dialogue through, like, q and a sessions or maybe behind the scene ministry moments or testimony sharing that we don't haven't seen in the past. For me, that's created a lot more two way dialogue than, yeah, than we've seen in the past.
Ryan Dunn [00:17:39]:
Are they doing q and a around theological issues? So, like, ask me something or anything about the Bible or
Katie Allred [00:17:46]:
Ask me anything,
Ryan Dunn [00:17:47]:
M and
Katie Allred [00:17:48]:
A sessions. Like, I mean, every industry hasn't asked me anything. So why are we not doing it is the question. Also, YouTube is the, 2nd largest search engine. Right? And so there should be more questions and answers available online because people are searching for those questions. And if your church isn't because people are searching for those questions. And if your church isn't answering them, then they're getting it from somewhere else. So, you might as well have your interpretation on there.
Katie Allred [00:18:17]:
And the thing is is that, like, they're even if they're searching and they're getting it an AI answer, those AI answers are still pulling from websites.
Ryan Dunn [00:18:27]:
Mhmm. Okay.
Katie Allred [00:18:28]:
And so having that knowledge just available and out there, I think helps, as the Internet grows, but also helps users find the answers to the questions that they're looking for.
Ryan Dunn [00:18:40]:
Yeah. I wanna go back to that YouTube idea because there's such a open possibility for churches to engage in that area. Even though your book is a couple years old, I think churches are still using YouTube, how you diagnose that they were using it. And then it's just really kind of a repository for video content. And that there's not much intentionality about kind of encouraging community within that space. And, the, the idea that, we can use that space to answer large theological questions. Like, I think some pastors or church leaders might shy away from that because they feel like they don't have the field of authority to be able to answer those questions. But you brought up some great points about how the, algorithm feeds to people locally.
Ryan Dunn [00:19:37]:
So, you know, we're both in the Nashville area. If we're asking a theological question about, you know, say the United Methodist Church, since that's my background, is it more likely that my response is gonna come up because I'm local to you?
Katie Allred [00:19:51]:
Yes. It would prefer that. Okay. But the the thing is is that there probably isn't that. Mhmm. It's not tagged locally or it's not. And then also it's not it's just not created, you know, or or titled. There's no keywords, so people can't find it.
Katie Allred [00:20:10]:
A lot of times, you know, I think that was something I harped on in my book is, like, creating, sermon titles that made sense for YouTube instead of putting, like, March 5th.
Ryan Dunn [00:20:20]:
Yes. Uh-huh.
Katie Allred [00:20:21]:
Nothing to anyway, nobody is googling March 5th. Okay. Yeah.
Ryan Dunn [00:20:26]:
Convicted there as well. That was so yeah. Yeah. In fact, even with like you, you even put like special characters in there. I'm like, Oh my gosh, I just used that 2 weeks ago. But, hang it.
Katie Allred [00:20:38]:
Do you want to tell the people about special characters?
Ryan Dunn [00:20:41]:
Yeah. Well, I mean that nobody is probably searching with special characters more than likely, but yeah.
Katie Allred [00:20:47]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, just making sure you're, like, typing out exactly what you think people might be searching for. And, honestly, your sermon is probably the answer to a question that people have. And so just Mhmm. You know, positioning it that way as that authority in that subject is is worth it. And and, of course, like, people are like, well, as an authority, I don't like that feeling.
Katie Allred [00:21:13]:
Like, it doesn't really come off as humble. Right? Yeah. But that's not the case, when it comes to the Internet. Like, I don't think anybody's expecting anyone on the Internet to really be an expert unless they're, like, reading hopefully not. God, if you are, let's take a step back. But, you know, if you write a research paper or publish a book, then you can be the expert, I guess. But, but, yeah, just publishing onto YouTube doesn't necessarily make you an expert. It doesn't make you an authority, but it does make you an authority.
Katie Allred [00:21:47]:
So, having that content helps just build out this, like, range of answers that are out there when it comes to that particular scripture, when it comes to that particular felt need, when it comes to what people are asking theologically or spiritually.
Ryan Dunn [00:22:07]:
Yeah. I'm glad that you brought that up about that, that feeling that a lot of us have when it comes to, appearing to be a person of authority that we wanna shy away from that because, like, we don't have all the answers. And oftentimes, maybe we might shy away from doing and ask me anything because somebody's gonna ask a question that I do not have a good answer to. Right?
Katie Allred [00:22:32]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 100%. Like, please do not ask me any theological questions today, Ryan. I don't know. Like, you know, it's so funny, like, my book has no theological opinions whatsoever. I I I am other than you should share the gospel and it is good.
Ryan Dunn [00:22:47]:
Yeah. Right. I didn't feel like it was point of that, but yeah.
Katie Allred [00:22:50]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's that's really my whole point, and I think that's probably your whole point. I think that's the point of every pastor is, you know, hopefully, is that Jesus loves you. We love you. Let's figure out a way to, like, live life together, whatever that looks like. And so, yeah.
Katie Allred [00:23:10]:
It it it feels awkward sometimes to put yourself out there, but you're already doing it. It's just you're labeling it correctly. So you're already putting your content out there. You're already, like, labeling a sermon as this, but now you're putting it with keywords and and, you know, positioning it correctly. I think we had a big positioning problem, with a lot of our content.
Ryan Dunn [00:23:37]:
Tell me a little bit more about that.
Katie Allred [00:23:40]:
Yeah. About positioning. Like, so, you know, we can phrase it as just this last Sunday sermon, or we can phrase it as the answer to how to deal with divorce or, you know Yeah. Or so there's there's or how to handle conflict. Like, there's so many different ways that we could actually, like, reframe or reposition, like, what we're talking about online.
Ryan Dunn [00:24:09]:
Do you think there's value with something like how to handle conflict? There are so there's so much content there about that. So is there value for, say, my little church in Nashville kind of jumping into that conversation, or should we be looking for our own niche or what?
Katie Allred [00:24:29]:
No. Oh, well, I I don't think there's no reason not to.
Ryan Dunn [00:24:32]:
And you
Katie Allred [00:24:32]:
can say, oh, well, there's already so much. Yeah. But there's not yours. And your opinion matters too. And so, and and it's gonna be different, and it's gonna matter to some specific person who's looking to maybe join your specific church. And they're thinking, I wanna know what their church thinks about this or, like, have they ever discussed this, like, this specific thing about baptism, you know, or, why don't the Methodist dunk? And so, you know, your church may not have that specific answer on their YouTube, but maybe they should, you know, because people are looking for that kind of information. And so not that you're the expert in why Methodists don't dunk, but you have some general knowledge of it, and you can point people to other resources and, you know, tell your interpretation and understanding of that reasoning.
Ryan Dunn [00:25:29]:
That is a excellent video idea, by the way. I gotta get that one out before this episode comes out. Yeah. And to be fair, it's not that we don't. It's just yeah.
Katie Allred [00:25:40]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, no. I know. I know. It's more complicated.
Ryan Dunn [00:25:44]:
That way you can
Katie Allred [00:25:45]:
start your video. You're like, it's more complicated than
Ryan Dunn [00:25:47]:
it's We could talk, but Yeah. Well, we've kind of explored YouTube as a a venue for encouraging two way conversation. Are there others tools or or platforms that you see churches using well to kind of foster digital community or that two way communication?
Katie Allred [00:26:08]:
Yeah. I think Facebook groups are still really great place to have that two way conversation. I think pages are such a front facing thing. I think K. Your page should be stories of life change, what's going on in your church, if your church is having church this Sunday. You know, I don't think it should be in an announcement real, but I do think people are looking to it for some announcements. They're also looking to it for stories of live chat. Like what is going on at this church? Okay.
Katie Allred [00:26:39]:
Whereas a Facebook group can be a little more internal. We can have deeper conversations. We can bring up some awkward topics and maybe talk through those, whereas maybe we wouldn't feel as comfortable in person talking about them necessarily in a group context. It's also just, like, a great place to connect with people and network and, like, or fellowship as the church would say. That's right. Just to, you know, yeah, meet different people, right, that are in your in your church, and you may not have known they also work in counseling or they're also this or that or the other. And, I think it's a great way to also ask, your church to engage in things as well. So asking them to, not just join like, come to an event, but, like, like a post or share this information or whatever onto your personal profile.
Katie Allred [00:27:33]:
It's kind of just a good way to, like, get those notifications out to people. I think you have to do, what, 11 touch points before somebody decides to do something. So, you should put it in a lot of different places, and and one of those should be, I think, a Facebook group for live churches.
Ryan Dunn [00:27:53]:
Okay. So maybe you're not asking those deeper questions on the Facebook page?
Katie Allred [00:27:59]:
I mean, you could. I think that's where you open yourself up to trolls. Right? And that awkward feeling of how it having to reply and those kind of things.
Ryan Dunn [00:28:08]:
Yeah.
Katie Allred [00:28:08]:
Whereas in a group, it feels a little bit more like a living room setting of, you know, I'm not gonna say this to your face or, you know, whatever. Like, it it feels a little more personal. And so, I mean, you'll still get trolls or or people who will disagree, but I think there's a a I think it's a better place to do that than in, like, a public sphere setting. So, yeah, I think that's how I would go about it for sure.
Ryan Dunn [00:28:37]:
Okay. How do you find churches transition people from the page to the group? So, you know, if we think about sort of the introductory funnel, the page might be at the top end of that funnel, and then the group is farther down. Or there are Yeah. Intentional ways that they're inviting people to kinda move down that funnel for lack of a better way of putting it.
Katie Allred [00:28:57]:
You can connect your page to a group. There was a way, and I I'm not too sure if there still is. It probably still exists where you can invite people that once they like