12 Best Practices for Celebrate-Christmas-with-Us Videos

Part of our preparation for Christmas is putting the welcome message and the Mass schedule out in as many places as possible. Today that includes the Internet and social media. We are a little more than six weeks away from Christmas. Now is the time to be thinking about creating a Celebrate Christmas with Us video. Videos get the most reach and engagement on the Internet–that’s why we need to use one at this time of year.

12 Best Practices for a Welcome/Invitation Video

1. Focus on one thing: presenting the time and place of Church services for Christmas in an inviting way.
2. Keep the video short and to the point. 30 seconds or less is a good time limit.
3. Make it readable, attractive, upbeat and seasonal.
4. If you use third party photos or music, be sure that they are public domain or you have the proper permissions to use them.
5. Post it on the home page of your website.
6. Post it on Facebook and YouTube to reach more people and to drive traffic to your website.
7. Use the video in Facebook Ads directed to people in your zip code(s). This can be done very inexpensively.
8. Convey the same invitation that is in the video in the description that you use on Facebook and YouTube along with your website address—for those who do not want to spend 30 seconds watching a video. (Yes, there are people like that.)
9. On your website also include a link to a list of the Mass times for the same reason as in #7.
10. Post the video close enough to Christmas that the viewers will remember the information. I recommend posting it after December 17 on the website and December 20 on social media.
11. Keep a record of views of the video on your website and its “reach” and views on social media for this and all of your videos. Learn which kind of videos seem to do the best and create more like that in the future.
12. Keep making videos. You will get better as you go along.

Here is a Celebrate Christmas with Us video that I have created for St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville, Ohio.

It meets all of my criteria.

If you would like me to create a similar welcome/invitation video for your parish for Christmas 2015, please click here for the details and how to order.

If you have been using video to welcome and invite people to your services on Ash Wednesday, Easter and or Christmas and have some wisdom to share with us, please do so in the comments below.