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Knowing your [Church] market segmentation

From Captura: The Digital Divide Represents an Opportunity for Hispanic Online Marketers

The recently published report by the Pew Hispanic Center, The Latino Digital Divide: The Native Born versus The Foreign Born, highlights some important facts and opportunities for Hispanic online marketers.

From a high level, the report shows that there is a significant digital divide between Hispanics who were born in the US and those that were born outside of this country. The Pew Hispanic center indicates that 85% of US-born Hispanics use the Internet and 80% use cell phones. Compare this to foreign-born Hispanics where Internet usage currently stands at 51% and cell phone usage at 72%.

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Although foreign-born online Hispanics represent a smaller, less affluent and less sophisticated segment, they are easier to reach and represent the greatest upside. Foreign-born Hispanics are more likely to use Spanish language website and search engines making them easy to reach. What’s more, the foreign-born segment is growing much faster than the US-born segment and foreign-born Hispanics tend to be more open to online advertising and are more brand loyal. To reach foreign-born Hispanics, marketers should consider creating and advertising trustworthy, culturally relevant and intuitive online user experiences in Spanish.

It is important to point out that these two segments are by no means mutually exclusive or absolute. Many US-born Hispanics prefer Spanish and are novice technology users while many foreign-born Hispanics prefer English and are advanced technology users. What’s more, most Hispanic households likely have both US-born and foreign-born Hispanics in them.

Most of us view the digital divide as an unfortunate social problem. I view it as an opportunity. Only by proactively investing in, engaging with and educating the less fortunate can we begin to bridge the digital divide.

Of course the same type of analysis applies when considering parish outreach. It is important that we understand the demographic and the needs of the people we mister to and who may be in search of a spiritual home.

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Love your brothers and sisters – invite them to church on September 12th

National “Back To Church Sunday,” slated for September 12th, which is also the Solemnity of Brotherly Love in the Polish National Catholic Church. What a great way to put our brotherly love into action, by inviting those we know, people who once attended church – but who don’t anymore, and the “unchurched” and “dechurched” on this Sunday.

Last year, hundreds of churches took part in the first national “Back To Church Sunday,” which saw members invite more than 700,000 friends and family. This year, an estimated 1 million “unchurched” and “dechurched” people will be invited to the special day.

A survey by Outreach, Inc., a California-based church marketing company supporting the initiative, found that last year’s participating churches increased their weekend attendance on average by 19 percent.

“A recent survey of 15,000 Americans indicated that 67 percent would be open to an invitation to church coming from a member of their family,” said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, an organization dedicated to church health and effectiveness. “‘Back To Church Sunday’ is a great opportunity for reminding and refocusing church members to reach out to their unchurched family members.”

In a separate study, the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey showed that 83 percent of American adults identify themselves as Christians. In contrast, another survey that same year by the Barna Group, a leading research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture, indicated only about 20 percent of Americans attend a church on any given Sunday.

When Mount Sterling First United Methodist Church in Mt. Sterling, Ky., participated in “Back To Church Sunday” in 2009, response was well beyond expectations.

“Our sanctuary was full,” said Debi Lambert, the church’s evangelism and outreach leader. “We saw our attendance that day increased 40 percent over our normal attendance for that time of year.”

Unchurched families that visited that Sunday have become members, Lambert said. Others attend periodically. That’s why the Mount Sterling church anticipates an even greater response to the 2010 event. “Everybody at church has gotten on board and is excited and involved,” Lambert said.

Inviting newcomers is only part of the campaign. Churches are also encouraged to make their facilities visitor-friendly, paying attention to details important to those who haven’t tried church in a while.

In support of “Back to Church Sunday,” Outreach also supports the “Back To Church Sunday” Facebook page and a roster of participating churches on the Back to Church Sunday website. When churches go to the website and register their participation, their names and locations are added to the roster.

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