Officially Announcing Harbor
Last week on the blog we started talking about short form video content. With the popularity of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts it seemed like a topic that we could not and should not avoid. We discussed what was considered to be short-form videos, the major platforms for them, a few reasons why short-form content is so popular, and how you can better utilize them in your own social media strategy.
We teased some big announcements within that blog post, and I’m thrilled to announce that one of them debuted this Monday. We’re leaning into our nautical/shore themes and titling this new service “Harbor.” I’m sure there’s some quippy thing to be added about this being a way to bring things home, but for now, let’s focus on the specifics of this new service.
What is Harbor?
Harbor is our service dedicated to providing social media videos specifically for ministries. It’s about taking your message and applying it to a new medium. Our base package starts with providing two sermon videos per week, and the higher packages add more videos and other services. All of the specifics can be found in the brochure.
Why are we offering this specifically for churches?
Well, we are working on social media and online presence packages for all types of businesses, but we wanted to start with churches because of our background and to fulfill a need that we see. It’s time consuming to create video content on a weekly basis, and unfortunately, video and consistency are the two main tools needed to increase engagement these days. What better way to start sharing video content than by sharing clips from your own sermons? We see this as a great way to keep your current audience encouraged throughout the week while also potentially expanding your reach.
What are the benefits of Harbor?
Well, we might be a little biased, but there are several benefits. Let’s talk about the benefits of posting more short-form video content first. For one, short sermon clips formatted correctly with subtitles and descriptions to boost their reach is a great way to elevate your online presence. It’s a chance to engage your current audience/congregation throughout the week. Tied into this is the potential to reach the next generation on the platforms they frequent the most. On a broader scale, it’s an opportunity to share your message with a wider audience. At the end of the day, there’s no escaping the fact that social media algorithms prioritize video content.
As for the Harbor packages themselves, we’ve tried to offer a variety of packages and price points to keep them affordable for even the smallest of churches. Outside of that, we try to make them worth your while. We’re able to make these clips and get them to you with quick turnaround times. We do the heavy lifting for you in terms of captioning and optimizing them for social media use. It’s a chance to boost your online presence without having to do the tedious parts of it.
How does it work?
Honestly, we try to keep the whole process as simple as possible. If you are recording your sermons on a weekly basis, you can send it to us via Dropbox or Google Drive. If you’re just streaming them to YouTube, then we can download them directly from there.
After that, your part is done. We listen to the sermons and analyze which parts we believe will connect best on social media. We make clips ranging from 20-120 seconds, and then we go through and add captioning and figure out SEO-based video descriptions.
Once they’re ready, we send those clips back to you, and all you have to do is post the finished clips. It’s genuinely that simple.
Why should you consider it?
The most straightforward answer is because social media and short-form video content isn’t going anywhere. As people who have been involved with ministries for most of their lives, we can say pretty confidently that churches aren’t usually the first to pounce on new technologies and approaches. However, if ministries are going to reach this next generation and find ways to connect with them outside of Sunday mornings, then social media is part of the answer. That’s where they are at; it’s where they spend their free time.
Yes, it’s easy to say this about the next generation, but the truth is that social media is steadily popular among all age groups now. Sure, maybe the 18-24 year olds are primarily on TikTok, but Instagram and Facebook are seeing the older generations staked out there as well. The bigger reason, though, is that video content sticks. Viewers retain 95% of a message conveyed through video, and 80% of all mobile traffic is short-form video content. In the long run, it’s going to be more costly to not engage.
So, if you are a part of a ministry, are you posting short-form video content? Do you have a social media strategy? Comment and let us know.
If you want to learn more about Harbor, you can click here. Our base package starts at $299 a month. At the bottom of the page, you can download the brochure, and if you have any questions, you can always click that “Contact Us” button.