Check this out: http://www.formspring.me/JustinWise/q/301924983976758502

Build on WordPress:

http://wordpress.org

Use Standard Theme:

http://bit.ly/jwstandard

How's that? ;)

My opinion? Churches desperately need branding guidelines. Even though our message is spiritual, we're still an organization, and organizations need branding guidelines. It's just common sense.

As far as resources, ask some of the folks at the Church Marketing Lab. You'll get some love. I promise!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/cfcc

One of the best posts I have ever read on the subject is from Michael Hyatt. He pretty much explains what I do for myself (and Monk) on a daily basis:

http://michaelhyatt.com/how-to-become-a-twitter-ninja.html

I should also mention that we've developed a content calendar at MonkDev that tells people when, what, and where to post. It's paint-by-numbers. We've helped educators, pastors, nonprofit leaders, and business owners build a content calendar for themselves and for their organization!

If you're looking to do something just for yourself, have you looked at something simple like Google Calendar?

I always try and recommend getting your org onto Google Apps for this specific purpose. You can set appointments for other people, invite to meetings, etc. Sign up here: http://google.com/apps

Of course, there's the gold standard in Basecamp (http://basecamphq.com). We use it at Monk and it keeps all of us on the same page. Very helpful. Very useful.

Lastly, I've had mixed opinions about using Action Method Online (http://actionmethod.com). A fantastic analog utility, but I'm not crazy about their digital offerings. That said, I know many teams live and die by this web app.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

Have you looked at ifttt.com? They might have a recipe you could look at?

I'm not sure what you mean. The URL I own is:

http://justin.am

I don't shorten it at all.

Read this:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2011/12/03/the-right-brain-thinkers-guide-to-beaing-blogger%E2%80%99s-block/

I ask the group. Watch my profile for answers.

Three things, in this order:

1. Do good work
2. Be consistent
3. Network

If you can execute that strategy over and over, you'll find yourself with more work than you can handle.

1-2, 1-2.

Read this:

http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/2011/08/office-hours-church-communication-salaries-and-wasted-ad-money/

Three things, in this order:

1. Do good work
2. Be consistent
3. Network

If you can execute that strategy over and over, you'll find yourself with more work than you can handle.

I wouldn't cut out ALL traditional forms of advertising, but I wouldn't make them the workhorse of the campaign.

Invest 60/40 or even 70/30 digital to traditional and you'll get better results.

This is what I would do if I were you:

1. Build a website.
2. Put a newsletter sign up on the website.
3. Build a Facebook fan page.
4. Put a newsletter sign up on the fan page.
5. Write a weekly newsletter telling people what's going on in the church.
6. Track EVERYTHING - CTR, likes, site traffic, etc.
7. Correlate growth, momentum, increase in XYZ, to the work you are doing.
8. Get budget for a staff person.
9. Go on vacation ;)

"Facebook organizations aren't able to connect with fans in meaningful ways"

I would say this is false. One of the best examples I can point you to is the Social Media Examinder. They do a FANTASTIC job at engaging their community and making it a real place of give-and-take. And their fan page is bigger than almost every church out there:

http://facebook.com/smexaminer

The second part of your question is the real problem, "our page is just a bulletin board." This is like going to a party and getting stuck in conversation with someone who only talks about themselves.

No one really likes that. Right? Social media are no different.

If you approach Facebook like a living room, inviting people into a conversation instead of telling them all about you, my guess is your momentum will shift.

Here's a good list of churches to study:

http://djchuang.com/2011/top-church-pages-on-facebook/

Have fun. Remember this: social media are meant to share and interact. Share and interact. Share and interact.

Follow the 1/10 rule. For every piece of your own content that you promote, showcase 10 others. It's a good rule-of-thumb to make sure people don't get sick of hearing what you have to say.

Buffer App does an amazing job at this: http://twitter.com/BufferApp

Follow their example.

1. Make them fun. Even if everything else totally bombs, if people have fun they'll remember your even favorably.

2. Ask on Twitter?

First and foremost, ask for "experiments". Tim Ferriss calls this "the puppy dog sell" (i.e. if you're a pet shop owner, you let a kid who wants a puppy have one night at home with the creature, the chances of them giving it back freely greatly decrease. That means mom and dad need to shell out the dough!)

The point is to create a limited amount of time (to lessen risk) where you can apply a fresh new approach. Say something like, "give me one (or two or three) month(s) where I can do XYZ and I'll show you the results. If it doesn't work, we can let the experiment run out. No harm, no foul."

Of course, the genius of this is that you get to try a new approach and if it works, others will see that that let you keep doing it. If it doesn't work, you can tweak and ask for a new trial when you're ready. Win-win.

Sound good?

Oh dear. What's ECRM? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that one!