Note - I do receive an affiliate commission for every church that signs up on SoChurch, so this post is not without some incentive. You can receive a 5% discount by enter the promo code CCOPPENBARGER. Plans start as low as $7.99. Visit http://www.sochurch.com for more info.
The above being said, here is a new company dedicated solely to providing resources to churches for their online presence. Features include the following (taken directly from their website):
Content Management
Unleash easy, straightforward ways for you and your members to create, post, edit, approve, share, and store content of all types. Retain ownership of all content created by both you and your church’s members.Member Management
Utilize reporting and searching to locate members and identify trends. SoChurch even does the heavy lifting of analyzing member information for old data before automatically contacting the member to request an update.Group Management
Stay in control of who can contribute what, how it’s distributed, and who can see it. Better yet, take advantage of SoChurch’s built-in delegation feature and split admin duties with one or more people.Email Functionality
Generate focused and tailored email communication with automatic, weekly emails to all group members, based on group affiliation and member demographics. SoChurch even takes member notification settings into account, so you never deliver what’s not wanted.Event Management
Expand your event’s guest list with third-party invite functionality and solicit feedback with timely post-event follow ups to all or select attendees. Plus, SoChurch helps you nail down logistics with automatic event updates and reminders and RSVP tracking.Prayer Updates and Reporting
Encourage members to post their own prayer requests and alert members when others are praying for them. Use SoChurch’s automatic reminders to keep prayer requests top of mind and updates to alert when circumstances change or prayers are answered.Need-Meeting and Gift-Giving
Match members in need with those who can help immediately. SoChurch lets you emulate the spirit of the early Acts church with anonymous needs posting that emphasizes the right reason for reaching out, not recognition.Customizable Design and Branding
Put your church’s brand front and center with customizable elements like logos, colors, and your unique domain name. SoChurch even extends your church’s brand presence through to Facebook pages, Twitter account, and email campaigns.Facebook and Twitter Integration
Leverage the communication mediums your members are already using with seamless Facebook and Twitter integration that lets content be both pulled in from and pushed out to the world’s most popular social networks.Viral Share Buttons
Share and share alike when members post content both within and outside of SoChurch automatically. SoChurch’s cross-group sharing functionality allows the same message to post across any or all groups so everyone’s on the same page.Content Privacy and Security
Implement the safeguards that distinguish between what content is for public consumption so that security never takes a backseat to sharing. Enable members to create their own privacy settings so they’re in control of their own personal information.Church Website and Visitor Information (Coming Soon)
Take advantage of SoChurch’s ability to be the perfect social media and communication sidekick to your existing church website or create an entirely fresh site fine tuned to help visitors find and connect with your church. While this won’t be available in our first release, it’s coming soon. Follow our blog for regular product updates.Media Albums and Management (Coming Soon)
We understand that media is important to any ministry. When we launch you’ll be able to insert images and links into posts but in the near future we’ll be releasing more robust media management tools. While this won’t be available in our first release, it’s coming soon. Follow our blog for regular product updates.Reporting and Analytics (Coming Soon)
Revel in SoChurch’s data analytics engine that collects, aggregates, and communicates the statistics that best help you gauge your church’s social communication strategy success. SoChurch’s eight pre-defined reports put the right data immediately in your hands. While this won’t be available in our first release, it’s coming soon. Follow our blog for regular product updates.Mobile Apps for iPhone and Android (Coming Soon)
Whether an administrator, leader, or member, SoChurch will offer various native features directly from within their iPhone or Android phone, allowing them to stay up-to-date, as well as add content, even when they are not near a computer. As such we have specific plans for integrating killer iPhone and Android Applications. While this won’t be available in our first release, it’s coming soon. Follow our blog for regular product updates.Online Giving and Tithing (Coming Soon)
Rethink your donations and tithing systems to take advantage of the way people prefer to conduct financial transactions now with the security of PayPal. Accept one-time or recurring donations electronically so you can better manage the money coming in. While this won’t be available in our first release, it’s coming soon. Follow our blog for regular product updates.Polls and Member Analysis (Coming Soon)
Make survey creation and data collection simple so you can get member feedback anywhere, anytime. When the results come in, use SoChurch’s powerful survey data sorting and filtering to segment member for future targeted messages and opportunities. While this won’t be available in our first release, it’s coming soon. Follow our blog for regular product updates.
If you are a church in need of a better online presence, and this looks like something you need, then visit http://www.sochurch.com, and enter promo code CCOPPENBARGER to receive a 5% discount as well. Let me know how it works out for you. It seems like a need concept.
