Page 23 - MyFaith Mag April 2017

change revolution

WANT MORE ONLINE VIEWERS?
MAKE IT SHORTER

PHIL COOKE

I’ve been teaching for a long time that too many churches 2. Check out this article, money.cnn.com/2006/03/13/mag-
and religious organizations are making a huge mistake by azines/business2/boominbitesize/index.htm from a dec-
only posting full length sermons and teachings on either ade ago. If it was true then, our attention spans are even
their website or podcasts. Certainly it’s fine (and a good shorter now. If you doubt me, read the book “The Shallows”
idea) to archive your live stream, media programming, and by Nicholas Carr.
other content in full online. However, when it comes to peo-
ple actually viewing it, it’s an “ergonomic” thing. People will 3. At a recent technology summit I attended in Hollywood,
obviously watch full length TV programs, live streams, and the major digital players shared that they’re seeing a maxi-
movies on their mobile devices, but when it comes to your mum viewing time of 7 minutes for a video. Any longer, and
short films and video presentations, people generally want you start losing significant numbers of viewers.
their web content in smaller “chunks” so they can digest it
in reasonable bites. Believe me – it’s worth it to have someone edit your longer
content down into 5-7 minute segments. I suggest you do
For the most part, people view content on the web in short both – a full length copy and an edited version and offer
spurts – even when it comes to entertainment. So here’s your
how to think about your online content:

1. There are places where people will view the longer form followers a choice. More people are likely to use the shorter
programming, so it’s good your full content is online. As I clips, which makes your outreach far more effective.
mentioned, I will watch a movie from Netflix or Apple TV at
home, or other movies on a plane or in a hotel room. But
for the most part, I want much shorter pieces – particularly
when it comes to church or ministry content.