Synagogue Publicity: Vehicles of Communication
Publications
Publications should be looked upon as wonderful opportunities to inform and excite both your members and the entire community about the services available through your synagogue. There are several vehicles through which you can "toot your own horn." In this section, we will concentrate on larger pieces with longer lives, since these will probably be the pieces in which you wish to invest more of your resources. We will also explore the use of cyberspace, which has become increasingly important and accessible.
While we will not be discussing one-shot mailings here, it is important to remember that you must never subject your members to a paper barrage. Even if flyers generated on your word processor are both simple and inexpensive to produce and mail, they should not be generated with abandon, or they will dilute the effectiveness of your total publicity program. In addition, the temptation to produce things quickly may lead you to be sloppy in your work, thus negatively affecting your image.
Telephone Squads
People like to know that there is a person behind each piece of paper. A press release advertising a particular event may, in some cases, be less effective than a well-organized telephone squad. Depending on the nature of the event -- and your targeted audience -- you may want to organize a telephone squad of enthusiastic synagogue members who are planning to attend and are willing to share their excitement with others. If there are car pools available or babysitting services provided, this might also be mentioned on the telephone. A telephone squad communicates several messages simultaneously: (l) the synagogue has interesting programs; (2) your friend/acquaintance/neighbor participates in our programs; (3) we care whether or not you come; (4) the synagogue is a friendly place that provides a service to members of the community.
Radio & TV
Radio and T.V. spots are beyond the scope of marketing efforts for most synagogues, although local cable stations are often interested in interviewing colorful local personalities (why not someone from your synagogue?) and particularly successful or innovative local programs (such as a synagogue food bank for the needy). As regards the last example, if your synagogue does have a food bank or something similar, you might well be able to obtain free mention of that program by framing your notice as a public service announcement. You might also be able to coax a local station into announcing that your congregation would (for example) like to extend best wishes for a Happy New Year to members of the local community. Paid ads are another story. Since your goal is to target as precisely as possible, it may not be worth it to invest limited resources in this kind of "scattershot" approach.
Videos & Photos
Before going on to very specific suggestions, particularly for printed materials, I should mention the use of the video. Today, many marketers -- from the Ramah camps, to hotels, to sellers of exercise machines -- are using promotional videos to sell their offerings. While a professional video may well be beyond the financial reach of a synagogue, the production of short subject-driven videos -- done by synagogue groups involved in various projects -- is certainly possible. Today, editing such videos, including voice and music dubbing, is not terribly complicated and can be accomplished with the VCR's to be found in many of our homes (particularly in the homes of computer buffs, who may have very advanced equipment)
Remember: People like to see themselves on camera, particularly when they are having a good time. Further, this provides a wonderful recruitment tool to use when "pitching" the synagogue to nonmembers.
Never underestimate the value of using pictures to sell your product. I would strongly recommend that there always be a camera available in the synagogue office so that "Kodak moments" will not be missed -- particularly when your members (e.g., USYers or nursery school students) are doing something particularly interesting. Not only can you use these pictures in newsletters, but you can also collage and hang them on a synagogue bulletin board, in a youth lounge, or in some other place where they are likely to be noticed.
Printed Materials
Membership Brochures/Applications
Here we go again. Before you can produce a membership brochure, it is vital to ask yourself just what it is that you want to convey about the synagogue. Whose needs are you meeting? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What do you offer that potential members cannot get anyplace else? Is your nursery school particularly dynamic? If you are an older congregation, how do you meet the needs of your seniors? Only after you have addressed these issues can you determine if a projected brochure successfully conveys the message you are looking to disseminate.
You will also need to decide how and where to distribute this material. Will you send a yearly update to current members and ask that they share it with friends and potential members? Perhaps they might also provide you with a list of families or individuals who might be interested in receiving this information. Will you leave a stack of these booklets in the synagogue lobby as well as in the lobbies of other organizations, such as federations? Will you include them in a package designed for new members of the community? Will ushers hand them out to the thousands of worshipers who join you on the High Holy Days? Distribution of materials should not be random. Give careful thought to where you are most likely to reach your target audience and how you will best be able to reach them.
Membership application forms may also be used to help define your public image. I recently saw a membership application form that, gently but clearly, lets applicants know something important about the synagogue at the outset of their relationship. The form states that in the case of a mixed marriage, the Jewish spouse only is eligible for membership, while the non-Jewish spouse is nevertheless welcome to attend all synagogue events. Such wording not only helps convey the agenda of the synagogue, but it also saves a good deal of unpleasantness down the road if such policies are left to be inferred rather than clearly stated.
Another way to show "who you are" is to list in your membership material the opportunities available for members to participate in the synagogue, whether as contributors to the newsletter, members of a mitzvah corps or as fundraisers. The kinds and variety of activities you present to your prospective clientele may help them determine whether you and they are a suitable match. It also lets them know that you actively seek their participation. Incidentally, this shou ld not be done as an empty exercise. You must follow through and invite interested members to participate in the activities they specify. Otherwise, you have a sound bite without the substance.
One way to list your participation opportunities inexpensively and increase your chances of getting a response is to itemize them on a postcard (if possible, postage pre-paid). I recently saw a wonderful variation on this idea. At a synagogue in New Jersey, such postcards were distributed during the High Holidays, giving members -- new andold -- an opportunity to review the services offered by the synagogue and "resolve" to participate during the New Year. A copy of this postcard -- or "pledge card," as it was described by the rabbi -- is included in the Appendix.
Remember: It is important to frame your "pitch" so that you do not appear simply to be asking for help. The approach must not be "Join us because we need help" but rather "We have many exciting programs and we welcome your participation."
Welcome Booklets
Many people approach a new synagogue tentatively -- unfamiliar both with other members and, perhaps, with the order of the religious service as well. Some synagogues have tried to put people at ease by leaving explanatory booklets on each seat. Some are simply one page, or two sides of a page; while others are considerably longer. Some are informal, concentrating, perhaps, on a simha (such as a bar mitzvah) being held on that particular day. Others are more formal and "timeless," explaining the order of the service, the main ritual objects in the synagogue (e.g., the ner tamid, bimah, Torah), and, for the major prayers, providing the page numbers in the siddur.
One booklet I've seen summarizes the history of the synagogue in question and notes -- significantly -- that it is proudly affiliated with the United Synagogue and the Conservative Movement. Since the publication was made possible by a generous gift from a member on the occasion of a simha, it conveys the strong sense that the congregation is important in the lives of its members. (It also may give other members the idea that presenting a gift to the synagogue is an appropriate way to mark a life-cycle event.)
There is much to be gained by creating such material. First, it provides educational material for visitors/members to read if their minds should start to wander at some point during the service. Second, it conveys the impression that the synagogue is interested in everyone who enters its doors. Third, not only does it make visitors and potential congregants feel more comfortable with the service, but it is also helpful for long-time congregants who can not always follow the service.
