Using audio at Christmas

The growing power of audio content is not something to be ignored. Year on year, audio content has grown in its consumption. For example, in 2021 there were over 19.1 million podcast listeners in the UK, and this is expected to grow to 28 million by 2026.

In this blog, find a few ideas for how you can use audio this Advent and Christmas with the goal of getting more people into your churches.

Although podcasts are probably the most talked about form of audio content today, this blog focusses on shorter form content, called audiograms, which requires less effort to produce.

What is an audiogram?

You might have come across audiograms as a podcast marketing tool, but you don’t need a podcast to utilise them.

If you’re unfamiliar with audiograms, they are a video created from an audio clip that often features a still image, a transcription of the audio and a moving waveform, like the example shown below.

An audiogram could be a prayer, a reading or a reflection. It could also be a story, an invitation or a way to disseminate information.

The application Descript, makes audiogram production easy, and can be used to add visual elements to any piece of audio you’d like. It has an “audiogram wizard” to help easily generate audiogram quickly, or you can go into more detail by adding the individual visual components yourself. All of this can be done with Descript’s free plan, although it will include a watermark on the video.

Creating shareable content

This year’s Christmas campaign is called Follow the Star: The Great Invitation, so why not create an audiogram that your social media followers can share to invite people to your church?

All you need to do is record your invitation, then download a Follow the Star graphic and some music, from the AChurchNearYou.com Resource Hub and combine them all together in an application like Descript.

Now your congregation have something they can share on social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.

Inviting user generated content

Going one-step further, you could ask your congregation to record some audio, perhaps with a story or memory of your church at Christmas and how it’s special to them. Sharing this on social media gives another dimension to getting to know your church and what to expect at Christmas.

Keeping things simple

Audio continues to get fancier as it’s developed as a media form but we shouldn’t forget about the humble voice note. Voice notes on WhatsApp and other messaging platforms continue to grow in usage, often being more efficient but also more intimate and personal than text.

If you feel comfortable doing so, you could create a WhatsApp group with your congregation and share a voice note inviting them, and any who they share it with, to your church.

Also offering to answer any questions someone might have about attending your church with a personal voice note via WhatsApp, has the same benefits as the above but can also be more approachable than a phone call and less formal than an email.

James Newhook
Audio producer, Church of England Digital team