It helps to get advice from an expert. To find someone who can shed some magical light on whatever sticky problems stand in the way.
As a vocation director, you’ve probably spent a lot of time wondering which is the best way to promote vocations.
You’ve seen successful communities – those who have a finely-tuned vocations system. It works like a Swiss watch. The candidates keep coming to their door. The new postulants and novices, in turn, attract others.
I recently chatted with a top-notch expert in the marketing world. He has tons of experience in the business world when it comes to developing what is known in the marketing world as leads. In vocation work, leads are new prospects, or candidates.
Both of us picked apart our marketing system here at Vocation Promotion. We poured over our Facebook ads, the vocations quiz, our texting service, our followup newsletters, and our retreat signup forms.
We came up with what seems to be certain essential parts of a successful vocation program (whether online or offline). They are:
- A good marketing “funnel.” This could be an outreach to the local community. Talks given to parishes, high schools and grammar schools. Special retreats for these groups. Talks, retreats, or a presence on college campuses. You need to keep in touch with the young men or women with whom you strike up a relationship. This means putting them on your mailing list, whether it be an enewsletter, or one sent by regular mail.
Facebook and other social media marketing is another way to bring in new names, and new relationships. Paid advertising, which is what we here at Vocation Promotion offer, is a quick way to being in new names. - Candidates need to identify with your mission and charism. When they learn about you, they need to say to themselves, “Yes, I like the idea of giving to others the fruits of contemplation” (Dominican charism). Or, “I’m inspired with the idea of providing education, or health care with Christian charity.” (apostolate) Of course, it goes without saying that they have to be attracted to the beauty of consecrated life and/or religious life as well.
- Candidates need to make friends with one of more of your members. There needs to be a personal connection, a friendship, with a particular community member. It might start out with the candidate reading one of your member’s vocation stories. (This is why vocation stories on your website, and sent in your newsletters, are so important.) The candidate then says to themselves, “I am going through the same questioning, or search, that this sister or brother did at one time.” Then once the contact is made, there needs to be phone calls or other communication with that person. It’s all about friendship.
Are these elements part of your vocation program?
You can bet that, moving forward, we are incorporating these insights more aggressively into our Vocation Promotion programs.
