Tech Tools: What To Try Now That You've Mastered the Basics

By SYBIL DAVIDSON

In the last two months, many clergy and church leaders have gone from watching YouTube videos to recording YouTube videos. Living rooms have become live stream sets. Many of you have mastered the art of the Zoom meeting.

With some of these basics of virtual community in place, here are a few tools to consider that may help improve your church's online presence. 

Canva.com
Canva is a graphic design platform that allows users to create social media graphics, presentations, and other visual content. It is available on web and mobile and much of the content ranges from no cost to a few dollars.

Ring Light/Cell Phone Tripod 
We have heard from dozens of clergy who have found that the quality of their home-recorded videos is greatly improved with the use of a ring light and tripod. (Here's one from Amazon.com)

Teleprompter App 
Consider a teleprompter app to have your notes right in front of you as you record video from your phone or tablet. An app called "Teleprompter" is free for short presentations, but recording a sermon may take a paid upgrade. Search the Apple App Store or Google Play to find an app that works for you!

Rev.com
Rev is an online service for captioning, subtitles, transcriptions, and even translations. You upload your video, then Rev captions are often available in less than 24 hours. The cost for captions and transcription is $1.25 a minute. Translation ranges from $3 to $7 a minute. 

Add a Public Dial-In Number to Your Facebook Live
Facebook Live now offers the option of a public dial-in phone number so that members without access to wifi can listen in. Learn more at: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/275981733410844. 

What tools have you found useful as you improve the online presence of your ministry! Comment below or email communications@ngumc.org.