Published in Worship AVL magazine, November – December Issue, 2024
Sam Kamel, CEO at Bitcentral, looks at how to build religious-based communities in the digital age through the power of video.
THE GROWING IMPACT OF digital video brings new opportunities to religious, spiritual, and faith-based communities. The demand for religious video content is surging with about a quarter of US adults1 regularly streaming content to enhance or replace their church-going experiences.
Delivering video content at the scale required to reach audiences across geographies and meet diverse language and accessibility needs is a challenge for religious organizations that lack specialized technical skills and advanced digital infrastructure. However, as video management and streaming evolve and become cheaper, easier to use, and more powerful, churches and religious groups are empowered to connect with worshippers anytime and wherever they are.
With video content now produced and distributed rapidly, digital video platforms are turning into centers for multi-platform live and on-demand worship. Additionally, religious organizations can build bigger and highly engaged communities by delivering high-quality, multi-language broadcast content cost-effectively.
The broadcast transformation
Religious groups are transforming into media companies leveraging digital innovation to distribute their content globally, spreading their spiritual messages worldwide. As with any transformational journey, religious-based organizations must address several challenges to ensure they can harness the full benefits of video distribution.
First comes content management
Houses of worship maintain diverse libraries of live and on-demand content, ranging from services and sermons to Bible readings and family-friendly movies. Effective deployment of robust content management systems allows these organizations to maximize the potential of their video assets, expand their reach, enhance engagement and drive growth. The foundation of a successful video strategy is rooted in search and discovery. The most efficient solutions can swiftly and accurately categorize, organize and provide users with easy access across multiple devices and languages. The right video management solution enables religious organizations to fully control content distribution through live broadcasts or making content accessible at specific times.
Tackling scalability and stability
Strengthening and expanding connections is essential for all communities, particularly for religious ones. Religious digital content is vital for efficiently spreading messages beyond institutional borders. However, viewers demand a high-quality video experience without buffering, pixel loss or other distractions. Hosts must anticipate and manage large audience spikes during live worship service streams to prevent outages. Successful video streaming solutions must operate seamlessly and reliably from ingest to delivery of high-quality, low-latency video across multiple platforms with an uncompromising viewer experience. Only robust infrastructures can scale efficiently and adapt to rapid audience fluctuations without compromising video quality and user experience.
Embracing inclusivity through multi-language support
Houses of worship prioritize inclusivity and accessibility. Integrating features like closed-captioning, auto-transcription, and support for multiple languages and dialects expands the audience base and enhances viewer engagement and satisfaction. However, effectively managing and delivering these accessibility features while maintaining high content quality is a complex challenge. It requires the right technology and support systems to ensure digital content reaches the right viewers in the right way.
Ensuring reliable user support for a seamless experience
As with any modern digital solution, the end-user experience is a key success factor. Providing subscribers with timely assistance, effective issue resolution, and positive platform engagement is paramount. The best way to achieve this is through a scalable, 24/7 user support system. These systems ensure that user inquiries and issues are addressed promptly and effectively. Around-the-clock support enhances the overall user experience and strengthens the trust between an organization and its community.
Harnessing digital content
Religious groups of all sizes are increasingly moving their content and services to streaming. By leveraging innovations in video delivery, they can explore new ways to expand their reach and connect with digitally savvy younger audiences who prefer the convenience and accessibility of mobile streaming.
While creating engaging content is the essential first step, managing and distributing video across geographies, languages, and platforms is key to building strong communities. Delivering high-quality, accessible content not only leads to great viewing satisfaction but also creates the immersive experiences that viewers expect.
The shift to streaming video content can be simple. With the right technology partner, religious organizations can seamlessly transition into digital video delivery, making it a fulfilling experience for their communities.
1. link.proavl-digital.com/K6JdZa
