I grew up in a busy church where a bulletin board was the communication hub of the lobby. If something was announced from the pulpit, they often said "for more information check the bulletin board".
Surprisingly, even the bulletin directed people to the cork board near the door.
Like most churches, they had a person in charge of everything that was put up on the board. There were even expiration dates stamped on the margins so that the bulletin board wouldn't have old information.
Ah, the good ol' days. Or perhaps your church now?
After visiting many churches recently, I still see many bulletin boards with posters on them. Do they still belong in a functioning church communication hub?
The answer is, "probably not".
Here are 3 thoughts about bulletin boards:
Your website should be easier to find information. In today's digital world, a good communication hub revolves around your website.
So, your website is what should take the place of a bulletin board when directing people to more information. Why?
- You can have self-expiring information on a website.
- t doesn't require costly printing to post something on your website.
- People can share website information on social media.
Your web information can have links to signups as well as other pages, and a website is accessible anywhere, at anytime, and by anyone. It makes sense that your website should store the information.
Consider replacing bulletin boards with computer monitors. Still think you need something to catch people's attention? Then I'd consider having a computer monitor that rotates event information.
It takes up less room, will probably attract more attention, and repurposes your web content.
Just keep the information incredibly simple, dynamically visual, and only have 4 things on each slide: Who's invited, when it will occur, where it will be, and a short benefit for attending.
Everyone should be aware they can find more information on your website if they're interested.
Control and reduce the content. "But people are looking for the bulletin board" you may exclaim. Or "our older generations rely on them instead of a website". Ok, I'll believe you.
If you want to continue using a bulletin board, be very protective of it. Stop having a competition for who has the biggest poster. Gone are the days where everyone is screaming for attention.
Consider moving to a standardized (smaller) poster size that gives the information mentioned above.
And then reduce the size of your bulletin boards in anticipation of fazing them out.
Bulletin boards are old school and probably will never make a resurgence. They cost a lot of money and time to maintain, and they're often an eyesore with very few people stopping to browse.
It's time, or almost time; bulletin boards should be eliminated. Just imagine what you can do with all the wall space!