LDS Church Fights Misperceptions with Web 2.0 Campaign
Categories: Media Relations, News Release, Press Release, Public Relations, Publicity.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched a Web 2.0 / PR 2.0 campaign last week to combat misunderstandings that still exist in the United States and among certain media outlets that erroneously tie the LDS faith to individuals and organizations practicing polygamy today. Chief among these is the so-called FLDS Church.
Members of the FLDS Church practice polygamy; members of the LDS Church do not. In fact, although polygamy was practiced among select groups of the LDS faith prior to 1890, members of the LDS (or Mormon) Church who choose to practice polygamy today will lose their church membership.
Hence, with the recent media and legal brouhaha surrounding the fact that Child Protective Services in Texas seized and eventually returned more than 400 children from an FLDS ranch in El Dorado, Texas, it’s almost expected that certain journalists and media outlets will “get it wrong” and report that those affected in El Dorado are members of the LDS Church — WHICH IS INCORRECT.
So last week, the LDS Church went on the offensive to correct such misperceptions and lazy reporting.
Central to this effort was the launch of seven Internet videos featuring seven “average” Latter-day Saints out of the more then 260,000 Mormons who live in Texas. (A separate post from earlier today on UtahTechWatch.com delves into more detail on this subject. Additionally, here’s the original news release from the LDS Church announcing its campaign.)
As in traditional major news announcements from the church, its attendant newsroom includes a solid list of background materials for interested journalists:
- A feature story on Mormons living in Texas;
- A short profile (or Facts Sheet) containing “Factoids” on Latter-day Saints living in Texas;
- A feature news release on Mormons making a difference in Texas;
- A list of testimonials from prominent Houstonians on their feelings about the Mormon Church;
- A feature story on Mormon missionaries serving in Texas (Full Disclosure: My eldest daughter served a full-time, volunteer mission in the Lubbock Texas Mission for the LDS Church.);
- A Facts Sheet outlining differences between the LDS Church and polygamist groups;
- A feature story on youth and spiritual education in Texas; and
- A copy of a letter sent to major media outlets on June 24, 2008 from Elder Lance B. Wickman, General Counsel for the LDS Church.
Where this announcement took efforts one step further was the inclusion of the seven Internet videos, as well as the posting of the videos onto YouTube.
In addition, the release included information recently gathered by an independent research firm (Apco Insight) for a national study the church commissioned into perceptions, attitudes and awareness about the LDS Church. Unfortunately for the church, it found that 36 percent of those surveyed incorrectly believed that “the Texas compound was part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or ‘Mormon Church’ based in Salt Lake City.”
Another six percent felt the two groups were partly related, while 29 percent said they were not sure.
Such research results obviously triggered the new outreach efforts by the church to try to eradicate such misperceptions and misinformation.
In addition, I also learned today that the LDS Church has its own Channel on YouTube called LDSPublicAffairs which was launched some nine months ago.
Leading this apparent Web 2.0 / PR 2.0 charge for the LDS Church is Elder M. Russell Ballard of the church’s Quorum of the 12 Apostles.
Shown below is a portion of Elder Ballard’s commencement address at Brigham Young University-Hawaii on December 15, 2007 where he issued a challenge to Latter-day Saints in attendance and around the world to join the “Internet conversation” about the faith versus letting others, including critics, define the church.
Elder Ballard specifically suggests in his address that members of the Mormon Church turn to such New Media technologies as blogs and Internet video to help tell the LDS story. He also asked that they comment online to media reports and stories about the church.
“We’re living in a world saturated with all kinds of voices,” Elder Ballard explained in his talk, “(And) now more than ever, we have a major responsibility as Latter-day Saints to define ourselves instead of letting others define us.”
Although some would suggest that the LDS Church was initially slow to adopt the World Wide Web, the church has now moved wholeheartedly onto the Internet, and the launch of last week’s Web 2.0 PR campaign is another example of this.
I must say, however, that I find it interesting that 79-year-old Elder Ballard is the one leading this social media, Web 2.0 charge for the Mormon Church.
Will this undertaking be successful? The jury’s still out on that verdict. But for now, it’s clear that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has moved full-bore into Web 2.0 and PR 2.0 technologies and social media outreach efforts.
Nevertheless, the lesson to be learned from the new media public relations campaign by the Mormon Church is that anyone can and should consider utilizing all of the various tools of the trade in order to successfully reach, inform, educate and persuade the public — including the latest social media tools.
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