Non-Profit Mobile Marketing Tactics for 2017
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In our article Best Non Profit Fundraising Strategy #1 I mentioned we have a number of strategies for getting your message out and getting it seen by the most people exactly when you need that to happen.
Mobile Marketing is one of the most powerful strategies you will see anywhere.
In this article I am utilising information from our associated website Surefire Mobile Marketing (SFM) and you will find links to some great articles there at the bottom of the page.
Welcome to the Mobile Era
The 21st century is the “mobile era”. Don’t take my word for it, Google nicknamed it “Mobilegeddon”. That conjures up all sorts of images, but in the main it means web sites as we know them have lost their relevance, like Yellow Pages adverts did with the arrival of the Internet.
It also means if you missed the Internet revolution you now have a second chance.
As of April 21st 2015 everyone starts on a level playing field again. This won’t last for ever, in fact it may not last for long, a few years at most.
However, out of this era will come winners and losers – just like there was with the dawn of the Internet!
David and Goliath
Once again, size is not the determining factor – look how many large and even huge companies suffered or went out of business because they didn’t see the Internet tsunami coming, newspapers are just one example.
But that is where the Mobile opportunity is different to the advent of the Internet. You can’t miss it.
Mobile is already here – your customers are using it and they love it. See the infographic on the SFM article and our list of articles at the bottom of this page. The growth rate is phenomenal and we have the statistics and research to prove it.
Image 1, 2 and 3 can be seen here: https://surefiremobilemarketing.com.au/3-mobile-web-marketing-tactics-for-2017/
Image 4 can be seen here: https://surefiremobilemarketing.com.au/10-billion-reasons-why-your-business-needs-an-app/
What “Going Mobile” Means to Non-Profit Organisations?
- It means a genuine mobile friendly web site is essential – not just a mobile responsive one. A genuine mobile friendly website is a stand-alone website designed for use on a mobile device and provides far more features and opportunities than a mobile responsive website.
- It means creating an App that your members, donors, clients and followers can download and which provides valuable information and / or services that they need and want. See Spirit 106.5 Case Study
- It means learning to use the App as your main communication tool and the side benefit of that is, you will spend next to nothing advertising your services or appeals in other media – you will only advertise your App.
- Did you know that you can send Free Text Messages to all your App users or to any particular group within your data base? That’s incredibly powerful!
- Imagine if you had 1,000 App users in your local area, what could you do with a direct line of communication to them. How many local businesses would love to be included in your App – for a monthly fee?
- Now imagine if you had 5,000? Or 10,000? How much more would any large or small business pay you?
- That is the power of Apps and why you want to be / need to be the app on the phone of your supporters because this is a case of the first organisation to do it in your area – wins. Very few local businesses will advertise in two apps that reach the same market.
How to Promote and Use Your App Successfully?
There are two ways to promote your App. The first is steady, passive, and free (i.e. it is slow but grows steadily over time).
The second is more aggressive and will grow your members quickly but requires an investment in marketing.
We recommend a combination of both ways to maximise your early mover advantage. We will look at the slow and steady way first.
a. Create a Genuine Mobile Friendly Web Site
70% of your target market go online using their mobile phone so when they search for a service like yours Google will return mobile friendly web sites first. Thus the first way to find your customers is to let them find you in Google search.
Google will show Genuine Mobile Friendly web sites and for the time being, Mobile Responsive web sites at the top of their search results but obviously the Genuine Mobile Friendly Web Site provides the searcher with a better experience and thus is preferred by them and by Google.
As more sites become Genuinely Mobile Friendly they will push out the mobile responsive web sites but it will also become more important to ensure that your site is Search Engine Optimised so it ranks higher in Google – as you know, if you are not on Page one – you may as well not be there – because very few people go beyond it.
Finally, the main purpose of your web site is to be found and to promote and make it easy for the reader to download your App.
Your App is the main channel for long term engagement. It is a gold mine. It will earn you more money in more ways than you ever dreamed of – if you get it right.
The second way is:
b. Promote Your App using Online Advertising and Social Media
Google, Facebook and most other social media platforms offer numerous ways to promote to and / or advertise to their readers. They all offer a combination of free and paid forms of promotion.
The key is to identify which social media are preferred by your target market and then use them appropriately but aggressively to market your app or apps. (See our article “Matching the Right Social Media Platform to your Target Market”
The free options in most platforms can be very powerful, once you have a substantial group of followers so the paid option is usually used as a starter plan and as a booster from time to time.
In Australia Google and Facebook are the two most widely used platforms but You Tube is almost as popular.
The key is to use your knowledge and work with your App designer to make an App that provides a valuable service to your target market and then ensure you are in the right place at the right time with the right tools.
In addition many of our clients have had success with:
We recommend these excellent articles:
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