With just one quick glance around the 4aGoodCause office, I can see it all – iPhones, Android phones, Windows phones, iPads, etc. – and I bet you can at your office, too.
Mobile has taken over; there are now more mobile users than desktop users and nearly half of consumers say they won’t return to a website if it doesn’t load properly on their mobile devices. If your nonprofit isn’t embracing mobile marketing, you aren’t reaching your full potential.
3 simple things you can do to embrace mobile
Embracing mobile does not have to be hard; in fact, there are plenty of easy ways to improve your mobile marketing game.
Mobile-friendly social media
Social media is ruled by the organizations that optimize their messaging for mobile. Why? Because 60% of social media time is spent on smartphones and tablets.
How to make social media mobile-friendly:
- Use pictures – Users scroll through their newsfeeds quickly and often while multitasking, so you want to make sure your post catches their eye.
- Keep it short on Facebook – After about 250 characters, Facebook cuts off your message with an ellipse and asks users to click to read more. People rarely click, so get your message out in less that 250 characters.
- Keep it kind of short on Twitter – You only have 140 characters, but statistics show that 140 is more than users want. The tweets get retweeted the most contain 71-100 characters.
Mobile-friendly email
Let’s clear up one myth: email is not dead; it is alive and well – especially on mobile. In just one quarter in 2014 (Q2 to Q3), the percentage of total email opens that occurred on a mobile device jumped from 48% to 53%. More emails are read on a mobile device than on a desktop.
How to make email mobile-friendly:
- Use a responsive template – This is a must. Responsive templates will “respond,” or adapt, to whatever size screen the email is opened on. Thus, your email will be readable, and beautiful, on any size device.
- Use teasers – Don’t include full articles in your e-newsletter; instead, use headlines and blurbs to attract readers and then link to the rest of the article on your blog or website. This makes emails skimmable and allows readers to quickly find the information they care about. It will also increase web traffic.
Fundraising-friendly texting
Text messages get attention. A lot of it. In a report from SAP, 76% of respondents reported that they are more likely to read a message if it is a text message versus an email and 70% feel that text messaging is a good way for organizations to get their attention.
How to use texting for fundraising:
- Use texts at your next event – Text messages will improve attendee engagement with your brand before, during and after the event. You can even use text-2-give to allow attendees to donate via a mobile device.
- Get a mobile marketing platform – Our mobile marketing platform helps you manage all your mobile campaigns in one place with features such as unlimited campaigns, unlimited keywords and QR code generators.
Embrace these mobile marketing steps one at a time if your resources are limited, but start today. Your audience is mobile and you need to be, too.
