The mobile app, Angry Birds, is an occasional pastime of mine. There’s something indescribably satisfying about slinging kamikaze, frowning feather-balls at rickety structures on the other side of the screen. I love watching everything fall down. Why is this so much fun?!
What can I say? Angry Birds is one of the most popular mobile games ever created, so I’m not alone. And mindless games aren’t a guilty pleasure for me. I’ll sling a few sets of birds before I move on to other things. That’s because checking Twitter or reading an Atlantic article is also high up on my free-time to-do list.
Everyone has his or her own pattern of mobile behavior. Most of us are tuned into the web via smartphone or tablet consistently throughout the day. The challenge is anticipating members’ mobile habits. When folks land on your association website, the chances are high they will have arrived from their mobile device.
Recent research provided by Salesforce confirms these mobile user trends and sheds some light on how many people use their phones:
— 85% of our respondents said mobile devices are a central part of everyday life—and 90% of those aged 18-24 agreed.
— On average, respondents report spending 3.3 hours a day on their smartphones.
As the numbers imply, the smartphone will continue to change the way people do business, do research and maintain relationships. Many activities in a person’s daily life involve a mobile device. Say what you will about the latest dystopian novel you read, this is reality. In order to stay relevant and market to your members you have to understand something about their mobile behavior.
Mobile Behavior You Need to Consider
People access mobile differently than they do computers. For most of us, our first inclination when we browse with our mobile device is to download or open the app we want and use that. We don’t open up Google Chrome or Safari, bypassing the typical website browsers we use on our computer. Sites like Pinterest, Facebook, Youtube, and Yahoo! are most often searched via a specific mobile app.
Make Sure Your Pages Are Mobile Responsive
It’s very important to have your website pages mobile optimized. On your computer, click the resizing arrow in the bottom right corner of your page. Drag to the left. Does your site automatically reformat for a smaller window size? If not, there’s a good chance your content will appear just as jumbled when someone lands on your page with a mobile device. A non-responsive site will drive up your bounce rates significantly.
Marketing with Text Messages
Like email marketing, text-messaging members who value your association is a great way to reach out to them with a message they’re likely to see. Make sure you provide an easy opt-out process in each notification as some people see texts as a breach of privacy. For the members who do want your messages, it can be a very valuable way to market
— Text messaging is rated at somewhat to very useful by 91% of users who subscribe to brand’s texts.
Mobile Marketing = More Opportunities
Don’t forget that you’re competing for attention. But you knew that already. Research has confirmed that people use smartphones or tablets almost everywhere. We think of it as a multi-tasking device for many occasions.
— Of tablet owners, 65% report using their tablet while watching TV at least once per day, while 41% use their tablet and smartphone simultaneously at least once a day.
This can work to your association’s advantage. You now have more opportunities to grab member’s attention.
We live in a time when associations can’t afford to ignore the mobile behavior of the audience they could reach with an intentional mobile marketing campaign in place. It’s time to get members away from Angry Birds and on to your landing page.