Of Course We Have a Mobile Strategy (Don't We?)

There are lots of opportunities to engage with consumers — but make sure you have your marketing hat on first and your fundraising hat on underneath it. In other words, it's not all about the money on the first engagement. Also, there are two rules of thumb: 1) Make sure it can all be done on the device, and 2) include other channels in the engagement pathway as options. Does that sound like I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth? Well, I'm not trying to do that so let me explain.

Many people are spending much of their social-networking, research and activity time only on their mobile devices. What this means is that they don't want to be made to use another channel to complete their transactions. So, at minimum, if you're running a mobile campaign with a specific call to action, make sure they can easily do all that is needed within a mobile environment that is easy to use and understand. Plus, yes, the screen is smaller and everyone knows that but you need to cull down the steps to only what is needed for the transaction and perhaps what benefits future marketing. Don't have lots of steps to complete — no one wants to do it on a desktop, and certainly no one wants to do it on a mobile device.

Now, relative to the other channels: Don't be afraid to incorporate them, but don't make them mandatory. As an example, text-to-call is an option for specific types of transactions. If you have a captive audience, you must create an environment where they can complete their transactions in the same space, but you can also offer options for someone to simply click on a button and that will result in someone from the organization returning their call. This is not something that is going to work for all transactions due to the cost to the organizations, but don't hesitate to leverage other channels to provide additional options for your constituent. The key word here is "additional."