Using Mobile Phones in Your Campaigns

Submitted by Bonnie on Tue, 02/13/2007 - 12:20pm
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Katrin Verclas, MobileActive.org

The mobile buzz is definitely on, and with good reason. There are 2.7 billion mobile phones in circulation around the world and these numbers continue to grow at astonishing rates, even in the United States where we are notoriously behind in the use of text messages and creativity in mobile applications. But with half the world owning cell phones, all organizations that want to communicate with their constituents and spread their message should be looking at mobile phones as a promising, new outreach tool.

Yes, using mobiles is still a novel idea for most nonprofits. The good news is that there are many resources available to help your organization enter the world of mobile communications. For starters, here are a few things to consider as you plan a mobile campaign.

  • Mobile phones should be used as part of an integrated campaign. As sexy as mobile marketing and campaigning is, it can’t yet stand by itself.
  • Texting campaigns, especially with short codes on a professionally run platform, are still expensive and will not turn into ‘profit centers’ any time soon.
  • Mobile phones are a great way to strengthen ties with your existing supporters and get immediate responses for urgent actions. For now these are the two most promising uses for mobile phones in campaigns, but I think it’s safe to say that we’ll see this broaden as mobile marketing takes off.
  • Remember that most people still use their cell phone for calling. I know of commercial campaign that let people sign up by sending a text to an sms short code or by simply calling a number. Most people called the toll-free number. Similarly, campaigns asking people to call to take some sort of action have shown promise.
  • Mobile messaging needs to have a clear call to action or valuable content. But what makes content valuable? Well after giving it some thought, I’d like to get the headlines from the NTEN blog, asthma and smog alerts from the American Lung Association, and traffic alerts from my town on my mobile phone, to name a few.
  • Be creative. I am fascinated by SMS graffiti and public sms displays. Playing is ok - this is an emerging field where innovation is possible and much needed!
  • Evaluate your work. If you are running a campaign or considering one, be in touch, share your results, and do not be shy to experiment. We are constantly on the lookout for good data to share (even anonymously).

Resources:

  • MobileActive.org is a blog and community of people using mobile phones in their work.