mBlog: Utilizing your mGive Resources - Mobile is Like a Marathon

By: Lauren Brekke, Marketing Specialist

With the first full week of 2012 wrapping up, many New Year’s resolution lists are also being finalized. Over the years, I’ve learned the best way to approach a resolution, especially when the action is unfamiliar, is to utilize your resources. Here at mGive, we have an experienced team of Account Managers at your fingertips. Utilizing them is the first step to becoming an effective mobile communicator.

But what else is needed? Picture an athlete. Even if you’re like me and don’t play a sport, you can understand and respect the effort that goes in to being a strong and skilled athlete – especially one who garners consistent, impactful results. Since SMS (text) is a long-term strategy, and mobile isn’t going anywhere, I often compare mobile communicating and planning to a marathon, complete will the following steps:

1) Train
Training starts with a clear purpose and timeline for achieving your goal. No marathoner simply jumps on the track – they prepare beforehand. Once you’ve dedicated time to preparing for your goal, you can begin educate yourself about the strengths and weaknesses of mobile. For example, ask yourself, how many email address do you have…and how many mobile numbers do you have? The average person has 3 email addresses…but only 1 mobile number.

2) Condition
Condition yourself to “think mobile.” Mobile is a permission-based medium. Start getting your supporters to “think mobile” too by adding a mobile number field with a clear, explicit opt-in to receive text messages on all contact forms.

3) Perform
When communicating in any medium, remember to be relevant. In a world where instant gratification and quick, efficient communication is preferred; less can be more. Message your supporters like a best friend: make it personal and offer them the opportunity to respond for more information to get the conversation going.

4) Analyze
Working with your mGive Account Manager is crucial to understanding how to read, interpret and analyze the data you collect from your mobile campaign. It’s not nearly as hard as High School calculus class was, but in order to leverage the power of mobile – not to mention gauge your campaign’s success – addressing this step is needed to be a truly effective mobile communicator.

5) Celebrate
Achieve and celebrate success with mobile by using it as an enhancement strategy, which is integrated into your existing communications plan. Mobile is not an island; even the Senior Manager of CRM & mobile marketing at Coca-Cola agrees.

6) Evolve
As the mobile industry (and the mobile phone) evolves, so do we, as mGive employees, as mGive clients, and simply as mobile phone users. The important take away here is that we learn as we evolve. And we learn how to improve our mobile communication and planning.

Interested in learning more? mGive recently hosted a webinar on this very topic. Clients can find it under the “Resources” tab in their client dashboard. And, before you let the ink dry on your 2012 New Year’s resolutions, resolve to include a marathon mobile plan on your list.

We’ll check back in June to see how your mobile resolutions are progressing. Until then, let us know about your successes – and challenges – on our Facebook or Twitter page. Happy 2012!

Lauren Brekke is the Marketing Specialist at mGive and Editor of mBlog. Receive her mCard by texting LAUREN to 50555. mGive, a Mobile Accord service, educates, engages and empowers nonprofits and their stakeholders through our groundbreaking utilization of SMS (text) technology.

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