According to the Pew Research Center, 77 percent of American adults now own smartphones. That’s up from 35 percent in 2011. So, it’s no surprise that today’s mobile-savvy members not only expect to have great experiences, they also demand it. As part of our strategy to deliver consistently positive first impressions and ongoing interactions throughout the membership experience, the Association of College Unions International turned to mobile apps as a powerful, front-facing marketing tool.

Several years ago, we set out to build a mobile-friendly website to help members and potential members consume information. However, with a cost-prohibitive price tag of $25,000, the website project was put on the back burner. While many associations tend to think of apps as an afterthought, we took a different approach: Could we center our mobile strategy around apps?

The answer still is a resounding “yes.” Using an app-building platform from Guidebook, we launched our first app for a small, in-person event at incremental cost and with zero help from a developer. These days, the traditional event brochures is obsolete. The app was easier to update than a traditional event brochure, ensuring that the most accurate information reached our members.

Building an app was far more cost-effective —less than a tenth of what we would have spent on a mobile website. And, as a dynamic, two-way communication channel, it offered a far superior experience compared to a static website. The app has become a place where members can organically discover dynamic information, and it helped us create an innovative member experience by taking advantage of built-in features, such as

• instant messaging via SMS, MMS, and in-app push messaging
• social networking features and photo sharing
• GPS tracking.

While many associations tend to think of apps as an afterthought, we took a different approach: Could we center our mobile strategy around apps?

As you set out on your own mobile journey, here are some practical ideas to help you along the way.

1. Start small. Associations that invest in incremental changes are not only fiscally responsible, but it’s also the only way to go with new technology. It’s helpful to start by demonstrating success with a single app, which will help ensure buy-in from leadership. Rather than trying to execute on a comprehensive mobile strategy, we experimented inexpensively with a small, in-person event before turning to our annual conference. You don’t have to get it perfect. You just have to get it started.

2. Create templates for scale. Our team created a template and instructions for other event staff and volunteers to submit content and get a new app up and running. Over the course of a year, they created more than 30 guides for face-to-face events. This has saved us about $4,000 on printing costs per event, and we have dozens of events occurring annually, which adds up to a steep savings.

3. Complement, don’t copy, your website. Instead of trying to keep both your website and app simultaneously updated, link back to the website in your app. For example, our year-round membership guide is an app, which houses evergreen information about member services, benefits, and resources, including a link to a landing pages with high-level descriptions of services. Members can simply click on the link to learn more about member services.

4. Make apps part of your marketing mix. Just like website updates and social media promotion, integrate the app into your marketing team’s efforts, including the expected program production and execution schedule. For example, the week before an event, we shift the app’s focus from how to register to how to navigate onsite with schedules, sponsor recognition, and reminders.

5. Be smart about content updates. It’s important to be strategic about wording and the content you include in your app. For example, if we cancel a session, we don’t remove it entirely from the schedule. We simply add in word “cancelled.” That way if someone returns to the app or has the session saved in their calendar, the scheduling change will be clearly noticed.

6. Encourage socializing. Mobile apps offer one more touchpoint for members to engage with the association and other members. Using the social media feed within the app, our members created a dedicated place to message and communicate with each other.

Fostering communication is one of the main reasons associations exist, so any technology that encourages better communication is a win for everyone. Mobile apps are here to stay and are going to be an important part of how associations create a sense of progress and innovation moving forward.