your alumni are moving onto the mobile web. are you? mobile applications and alumni engagement chad...
TRANSCRIPT
Your Alumni are Moving onto the Mobile Web. Are You?Mobile Applications and Alumni Engagement
Chad Davis, Lehigh University
Steve Rittler, CounterMarch Systems
Our Promise
In this
session wewill boldly go where
email, Facebook, Twitter, the alumni website and an
online community simply can't:directly into the pockets of
alumni
S T A R W A R S S T Y L E
Hello!A B R I E F I N T R O D U C T I O N
Chad Roy HalladaySteve
Hello!
PURPOSE A well designed mobile app gives instant
gratification
HOW TO Tools, talent and techniques
DONE A case study of an integrated campaign
T H I S I S W H A T W E ' R E H E R E F O R
Why mobile?
More convenient People feel smarter when they have the
answers
More engaging (briefly)
Immediacy drives interaction
More intimate It's right there in your pocket all the time
W E J U S T G O T G O O D A T F A C E B O O K !
Why mobile?
Mobile devices sales rate exceeds computers > 1 billion mobile broadband subscribers in 2011 http://tinyurl.com/4mol3tp
Timeliness > Quantity Situational applications have massive utility
value
Engagement of students and young alumni
L I K E G O I N G F R O M M O V I E S T O T E L E V I S I O N
The machines are taking overO U T P A C I N G L A P T O P / D E S K T O P S A L E S
What is a mobile device?
Smartphones iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm Pre with screen sizes
from 3.5"-4.2"
Tablets iPad (9"), Samsung Galaxy (7"), and the hundreds of
others (various) on the way
W E ' R E G L A D Y O U A S K E D
Lesser devices
"Dumbphones"
E X T R E M E L Y L I M I T E D C A P A B I L I T Y
What is used and whyP O P U L A R M O B I L E A P P S
App Why? Really…why?LinkedIn It's a better networking platform than your online
communityWork
Facebook It's a better "stalking" platform than your online community
Play
Twitter Everybody listen to me! I have valuable thoughts about my lunch!
Ego
Foursquare I'm here. Why aren't you here too? I'm lonely. Companionship
Angry Birds Kill time, lose sleep Fun
These five factors determine the success of every mobile app
The Home Screen
Installing/bookmarking an app is a personal choice made based on relevance and utility
You want to (you NEED to!) be one of those home screen apps an alum uses
P R I M E R E A L E S T A T E
Key Question
How do we drive actions that lead to substantive engagement?
1. Think about the context in which the app is used
2. Provide only what is necessary and useful
3. Act quickly and openly on collected feedback
R E P E A T F R O M L A S T S L I D E …
Hypothetical PrioritiesW E ' R E N O T M I N D R E A D E R S
Alumni Institution"Do stuff for me" The appearance, if not reality, of being
technically up-to-date with minimal management overhead
Alumni directory and networking access Protection of confidential and/or personal information
Answers to questions Where is reunion check-in? How do I get to Davis Hall? What time does the lecture start?
A phone call and an opportunity to engage in depth
Relevant, interesting, 'pride-inspiring' news
Promotion of "The Mission" or "The Campaign"
High fidelity, high utility Low cost
Hypothetical PrioritiesT H E S P A C E B E T W E E N
Finding common ground Understand key needs (some are
probably echoes of past requests)
Address items that align with your long term plans How easy can you make it to collect an
address update?
In-app surveys and frequent feedback on enhancements
Word of caution
Do not try to push every bit of content from your website out into your mobile application!
The context in which someone uses a
mobile app is very different from a
standard website
1 0 P O U N D S O F S U G A R I N A 5 P O U N D B A G
What is 'mobile'?
Text messaging (SMS)
Mobile web applications Websites designed for mobile device
capabilities and constraints
Native mobile applications One for Android, one for iOS, one for
Win7…etc.
T H I N L Y S L I C I N G T H E T E R M S
SMS
Ye olde "text message"
S H O R T M E S S A G E S E R V I C E
Pluses Minuses
Cheap (pennies per message) Opt-in required
Low management overhead Low fidelity message – short text
Runs everywhere Lost in the mix of other SMS messages
Can be used to address short-term needs No long term interaction
SMS
Several great services available to help Twilio (also voice!), Tropo, Clickatell
Bi-directional communications!
Extremely "event-driven" Request and response, end of
conversation.
S H O R T M E S S A G E S E R V I C E
SMS Opportunities
Reunion event reminders
Event registration
Event help desk (on-site FAQ)
Low-bandwidth Twitter for events
Mobile giving
F O R A L L D E V I C E S
Mobile Web Apps
Pluses Minuses
Cheapest, easiest way to extend your presence
Your existing CMS may not be up to the challenge
Newer devices have modern, standards-compliant browsers
Not every device is new (older Blackberries are especially flaky)
It's just another website (easy updates) …with modifications
Can do just about anything "Just about" means limited access to hardware
Can "look like" a native app Who knows how to "make a bookmark on the home screen"?
1 0 0 % B R O W S E R - B A S E D
Mobile web apps (think HTML5) have become the de-facto standard
Native Mobile Apps
Pluses Minuses
Highest performance, hands down Every platform requires a different codebase
Complete access to hardware Every platform requires a different codebase
Native look and feel Every platform requires a different codebase
Use new hardware/OS features as they become available
Updates to the app may require a fresh installation
You get to put it in an "App Store" …where the rules are opaque at best and the control is outside your institution
A S U P P O R T P R O B L E M
Native apps are installed on the device and live there until removed
"Near-Native" Mobile Apps
Pluses Minuses
Built using web technologies (HTML, Javascript, Flash)
Any translation tier will hurt performance
Access to most hardware Varies per platform, lags in releases
Native look and feel Depending on the tool
You get to put it in an "App Store" …where the rules are opaque at best and the control is outside your institution
W E B T O N A T I V E T R A N S L A T I O N
Builds like web, installs like native
"Near-native" Mobile AppsA L M O S T T H E R E
Tools are maturing fast Titanium Appcelerator (most mature)
PhoneGap (most extensible)
Adobe (most accessible for developers) Flash Packager for iOS
Adobe AIR for Mobile
http://tinyurl.com/mcompare
Use of familiar languages lowers the bar for app development
Good News!
The process for implementing a
mobile app is the same as other
media! Assess target audiences
Segment appropriately
Design appealing content for each
Select implementation on usual factors
Execute support and feedback workflow
I T ' S N O T A L L T H A T D I F F E R E N T
Vendor Questions
What type of app do you provide for each platform?
What metrics will we have access to in order to evaluate success?
Integration: to what extent and how much is included?
How well does their product relate to your users?
O T H E R T H A N C O S T
Let's talk actual apps
Demo time
Situational Applications
Reunion/Homecoming Event information
Campus maps
Emergency contacts
Networking
T H I S H A S N O T H I N G T O D O W I T H J E R S E Y S H O R E
Reunion
Princeton and
Cornell Homegrown app
Andrew Gossen
@agossen
H O M E G R O W N E X A M P L E S
Situational Applications
Self-guided campus tour using GPS
T H I S H A S N O T H I N G T O D O W I T H J E R S E Y S H O R E
Geolocation
Your personal GPS coordinates
Built in to newer devices and some
standard browsers
Opportunities What would you do if you knew your
proximity to places, things and other
people?
Y O U ' R E N E V E R L O S T . E V E R .
Sample: Cornell Compass
App tells you how far
you are from the
center of Cornell's
campus
You can "check in"
from that location
A N E A R L Y E X P E R I M E N T
Social Media + Events
Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter are
all "mobile enabled"
Foursquare's primary reason for
being is mobile
T H E G A N G ' S A L L H E R E … O R A R E T H E Y ?
Sample: Cornell's "Zinck's Night"
Integrated Twitter, Foursquare and
Google Maps
A real-time look at global event
participation
G I V E M Y R E G A R D S T O D A V Y
Sample: Cornell's "Zinck's Night"
Case Study
Lehigh/Lafayette Challenge Concept
Weeklong Challenge
Mobile Giving
Results Followup
D O N ' T L E T " T H A T O T H E R S C H O O L " W I N
ResultsB O T H S C H O O L S W O N
Online (strictly Young Alumni & Seniors) Texting (all alumni)
339 gifts in one week 445 text gifts in one day
$13,300 ($7000 for scholarship) $4450
56 designations 305 distinct phone numbers matched to 254 names in Banner
40 donors who had never made a gift before
11 alumni were first time donors
70's: 2280's: 4090's: 37Young: 89
Samples
Desktop
www.zincksnight.com
www.llchallenge.com
Mobile
www.cornellcompass.com
www.llchallenge.com
www.case.org/app
G O A H E A D A N D C L I C K A W A Y
Protip:
Bookmark and "add to home screen" to see how these apps look like native applications!
Final Thoughts
Work. Play. Ego. Companionship. Fun.
Segment appropriately
Build for relevant, actionable content
F O O D F O R T H O U G H T
