Clowder Blog

According to comScore, 50% of all digital media time in 2017 was spent on mobile apps while only 34% was spent on desktop and just 7% on mobile web. From the total time spent on mobile throughout the year, a whopping 87% was spent on apps and only 13% was spent on web. These stats alone should be enough to convince any organization to go mobile - and we don’t mean a mobile-responsive website.  

When Facebook’s 2017 usage was broken down, 70% of time spent in the platform was accessed through its mobile app. Only 22% of time was accessed through desktop and just 8% through mobile web. This reflects the major shift in how we now communicate and consume content. We want the convenience of mobile apps over lagging and disconnected website experiences.

When your organization has its own native app, it should not completely replace your social media channels. Social media should be used to enhance your mobile efforts. The goal is to take the wide audience you’re able to reach through social media and direct traffic towards your app. Posts through social media platforms bring attention to your app, its content, features and updates. These posts help to keep app retention high. The frequency in which you should be sharing posts about your app is at least once a week.

Traditional advertising through TV, desktop and print is dwindling. An ever-growing shift towards in-app advertising has officially surpassed TV spend as of last year after beating out desktop spend the year before. Native mobile ads are predicted to drive 74% of total ad revenue by 2021 (Business Insider). That’s a huge percentage for associations to ignore. Sponsors are heightening their awareness of the ROI they’re able to gain through mobile as opposed to what they’ve had access to in the past. Without a native app, associations are increasingly missing out on opportunities for major revenue generation.

A vital question for associations to ask themselves - what are you doing to attract Millennials?

So your board feels it’s time to take a look at mobile. Everyone's doing mobile, right?

If an association still isn’t convinced an app is for them, they probably haven’t realized how powerful push notifications truly are. Having access to this tool can result in a total member engagement overhaul.

Event-specific apps have become the standard for associations and nonprofits. Development companies like Cvent and EventMobi have helped organizations consolidate content and information for large events such as conferences and conventions into a single app for attendees to use. The major downside to these apps however, is that 99% of users delete them within 30 days. The other 1% probably just forgot the app was still on their phone. The reality is there is no real purpose for these apps once an event is over. It begs the question, where is the longevity and ROI in an investment like this?