Marketing the Association in the Digital Era: 5 Tips on Mobile

Five AMC professionals shared 60 ideas/tips on marketing the association in the digital age at the recent ASAE Great Ideas Conference. The ideas were shared in 5 categories: 

• Integrated Marketing 
• Twitter &/or IM 
• Mobile &/or QR Codes 
• Facebook &/or LinkedIn 
• Blogs, Websites &/or Slide Share

Over the next week or so, I’ll share the top 5 ideas in each of the 5 major categories and any of the ideas the audience surfaced. You can click here for the full PowerPoint.  This week, we're focusing on the Mobile/QR Code tips. 

TIP 11: Use a QR code 
Shared by Betsy Wintringer, Association Management Center

• QR codes can help reach a younger generation of members. In this instance, AAHPM designed a full complement of marketing materials and tailored the message, design, look and feel to reach med students. 

Tip 12: Adaptive is the New Mobile
From Greg Schultz, The Sherwood Group

• You blinked, and mobile-optimized is old news. Responsive and adaptive sites deliver the best experience and allow the best access possible to your content. This new way of developing sites is platform independent and allows features to be added progressively based on users device, browser and connection speed. Your customers don’t feel penalized or judged for not having the latest technology. In the slide, you can see the site scale and adjust its features for computer screen to tablet to smartphone screen sizes. 

Tip 13: Mobile Applications
Shared by Jeannie Sheehy, The Bostrom Corporation

• Use Mobile Apps where they make sense. The Tile Roofing Institute application for Contractors and Builders subtly pushed product yet provided efficiency in job. Mobile Marketing areas to watch: text message marketing & content delivered via SMS or mobile web, or Android, Blackberry or iPhone App. 

Tip 14: SMS Texts at Events
From Hugh Whaley, AMR Management Services

• There are inexpensive, short-term options for text-based messaging at events/conferences. Use text messaging during your event to make conference announcements (room change, etc.). Add a field for a mobile phone number to your registration form, so members/attendees can opt-in before the event. EZ Texting allows pay-as-you-go options, as low as $0.05 per message.

Tip 15: QR Codes
Shared by Brian Riggs, Association Headquarters

• Make sure to know what NOT to do with QR Codes. We introduced a QR code with a cupcake decorated with the new QR Code. People didn’t know whether to eat the cupcake or scan the code. A few weeks later, I read a Mashable piece on “what not to do with QR Codes” and using them to decorate a cupcake was in the Top 10!