{Video} Mobile Websites: Crucial for Your Nonprofit

Transcript: I want to talk to you today about mobile websites and why they are becoming increasingly crucial for your nonprofit. I’m going to attach a quick infographic that really hit me. Every time I look at one of these, I’m blown away by the stats and just absolutely floored with how quickly mobile usage has grown and how much the technology has changed. I’m fascinated by mobile in and of itself, and everything around it. Let me run you through a few of my quick take-aways from this infographic that you should check out for yourself.

First point: In 2014, they’re predicting mobile usage will overtake fixed desktop usage. Look at the proliferation of these devices and how many there are. It’s constantly with you, so that is a big one.

Number two: One half of all local searches are on a mobile device. This makes sense because if you’re looking for something local, you are going to use the device that detects exactly where you are and gives you results tailored to your specific geographic location. That is huge since most nonprofits do operate locally. We work with a few that are national, but here in Memphis we’ve got over 3000 nonprofits and the vast majority of those are only working in this community. You have to factor in that if you don’t have a great local mobile experience, then you are significantly missing some opportunities there.

Next up: I love this one because I’ve said this for years. The Internet has given everybody A.D.D., so now you’ve got 86% of mobile users using their mobile devices while they’re watching TV. So they’re not just watching television; they’re also potentially engaging with your website. They may be looking at an e-mail blast. You’ve got multiple screens being used to get these messages across, and people’s attention is divided, so you have to be sure your message can really stand out from all the noise.

On average, Americans spend 2.7 hours per day socializing on their mobile device. That is almost half as much time as they spend eating and almost a third as much time as they spend sleeping every single day that they’re using a device to interact over social media networks. This includes texting, phone calls, general socialization, not just social media of course, but staggering figures show people are spending that much time on their devices.

Let’s talk about what all this means for your non-profit because the numbers don’t lie. People are using their mobile devices more, and more, and more. If you don’t think people are using their mobile to hit your website, then go check your analytics because I think you’ll be shocked. Google has made it very easy for you to track this all the way down to what kind of device it is: Is it an iOS? Is it an iPad? Is it an Android? Is it an iPhone?

When you realize 20% of the people coming to your website are using a mobile device and you don’t have a mobile friendly website, a responsive design, or any functionality that helps push them towards the goals you want them to take from the mobile device, then you are sorely missing out on some opportunities to engage with your target audience. The reality is these numbers are only going to go up. They’re not going down in any way. If you look at the trends over the last few years, it looks a lot like this.

The last point I would make is simply that mobile friendliness and having a great mobile website for your potential donors, for your audience, or whoever it happens to be, is much more within your grasp than you might realize. The technology has come so far in the last four to five years using some of the content management systems out there you may have your website built on like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal. They have plug ‘n play extensions that can give you a mobile website.

If not, the cost for you to add a mobile stylesheet that formats your website to work on a device is not going to cost you the same amount you paid to have your website developed. It’s often very, very cost effective. If you haven’t looked into this yet, then I highly suggest you should. Stay tuned. We’ll have some more coming. Check out the infographic below, and if we can ever be of service, let us know.