For the past few years, we’ve all been hearing that mobile is the future. Well, ladies and gents, that future has arrived.
Welcome to the Age of Mobile.
Smartphone sales have finally surpassed all other phone sales. Not only that, but mobile is the only media time that’s growing, meaning Americans are consuming more and more through their phones and less and less through TV, radio, print, and their desktops. In fact, 20% of all internet traffic comes from mobile.
This mobile madness has a lot of us focusing on Millennials, who seem to do everything from their phones. The very term Millennial, in fact, is all but synonymous with mobile.
But don’t let that convince you that embracing mobile will isolate older generations of alums and donors.
Kendra Boyer, Associate Director of Online Engagement at Bucknell University, pondered this seemingly impending isolation when considering EverTrue’s mobile app.
“There were concerns that the platform wouldn’t meet directory needs for older alumni. The thought was that they probably don’t have smart phones and wouldn’t be able to access the mobile community.”
On top of that, Bucknell is evaluating the need for a web-based directory, meaning EverTrue could be the only tool for its alums to find and connect with each other.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said Boyer, “but I know I’m happy with the results.”
She and her team took on an extensive marketing effort to reach as many Bucknell alums in as many ways as they could. They engaged alumni through a combination of personal and mass emails, social media and direct mail, and a raffle that gave app downloaders a chance to win an iPod Touch (Xavier High School had similar success with its iPad giveaway).
Thanks to these robust efforts, more than 2,700 Bucknell alums are using the EverTrue app. Not surprisingly, there’s a higher penetration of Millennials than any other generation. Perhaps more surprisingly, all but two of the classes from 1951 to 2013 are represented.
That’s right: Alumni from age 22 to 62 have downloaded the EverTrue app. And the most active user? Not a Millennial but a 1971 grad.
What does Boyer think of that?
“I am so impressed with the level of engagement and just the breadth of engagement. We’re thinking of new ways to keep the app fresh in 2014 and get even more classes involved.”
With smart phone prices continuing to drop, mobile will become even more accessible to even more people.
For more striking evidence that we’ve crossed into the Age of Mobile, check out this stat-stacked SlideShare from Business Insider: