“Everyone has three lives: a public life, a private life, and a secret life,” said author Gabriel García Márquez. This quote “resonates with how we live our lives today, and perhaps how we have lived since the start of human society,” writes blogger Stowe Boyd. It got me thinking about how much personal info online activists are willing to give up to nonprofits. Will constituents easily offer their cell phone numbers now that nonprofits are looking at mobile fundraising more seriously?

Frogloop spoke with several mobile experts to gain their perspectives on the mobile market, what success nonprofits like Rock the Vote are experiencing with mobile marketing, and if nonprofits should start integrating mobile into their communications plans. In part two of this series, Frogloop will explore strategies to optimize mobile campaigns.

Should Nonprofits Require Mobile Numbers on their Registration Forms?

Most mobile experts agree that nonprofits should start collecting cell phone numbers as part of their list building and engagement strategies but that nonprofits would probably see a decrease in sign-ups if they made cell phone numbers a required field (though many acknowledged there is no definitive data on this and that it’s sill being compiled). However, nonprofits could deploy a marketing tactic such as the Obama campaign did when they promoted the VP announcement via mobile. Supporters who gave the Obama campaign their mobile numbers were the first to hear the VP pick. Smart move by the Obama team, but of course that was a presidential election, so your nonprofit would have to find a compelling enough hook to do something similar.

Are People Comfortable Giving Up Their Mobile Number?

The jury is split and it also depends on the demographic. Most consumers are not comfortable providing this information,” said Chris Parandian, of MobileDiner.com. “Cell phone numbers are so personal.”

Parandian raises an excellent point. Cell phone numbers can be safe guarded as more private then say email because the majority of people who have email addresses have at least three email accounts that serve different purposes (personal, business, etc), according to e-Marketer. People don’t want to be marketed to everywhere despite marketers attempts to reach them at every opportunity.

Lawmakers have been paying special attention to mobile marketing privacy issues as well. The m-Spam Act of 2009 was crafted to rein in unsolicited-text messages and when the wireless industry wanted to create an opt-in wireless directory a few years ago, there was so much consumer push back that Verizon backed out and the directory initiative was put to rest, said Parandian.

At the same time, however, nonprofits can’t dismiss the fact that 1 in 5 people have mobile phones and no landlines, said Jeff Lee, President of Distributive Networks, a firm that specializes in mobile marketing and worked on the Obama Campaign’s mobile strategy. And while older demographics may not be as comfortable giving up their cell phone numbers, 18 to 29 year-olds are more willing to give it out. According to Renee Hamilton, Vice President of MobileMatters, “We have seen in some cases such as Rock the Vote that when asked, a [young] supporter is often eager to offer their cell phone number when asked properly. Successful cell phone number list building may involve an offer of action updates, discounted merchandise, event information and more.”

Younger demographics are also more responsive to text message-based campaigns. In 2008, Rock the Vote tested text message reminders using control and treatment groups to their online list during the presidential campaign and saw a 4% increase in their members registering to vote.

According to a Rock the Vote presentation, the text message campaign had an impact because:

• The contact rate of text messages reaches about 100% of their constituents instantly – making it ideal for deadline notification.
• Text messages normally come from close friends and are presumably a highly trusted information source.

However, Rock the Vote also recognized that following caveats:

• The results applied to young people who were already motivated to download the registration form.
• Presidential primaries may be different from other elections [and campaigns].
• It requires a large mobile list to increase registration in a significant manner.

Should Nonprofits Have a Mobile Strategy?

Let’s face it - nonprofits can’t escape the success organizations like the American Red Cross had raising over $30 million via “text to donate” campaigns after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, especially compared to the $200K they raised from texting in the 2008 hurricane season. “Interestingly, mobile donations represented only about 12% of overall donations for Haiti, yet represented 99% of the mind share,” said one mobile consultant.

While Hamilton and others fear that “we’ll have another situation like Obama where every nonprofit wants to duplicate what happened for the Obama campaign in social media and mobile,” she says that mobile should be taken seriously and be fully integrated as an essential part of a nonprofit’s communication plan.

“Mobile is ideal for list building, advocacy and fundraising. It should be built into every piece of media an organization does. It is the most effective manner of converting everything from out door events to electronic media (radio and TV) into a contributing member of an organization,” said Jed Alpert, Founder of Mobile Commons. “Mobile should become an organic part of organizations existing media and never considered a separate silo.”  

There are a variety of mobile strategies nonprofits can utilize besides “text to donate.” For example, Mobile Commons has the mConnect application which can be used by nonprofits to contact legislators and officials via mobile. Planned Parenthood had success using the tool for a thank-you call to President Obama in 2009. About a year ago, Humane Society of the United States experienced an increased response rate of 77% during their year-end fundraising drive by texting an appeal to their donors with mobile numbers 24 hours before an appeal hit their email boxes.

What do you think? Should mobile be a part of nonprofits communications, fundraising, and outreach?

More Mobile Resources:

• Nonprofits: Time to Get Mobile - Frogloop
• 5 Real Challenges For Non-Profit Texting Campaigns - Mashable
• Texting for Dollars - MobileActive.org

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