a mobile app and a smartphone
camera. QR codes are free and easy
to create and can be used to link to
a website, YouTube video, mobile
app download, phone number, SMS
message, email address, etc. QR
codes often can be customized in
color and branding. QR codes must
link to something that displays in a
mobile-friendly format.
• Text Messaging: Commonly known
as SMS (Short Message Service) or
MMS (Multimedia Message Service),
texts can be sent to mobile phones
using a limit of 160 characters.
Even non-smartphones can receive
text messages. SMS allows only text,
while MMS enables images, video
and other media. Organizations can
use text messaging to broadcast
one message to many or set up a
campaign where users initiate a text
message using a number or phrase
to receive a response (text the word
MOBILE to the number 366948 for
an example — you will not be added
to any list).
Cook and Kocher Insurance Group is
an insurance agency that specializes
in serving the insurance needs of
Associations.
More than 100 Associations and NonProfits in the Chicagoland area rely on
Cook and Kocher Insurance Group to
provide Risk Management solutions for
their organization.
Coverages include:
• Group Health, Dental, Life and LTD
Insurance
• Directors and Officers Liability
Insurance
• Specialty Errors and Omissions
Insurance
• Media Liability Insurance
• Property/Casualty Insurance
Cook and Kocher Insurance Group, Inc.
300 S. Northwest Highway, Suite 208
Park Ridge, Illinois 60068
Ph: 847-692-9200
Fax: 847-692-9299
Jack Cook, CLU, ChFC, RHU
Karl Kocher
jackc@cookandkocher.com
karlk@cookandkocher.com
www.cookandkocher.com
• Mobile Email: Email messages optimized for viewing on mobile devices.
• Mobile Fundraising or Mobile Giving: Using mobile devices to collect
funds for your organization through
a text messaging campaign, mobile
website or mobile app.
• Location-Based Mobile Marketing:
Using geo-location mobile technologies to target or interact with
mobile users in a certain geographic
area, such as Foursquare, Facebook
check-in, SCVNGR or Gowalla.
Additional mobile technologies exist,
but these are the most prevalent and
have the highest impact.
Building Your Mobile Strategy
Now that you have the basics of mobile,
here is an action plan to help you create
your association’s mobile strategy.
Step 1: Define your goals.
This may be a little more involved than
you might think. For example, one core
goal might be to increase membership
while another is to reduce conference
expenditures. Still another may be to
make the organization greener. Perhaps
your organization is more legislatively
inclined and you want to use it as a
grassroots tool. And perhaps you also
want to use a mobile tool to help your
members with their jobs.
Step 2: Define your audience.
Determine exactly who you are trying to
reach through mobile. It is often not as
simple as “members,” and it’s important to understand their demographic,
as this will help you anticipate how
likely they are to adopt the mobile offerings you may provide. One way of determining this is to survey them, to find
out what devices they are using, where
they’re using them, and don’t just limit
it to smartphones (Remember tablets,
non-smartphone devices like an iTouch,
e-readers, etc.)
For example, a typical office worker
might only use their mobile on their
commute or during their lunch hour,
while a medical professional may use
their device all day while doing hospital
rounds.
