As we move into 2021, our mobile phones will remain central to our lives. Mobile engagement will play an essential role in fostering community and building connections as companies, associations, and organizations have gone remote.   Today, WFA(anywhere) is more prevalent than ever. Whether individuals are moving to smaller towns or to tiny countries, many workers are embracing remote work. We expect this trend to continue. According to Slack, nearly ⅓ of office workers don’t ever want to go back into the office.  While interactions may not be happening face to face, it’s vital for organizations to adapt to our new normal in order to best engage and inform remote employees and communities. 

Why mobile?

Mobile apps have quickly risen in use. Where mobile apps were once reserved for games and social media – today, mobile apps are how we consume news, communicate with our networks, and do business. But if your organization is not utilizing a mobile app, you’re missing out on that valuable screen time.  Pre-pandemic, Americans were spending nearly 5 hours a day on their mobile phones. New data suggest that this number has jumped up in 2020. According to mobile app usage analysis by AppAnnie, a mobile data and analytics platform, the pandemic increased mobile usage and mobile has a deeper integration into everything we do.  What does this mean for organizations? Mobile should be a component of your engagement strategy.

Guidebook mobile apps

Organizations use Guidebook mobile apps as a direct line of communication to critical audiences and stakeholders. We see our corporate partners using Guidebook apps in a number of ways to meet their goals. 

• Information and content repositories. House educational resources, company information, and emergency plans on mobile apps to make critical information available to all stakeholders. Digitizing this information makes it easy for your organization to access it, and simpler for you to manage.
• Engagement tools.Utilize push notifications and networking tools to keep your community informed and connected, anywhere. Make it easy for organizations to connect with one another, chat, and stay engaged by adding networking to your app.
• Internal event apps. Event apps work to engage audiences before, during, and after internal events. Utilize mobile to extend the life of events and conferences. Provide event resources, reminders, and alerts to get your team ready to meet. During events, utilize live polling and chat to keep attendees engaged.
• Onboarding and training.Enable new employees or members to access onboarding or training materials on their phones or computers, at their own convenience. Getting new employees up to speed requires delivering a lot of concentrated information in a relatively short timespan. Combat information overload by neatly placing all your need-to-knows into one mobile resource that can be referenced later at-will, then check in with a few strategic push notifications and feedback surveys.
• Team-building activities. Mobile apps features like shared photo albums and social activity feeds turn team-building activities into exciting events. Use an app to add a social layer to whatever you have planned. People love checking to see who has uploaded the funniest photo or whose post has the most likes – building stronger relationships along the way!

What does this look like in practice?

Businesses across the world – like Google, Amway, and Comcast– have been building apps to communicate internally with their people. For them, mobile apps provide a degree of flexibility and accessibility that didn’t previously exist. To learn more about how mobile can strengthen communication at your company, click the button below to request a demo.