Your supporters subscribe to your mobile program for a reason. It’s not only that they support your cause, it’s that they also want to engage with your organization in a valuable, relevant, and motivating way. Educating them about what you do, current events, candidates to vote for, and how supporters can contribute are essential. But what if you could provide more? What if you could deliver personalized and localized texts that provide a service, rather than just a message?
Enter intelligent data queries, or as we like to call them here at Mobile Commons – mData. This data-driven feature delivers location-specific information within a text message, like the address and hours of a voter’s polling location, a drop-off for donations, or availability of health services.
At its core, mData shortens the path to action for your supporters. Instead of sending a link in your text message asking the recipient to find the local service on their own, you serve it up directly with a complete address, and even links to a phone number or website for more information. Your supporters are motivated by your cause, but just like you, they are also very busy people. Cutting out even one or two steps when asking supporters to mobilize or take action goes a long way.
Not only is mData powerful, it’s also incredibly easy to use. Before we dive into the functional side of things, let’s look at some use cases that can help you envision just how this feature can fast-track your organization to spur your supporters to action.
- Polling Locators – Getting voters to the polls is the goal of every GOTV campaign. Make it that much easier by using mData to serve up a voter’s polling location. All you need is the subscriber’s address, then Mobile Commons will deliver the address and hours of their polling spot, plus a link or phone number if they need more information.
- Health Services – Let’s hope we don’t have to go through another pandemic anytime soon, but health services and vaccines of all sorts will always be vital to the public. Use mData to share locations where individuals can find vaccines, access screenings for cancer, get a dental check-up, or obtain other health services.
- Donation Drop-Offs – Your supporters want to contribute, whether that’s through monetary donations, material donations, or donating their time. Help them find a local food pantry to drop off non-perishables, an organization accepting winter coat donations for those in need, or a location accepting water and first-aid supplies in a disaster zone.
- Emergency Services – Help connect those in dire need with life-changing services quickly and effectively. For example, a shelter for someone experiencing homelessness, a safe haven for abuse victims, or counseling for mental health support.
- Community Servicers or Events – Do you run a summer program to provide students with free lunches when they are out of school? Do you have a rolling blood donation van that makes its way around the city on varied days? Make it quick and easy for community members to reach out to your organization to find your important services without needing access to the internet.
- Mobilize – Connect your Mobilize platform to Mobile Commons using mData to allow users to text in their zip code and find their nearest event via SMS with details and an RSVP link.
By now you probably get the point – mData is powerful and can pretty much be used for any location-based data. So how do you get this information to your subscribers? There are a couple of ways.
Use a short code – Share a short code to return the data service you’re promoting. If the subscriber is not yet opted-in, they’ll go through the standard compliant steps. Then you can ask them to provide their address and Mobile Commons will automatically reply with the specific location information. If the subscriber is already opted-in, you can ask for their address immediately to get the autoreply with the relevant location information.
Text your subscribers directly – Let’s use the always popular polling locators as an example. It’s almost election day, so you text your constituents asking if they need help finding their polling spot. If they say yes, you can ask for their current address, and then reply with the exact address and times that the polling location is open.
Another bonus to mData? If you don’t already have a subscriber’s address stored to their profile, it will automatically be saved within Mobile Common’s built-in CRM when they provide it. That way, you can tap into it again in the future.
Ready to harness the power of mData and start shortening the path to action for your subscribers? If you’re new to Mobile Commons, discuss how we can help you expand your mobile messaging strategy to include a service-focused aspect to your program. Or, if you’re already a customer but haven’t taken advantage of mData yet, contact your dedicated mobile strategist and we will get you up and running ASAP.
Ready to harness the power of mData and start shortening the path to action for your subscribers? If you’re new to Mobile Commons, reach out to one of our mobile advocacy experts to discuss how we can help you expand your mobile messaging strategy to include a service-focused aspect to your program. Or, if you’re already a customer but haven’t taken advantage of mData yet, contact your dedicated mobile strategist and we will get you up and running ASAP.