The Scene of the Battle - The Catholic Family Living Room
Picture your typical parish family. They've sat down on the couch and they are surrounded by a plethora of iPads, iPods, tablets, and mobile phones. Each family member picks up a device. How likely is a family member to open the mobile browser, type in your parish website address (if they can remember it) and go check out your website? It is pretty unlikely they would take all these steps. And, even if they did, would your website offer them something different to do or see tomorrow or the next day? What would cause them to even think of your website in the first place?

On the other hand, picture a family member flipping through their phone's home screens looking for an app icon to push.  Imagine now that your parish has a shiny little icon button right there on their home screen. Right there between YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram sits your parish app! And, when they click on your app icon, they are welcomed into a robust world packed with automatically updated prayers, videos, and resources to enhance their faith. They can make donations, sign up for events, check out the discussion board, and more. Even more amazingly, you can make their phones buzz with a push notification message causing them to close YouTube and go check out your message in your app. You can cause them to remember your app in a way that interrupts their other phone activities! What an unbelievable outreach tool!

The Power of a Reminder
The very presence of an app icon is a reminder to pray, a reminder to consider God, and a reminder to connect with your parish. The website is just an idea that must be sought out. The app, on the other hand, puts a stake in the digital ground that is their mobile device. The battle for your parishioners' attention during the week is right there on their phone's home screen. Like it or not, that is where their eyes are most hours of the day. We're giving you the opportunity to stake a claim of real estate on that home screen.

Do I even need a website?
Websites are important for out of town visitors and newcomers searching for local Catholic Churches. But, beyond these simple searches, your website probably isn't used very much. Your best bet is to have a simple website (that is also mobile friendly) teamed up with a robust mobile app. 

Mobile apps truly are becoming the preferred means of digital communication.
Below is an excerpt from a recent article on comScore by Andrew Lipsman.May turned out to be a banner month for mobile as it delivered on some huge milestones which underscored just how impressive the medium’s ascendance has been in the past few years. Mobile platforms – smartphones and tablets – combined to account for 60% of total digital media time spent, up from 50% a year ago. And perhaps more impressively, mobile apps accounted for more than half of all digital media time spent in May, coming in at 51%.

An article in the Georgia Bulletin reviewed Msgr. Paul Tighe's speech at the at the Archdiocese of Boston New Media Conference. Msgr. Paul Tighe is the Secretary for the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

Here are some quotes from the article:

The Catholic Church has a duty to evangelize people who can be found on the digital continent. As the church sent missionaries to Africa and the Americas, she must also engage people on the Internet. The church needs to make space for the soul online, he said.

"Social media is redefining how we understand local community,” he said. “The digital parish will be where people cluster around shared interests and shared ideas.

According to data compiled by eMarketer in August, the average American adult spends more than five hours online every day, and a 2011 survey of Brits found that one in four spend more time on the Internet than they do asleep. Msgr. Tighe said that people are going online to connect with others. 

According to a recent Flurry Analytics report, users spend 86% of their mobile phone time using mobile apps vs 14% of that time using a mobile browser. These statistics indicate that mobile apps are used 6x more than mobile websites. There are several reasons for this disparity. Usually mobile apps provide a richer, easier, and faster experience than mobile websites. To launch a mobile app, users simply push a shiny icon button.  But, to load a mobile website, users must remember the website URL, open the mobile browser, and type in the lengthy URL using small buttons. In addition, mobile websites typically only provide quick information that is seldom revisited. Mobile apps on the other hand, provide interactive resources, device specific features, and various opportunities for longer engagement. In addition, push notifications in mobile apps create occurrences for repeat visits.

To engage your community on a deeper level using today's technology, we highly recommend following the current trends and offering a mobile app.

Why senior citizens and lower income groups use smartphones MORE than other groups.

Senior Citizens and Apps
interestingly enough, the senior community uses smartphones and tables MORE than they use computers. Why? Because iPads and tablets are easy to hold on the couch, they feature big buttons, and all they require is pushing those big buttons with a finger. Desktop computers on the other hand require tight control of a mouse, sitting upright at a desk, and straining to see a monitor with poor eyes. But, with mobile devices, seniors can simply sit on the couch (or in the pew) and navigate an app quite easily.  Then, when you consider these seniors may be trying to visit your poorly formatted website on their devices, you could argue that you need a mobile app for seniors MORE than you need it for anyone else!
When considering the amount of free time and disposable money most senior shave, why you wouldn’t offer them an app with prayer resources and a shiny donate button is hard to imagine.

Low Income and Apps
Low income families will acquire smartphones BEFORE they will acquire a home phone, home internet, or home computer. The pricing model has shifted. Lower income groups are less likely to have desktop computers and home internet. They absolutely will have a smartphone with internet first because a smartphone provides them with a phone, internet, and a computer all in one for a very low price compared to buying all those things separately.   You need a parish app for the low income families who only have smartphones and who don’t have home internet or home computers.  Once again, you may need an app for this group MORE than you need it for other groups.

Busy Moms (Parents)
Most mothers are running around so fast they don’t have time to sit down at a computer. They are literally managing the business of family life from their phone. Carpool lines are when they catch up on connectivity. The idea that the average busy mom is sitting down leisurely at a desk checking out the parish website is quite unbelievable. And, when considering who volunteers and supports church activities the most, you would be crazy to not put a parish app on the phones of these busy, powerful, and influential mothers.

You might be excited to launch a mobile app for your parish but not sure how to promote it. The good news is that analytics show our apps are heavily used once downloaded!  Therefore, all you need to do is get the word out there and promote downloads.
Here are some recommendations for promoting the app.

• Pulpit Announcements
• Bulletin block - with app screenshots and QR codes
• Hang QR Code Flyer Around Campus/Church - View example flyer
• Bulletin Insert with Flyer - View example flyer
• Email blast to entire email list (include clickable links not the QR codes)
• Include download links at bottom of all normal email correspondence
• Promote on home page of website Apple and Android logos linked directly to the app download location
• People with iPads greeting people before/after Mass or events while showing off the app
• Put sign up forms for big events inside the app
• Pastor himself promoting the App at Mass or after Mass announcements
• Article in Diocesan newspaper
• Occasionally ask for donations through the app