These days attention focuses more and more on addiction to smartphones. While we used to lament about the kids and their video games now even Gran can be seen playing “Words with Friends” more often than she is sitting down around the table with her community group exchanging words with her IRL (“In Real Life”) friends.
In addition, as the world keeps changing, the same “Apps” that used to live only on your smartphone are now also used on your tablet, reader, your television and even your car. Yes, your car.
More hearts
With so much more media content available to our audience wherever they are, apps provide the opportunity for us to remain a preferred channel for our audience even as how they consume media moves from an FM tuner to the latest iPhone (or Acura). As people move from tuning a dial to touching an icon, we want to be present for them to make a God ordained choice of what content they will consume.
More deeply
Apps provide a significant ability to ‘go deeper’ with our listeners. Apps provide a platform for interactively engaging with our audience. “Push Notifications” can enable us to remain ‘top of mind’ with an audience member amid the noise of the day. These personalized notifications can help listeners ‘keep on track’ with their good intentions to focus on God every day. Calls to listen, to pray and to give can nudge a listener in her busy day, motivating and easily enabling her to take the steps she wants to draw nearer to God.
Personalization can go even further as a listener would look to your station as the source for quality content to deepen her walk, in the specific way God is calling her. Some stations invite listeners to the station to download their App and then choose to consume content entirely music or entirely teaching in nature, based on their needs at that moment.
In general, Apps provide your listener access to all of the great assets of your ministry, whenever any given facet is the element that they need at that particular moment.
So what do we do about it?
If you are feeling the tug to move forward in taking your station or program into the future, but are overwhelmed by the task, take heart. There are ways forward that do not involve large technology investment or hiring throngs of new staff with degrees in computer science. What content you put in this channel is far more important than having all the latest features.
Want to go further? So do we. Read more about our Digital Services.
