3 Ways a Branded App Helps Organizations Engage Young Audiences

Millennials, with a population of about 73 million in the US, are overtaking Baby Boomers as America’s biggest age cohort, while Boomers are expected to decline to 72 million. Meanwhile, the next generation of young people born after millennials - Generation Z - are on track to outnumber millennials worldwide.

This demographic change is forcing businesses to adapt and better leverage technology that these generations are reliant on. One niche that’s having a difficult time doing so are membership organizations. Attracting young people to join and commit to a membership organization has been a steep challenge. However, custom branded apps are helping to modernize the membership experience by engaging young audiences with a digital environment they know and love.

Many membership organizations are seeing improved engagement and increased retention by implementing branded apps on a private membership platform. Custom branded apps can offer an exclusive experience that can provides additional value to young audiences in many ways.

How Branded Apps Engage Young Audiences

1. Networking and professional development

Professional networking and group discussions are commonly overlooked as the major value for joining a membership organization. By providing a searchable and dynamic membership directory along with group spaces for discussion, organizations can foster community and drive membership retention in ways that wouldn’t be possible without a mobile membership app.

2. Excite users with new content

In 1996, Bill Gates wrote that on the Internet, “content is king.” He was right. All of today’s  largest digital brands and businesses - from Facebook to Instagram to Apple Music - are all about content.

Millennials are constantly browse content via mobile devices, spending an average of 107 minutes on their phones per day in 2012 up to 223 minutes in 2017. By giving them an in-app content library for videos, articles, events, etc, membership organizations can encourage participation and create new revenue streams with in-app mobile membership payments.

3. Omnichannel communication

An omnichannel marketing and communications approach helps companies retain 89% of their customers, an increase over the average number of only 33% without omnichannel communications.

This highlights just how important it is to reach users wherever they are: on their mobile devices via email, text, push notifications, and in-app pop-ups. GroupFire’s custom branded apps are packed with omnichannel features to reach members in a number of engaging ways.

Why Branded Apps Are Best For Engaging Members

Member-focused organizations of every type are finding it a major challenge to successfully reach millennials. Social media platforms often cause more problems that solutions; diluting brands across numerous platforms and distracting users with continuous advertising. Even membership management software just isn't enough to provide to members with a seamless mobile experience.

With a custom branded app, membership organizations can increase engagement, drive user retention, and provide value to young audiences with a holistic mobile experience they understand and enjoy. With a full suite of membership management features and a reliable partner, like Groupfire, organizations can customize a unique and exclusive experience, tailored to the changing needs of new generations to come.

Modern membership apps don’t have to be complicated with the right development partner. Groupfire makes it easy to offer a custom branded app to your members without extravagant costs and long development cycles.

To learn more, request a demo with us today and see how we can modernize your membership experience.


Sources:

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/01/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-20/gen-z-to-outnumber-millennials-within-a-year-demographic-trends

https://www.statista.com/statistics/283138/millennials-daily-mobile-usage/

https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/omnichannel-future-marketing/