Best Practices in Online International Messaging in the Developing World
Posted by Abigail Simmons on April 24, 2014
Last year only one third of the world’s population was online, and although this number is growing, there are still billions of people on the brink of experiencing the power of the internet and new media for the first time. This is a challenge in connecting to some communities. It is also a large opportunity, specifically for nonprofits, to capitalize on social media in places where the experience is relatively new. I mentioned in my previous blog, “How Can You Overcome Challenges in International Online Messaging”, that the cultural and linguistic barriers to advertising can be difficult to traverse effectively. However, the next hurdle to overcome is deciding what platform through which a non profit can reach the developing world. Should we focus on online or offline platforms? And then how do we effectively use online and offline platforms? These are the questions.
One of the reasons Facebook bought Whatsapp, at its controversial price of $19 billion, is because of its amazing ability to decrease the connectivity gap between the developed and developing world without the use of high speed internet. According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Whatsapp aligned with Facebook’s vision to reach and connect all of the world. Connectivity, says Facebook, is a human right. Now, they are able to help people do so through mobile phones and their data plans.
The use of mobile is extremely powerful within the developing world. In fact, a Boston analytics company projected that smartphone use is jumping from what it was at 1.5 billion in 2013 to 3 billion by 2017. This is in large part due to the developing world, which are predominantly “mobile first” cultures. Another projection, just to put it in perspective, shows that last year more Indian school children used smartphones to engage with their schools and education information than British school children.
This is why Facebook (i.e. Facebook Zero) and other social media companies are creating strategies that offer their services in often simple and “stripped-down text” versions so that they can easily be viewed on mobile phones in the developing world. Several international carriers are now gaining revenue through their partnerships with these companies, when users click to download photos or other files on these sites like Facebook Zero.
This is where nonprofits can come in! Nonprofits can now use mobile strategy to start informational campaigns and increase engagement with people on a large scale and quickly. Organizations are using platforms such as Whatsapp and other versions of social sites in order to use mobile messaging that is creating partnerships and development. They are able to regularly remind people of health check ups, send time sensitive information to rural farmers, and to gather important information about a population. Nonprofits are in the midst of creating innovative ways to truly improve education and health care and disperse valuable information to those who would otherwise be unreachable.
What are some of the best practices in reaching these populations via mobile? Research shows that you can reach a larger audience and increase engagement when you offer messaging with an exchange. Exchange their participation with air time, voice time, or credit! As mobile first cultures in developing regions are the largest consumers of these things, an exchange is a great way to get their attention and increase your engagement with them and their network. Also, be sure to research the most popular mobile or smartphone platforms in the regions you are targeting. Is it Facebook Home? Is it Whatsapp? Maybe Line or WeChat? Many new platforms have been created specifically with the developing world in mind. So know the platforms, and how people are using it.
Now that I have argued for the use of mobile and offline strategy within your nonprofit campaign, let me take a step back and advocate for online desktop messaging in the developing world as well! After all, not all developing cultures are mobile first cultures. As an example, 80% of internet users in Indonesia, and in other countries like Turkey and the Phillippines, are avid Facebook users. Yet most of them do not even own smart phones or engage with those platforms or Whatsapp via mobile.
Depending on where your nonprofit is working, a knowledge of the prefered offline or online or use of mobile or desktop is invaluable. Regardless of their common connectivity problems, each culture is approaching it differently. In which case, maybe a mobile strategy should come second to Facebook ads and other social media strategies. It is important to consider other platforms designed to use low bandwidth and still engage with these regions that are online and in developing cultures. Platforms such as Facebook Home again, and Myspace’s low connectivity version such as Profile Lite, are just some examples.
Overall, the main takeaway from this blog post should be that nonprofits are at a unique advantage because their causes can now be effectively and powerfully engaged with across several platforms in the developing world. These innovative tools are still new and developing, so nonprofits should be at the forefront by learning and developing the best practices to use these tools. Challenges are now exciting opportunities. Partner with Fission and we will help you take advantage of them!
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