Community app helps groups share information, create connections
An Edmonton-based app is making it easier for local community groups to connect with residents by providing a one-stop shop for all announcements and information.
ARC Business Solutions launched the app Communibee last year after being approached by the Glastonbury Community League to develop something to improve engagement and awareness with residents. The free-touse app requires users to first sign up using an email or a Facebook or Google profile before allowing access to the more than 40 local community leagues.
Once a user picks one of the available leagues, the app provides a variety of information from upcoming events to announcements.
ARC president Graham Murray said the goal is to eventually include all 160 community leagues in the city.
“No one really goes to websites anymore,” he said.
“We’re building apps for the smartphone and marketing them worldwide. We’re also marketing the product to other types of communities. You can define a community as a small town, a business, a church, a society. Any kind of organization that has people they want to communicate to and engage and make more aware.”
For example, Murray said condominiums could use the app to inform tenants about events or announcements directly.
There’s certainly no shortage of social media apps out there but Murray said there is a difference between his app and giants like Facebook and Twitter.
He said when someone publishes something on Facebook, the post doesn’t always reach every follower.
“It only goes out to about eight per cent,” he said. “That message you posted, you’re thinking it gets out to all 1,000 followers ( but) it’s not. Whereas with our app, our unique value proposition is when a resident or a tenant or an employee has it downloaded on their smartphone when a new item is published by an organization ... your phone vibrates. It’s a 100 per cent capture rate.”
ROOM TO EXPAND
Although the app is already being used globally, Murray said there’s still lots of room to grow and expand. He mentioned one user in Japan used the app to provide updates on weather events like tsunamis.
The app is available on all platforms including Apple’s IOS and Android products as well as a laptop version.
Murray said the company built the app with cross-platform in mind.
He said in general, most developers create a version for Apple and another for Android, which doubles the amount of work.
That’s why ARC decided to forego that process and simply go with a method that would allow the app to work on both.