comScore recently asked 18-34 year olds to name 3 phone apps that are essential. The results might shock you as much as other journalists were shocked to see who came in first! The top 7 apps in the final tally are:

1. Amazon
2. Gmail
3. Facebook
4. Facebook Messenger
5. YouTube
6. Google Maps
7. Google Search

“Except the for the specific order, this list is spot on for me,” said Thom Hiatt, 41 and owner of Faith in Marketing. “I find myself using Gmail most often, then Facebook, Google Search, Maps and YouTube. I certainly spend a fair amount of time looking at Amazon, as well.”

Email is still the number one communication channel for many people. Sure, it has its flaws, like spam, but those things are getting better managed all the time. Gmail does an incredible job of stripping away spam, and also helping to prioritize messages, and this is why it’s so popular for email. People receive email, read it and reply to it. And that’s why schools and churches still send e-news.

“Facebook is one of those things that many people would like to stop using so often, but it’s so hard to step away,” said Thom. “We have what’s called FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out! Plus, it’s where the people are. As far as social goes, Twitter is #2…”

Faith in Marketing builds modern, mobile-optimized websites that automatically push parish and school news articles directly to Facebook and Twitter, so the content is reaching users on web, on social media, creating viral opportunities, and bringing them back to your website where you can encourage involvement, registrations, donations, etc.

YouTube is a given. If it’s video, it’s got to be on YouTube. YouTube serves many purposes for churches and schools. First, it’s a wonderful holding tank for video content. Second, it’s so easy to embed your YouTube videos in your website or in your e-news… and share them on social media. Faith in Marketing has produced over 200 Catholic videos for a wide variety of schools, parishes and organizations. It’s one of the most effective (and emotional) ways to communicate on a wide variety of platforms.

Google Maps has replaced our paper map for pretty much any travel, whether across town or across the world. The data is extremely accurate and the travel estimates couldn’t be better. Plus, they’ve added benefits like Location Sharing, Timeline, Business Listings & Ratings, etc.

“You would be surprised how many people look up churches and schools on Google Maps. It’s a lot!” said Thom. “We’re seeing schools and churches with hundreds and thousands of Google Maps users per month / quarter.”

Faith in Marketing works with Catholic churches and schools to improve their listings on Google Maps. “We shoot Virtual Tour images and add them to the location on Google Maps,” said Thom, “This allows a user to see all around the property, and grow their own interest, before making their first visit. We also make sure the contact info is accurate and the push-pin is located properly.”

Google Search is no longer just search. It’s quickly becoming the go-to app for finding what you want, often before you ask! The latest version of the Google app offers a personalized stream of your upcoming events, your own travel bookings, the estimated commute time to you next meeting, as well as the local and worldwide news / weather that interests you. “It’s very handy and something I use a few times a day,” said Thom

Looking back at Amazon, maybe it’s not a surprise at all. We want what we want, and we want it now. We don’t want to spend 20 minutes driving to a store to spend 30 minutes walking around, and another 30 minutes through traffic to get back home. Millions of Americans have opted to pay more than $100 per year for the convenience of online ordering and free delivery from Amazon. Plus, quite a few Millennials don’t own a car, as they share rides with friends and buy a ride from Uber or Lyft.

In the coming weeks, the latest phones, tablets, laptops, watches, and earbuds from Apple, Samsung and Google will be released, and once again you’ll see mile-long lines of folks waiting to buy them. “Our goal is to get those same lines in front of the church doors, and at the school enrollment desk,” said Thom.