We’re coming up on my favorite time of year and the best time to fundraise. As the holidays approach and the holiday parties plan, people will start to feel more generous. And, if they happen to be the lucky ones who receive bonuses, they’ll donate to their favorite cause. However, fundraising depends on your marketing efforts, including social media. So, as you work on prep for the new year, make sure you know the top digital trends for 2020. By knowing the emerging digital trends in marketing, you’ll be one step ahead of others.
But, before we get into the digital marketing trends, let’s look at a few of the best nonprofit digital campaigns this year, according to Socialbrite. Take notes, as these will serve as great examples for your group. The first is by Make-A-Wish, which fulfills the wishes of children who face serious illnesses. They’ve used YouTube very well to share the heart-warming stories of these wishes. And that’s helped drive more people and money to their cause. WATERisLIFE used the hashtag #firstworldproblems to tell people about clean water. In this YouTube video, viewers learn of the privilege they have while millions of others don’t have clean water where they live.
Digital marketing done well can engage the public and bring in more donors. But, to do good digital marketing, you have to understand what’s happening as well as the digital trends. That’s even more true at a time where technology changes greatly from year to year.
Top Emerging Trends in Digital Marketing
1) Mobile Optimization
Other than when people find themselves at the office, people view EVERYTHING on their mobile devices. As you’ve been hearing, it’s important to do search engine optimization (SEO) for your content, which will help in telling your story. However, it’s now as essential to do mobile optimization. All of the material that your nonprofit puts out in the digital space must be mobile-ready. My team always views ads, content, email marketing and websites on multiple devices and phone types before launch. If people can’t view your site or content on their phones or tablets, that’s your #1 priority. Therefore, mobile optimization ranks as the top of our digital marketing trends for 2020 for nonprofits.
2) AI Voice Search
One of the more exciting emerging trends in digital marketing is AI and voice search. You know, “Alexa, how many ounces in a cup?” The shift has started to move away from typing to speaking directives into mobile phones. For instance, as this article explains, the way people make a voice request is different than a typed one. And, the team at Merehead goes on to write, “For example, the user will write “the best sushi of New York,” but he will say: “Where to eat delicious sushi?”. It seems that there is not much difference. However, this greatly affects the SEO of all sites. Accordingly, online services will implement voice query analysis and redo their content for them.”
3) Digital Marketing Trends & Personalization
If you work in marketing, then you know that personalization is crucial to defining your brand or organization. However, although the idea of customization is not new, it’s even more vital to do it now. And, that’s why personalization is one of our digital trends for 2020. Here’s the reality; people now expect to see content that is specific and targeted to them. So, it’s crucial to get very focused in your marketing efforts, or you’ll lose prospects. As people scroll through their Instagram of Facebook timelines, they are okay with seeing content that is of interest to them. But, if you don’t target your audience correctly, you risk turning people off to your cause. So, personalizing to your specific (and correct) target audience is crucial.
4) Growing Use of Sentiment Analysis
Another of our digital marketing trends for 2020 must include sentiment analysis. By now, you’re familiar that artificial intelligence has entered our lives. As people engage with your brand, AI understands that even if you do not say it, there is always an emotion tied to your comments with a brand. Meaning, that when people comment on your posts, they use a keyword that signals to AI how they’re feeling about you. In turn, these tools use sentiment analysis to understand how people feel. That then helps marketing teams with reputation, attraction, and retention of supporters.
5) Personal Messaging Apps
Finally, one of the emerging trends in digital marketing for nonprofits and others is the use of private messaging apps. More and more, groups use Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and other platforms to communicate directly. The reason for this digital marketing trend is simple. It’s the all about personalization. In other words, when you reach out to your donors through a messaging app, you’re speaking to them directly. So, think about using these messaging apps to provide valuable information. But, you can also consider using it for an urgent year-end appeal or to invite people to an event.
We hope that you’ve enjoyed our digital marketing trends for 2020. It should give you a good start for the year-end and the coming year ahead.
Author: Kristy Fonterela, VP Marketing, Funds2Orgs. Kristy Fontelera is a creative professional with a background in corporate and nonprofit social media advertising, content creation, and brand strategy. As the VP of Marketing at Funds2Orgs, she works with a suite of global fundraising brands as well as manages national and local social media accounts for clients and entrepreneurs. Kristy enjoys new books, traveling, Fleetwood Mac, and picnics with her pup. Most of all, Kristy is a passionate individual that loves nothing than more than to help others make an impact in their market and the world.
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