Couldn’t get enough of Jen Barth’s marketing tips and best practices? We couldn’t either. Jen shares more insight below and if you missed the first part of her roundup, click here to read.
2018 Data Trends & Predictions
Each year, many predictions are made about emerging trends and industry shifts; these lists are also great ones to add to your team’s Summer reading list to inspire creative and innovation-focused discussions for the remainder of the year, and well beyond. For starters, Nonprofit Quarterly’s NPQ Presents 7 Trends of 2017 and 11 Predictions for 2018 and Nonprofit Tech for Good’s 10 Emerging Trends in Online Communications & Fundraising to Watch in 2018, are two good places to start; some others include:
- Scripted’s Ultimate Content Marketing Guide, which shares recent data trends to help optimize your messaging — for example, 43% of email readers now abandon lengthy emails within the first 30 seconds of reading them — and search engine marketing insights, email campaign delivery tips, and more.
- The M & R Benchmarks Study explores data gathered from over 150 nonprofits, including online and mobile giving trends, sector-specific website insights, email marketing and advertising ROI, and a helpful glossary of terms.
- The Online Marketing Institute’s Digital Marketing Predictions for 2018 assesses how 2017 predictions stacked up in addition to sharing expectations for 2018, including the rise of voice search, influencer marketing shifts, and more. Some related reads on the SEO essentials, video advertising, and “CMO Cheat Sheets” are in Anvil Media’s robust Marketing Resources library, too.
- CMO’s 10 Trends That Will Shape Marketing in 2018 predicts some good news for the nonprofit sector, noting mission-focused brands as a key focus this year, and a call-to-action for CMO’s “..to evolve into ‘chief making a difference officers.”
Where To Go From Here: Tips On Using This List
Marketing is, of course, a dynamic process that can — and should — evolve throughout the year, so teams can use and refer back to this list whenever the time is right for your organization. Here are some tips to help jump-start the process and pave the way for action ahead:
- Schedule a session to consider key marketing assets and tactics from the perspective of the different audience segments you serve, and begin making a list of longer-term opportunities to refresh, shift, or re-launch elements in 2019 and beyond. Beginning this process now using the resources shared here, and others you gather over time, can also help marketing team members begin to build support for future budget requests for more significant changes you may want to make ahead.
- Circulate resources among key staff and select volunteers with a goal of completing select reads within a few weeks of sharing them. It often helps to divvy up reading assignments among teams, and carve out time to share top takeaways and ideas during upcoming meetings, Board retreats, or at a separately scheduled lunch & learn.
- Ask Board members, key corporate supporters, and other external partners to share additional perspectives on these topics, and any other broader trends they are experiencing in their sectors. How might these dynamics impact donor and volunteer engagement ahead? Forbes’ 23 Trends That Will Shape the Business World and Entrepreneur’s 5 Business Trends to Follow for a Successful 2018 are a few discussion prompts for this dialogue.
What articles have been inspiring your team or CMO? Share them with us @StarfishMarta today.
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