In marketing, everything moves quickly, making it quite the task to keep up with the latest trends, channels and approaches.
Not to mention, by the time you’ve got your head round one idea, it’s moved on. Or, sometimes, it’s gone altogether… can you keep up with TikTok? I can’t. Where did that audio that would have worked so well for my campaign go? It was here two days ago!
It is difficult, right? Let alone if you’re trying to navigate it in a charity.
With specific requirements to provide information to service users, recruit volunteers, support fundraising activities, change policy and more… working in charity marketing brings additional challenges.
So, what’s worth our time in 2023?
I can’t say for certain, but I’ve rounded up some trends we’re seeing here at CharityComms, that may be worth looking out for.
The rebrand bandwagon
The foundation for explaining what you do and how you do it, is unsurprisingly, at the top of my list.
From a full rebrand name and all, to refreshing older logos and visuals and combining causes, we’ve seen the trend in attention to branding go big in 2022, and expect this to continue into 2023.
We’ve also seen a growing interest for our Brand Breakfasts and Creative Groups, which are attracting hundreds of attendees. With strong engagement in conversations about identity, visuals and all things creative – it seems to be on people’s minds.
If you want to learn more about the reality of a rebrand first-hand, this blog will help.
If you’re looking for inspiration, check out Dan Dufour’s Year in Charity Branding 2022.
Service via social, anyone?
Within the consumer sector, there is a growing trend of using social media to speak one on one with audiences, and this is likely to continue into 2023.
More than 25% of marketing professionals already use direct messages to speak to their customers, and 15% intend to start using it in 2023.
But… why? Well, it may be generational. Hubspot’s research found that a quarter of Gen Z and Millennials have used social media to reach out to companies in the past three months.
To think this trend may be adopted by the charity sector isn’t a huge leap, as various sectors tend to follow each other in some form. But how could this work for your charity?
Perhaps if you’re a service provider, you can use your social channels to speak directly to those you work with. If you’re a campaigning organisation, can you directly engage with those supporting you across various channels on a more personal basis?
Keep it short and sweet
Simple is best, still.
With the rise of TikTok and short-form videos, it seems that quick and creative content isn’t going anywhere. A very large 90% of marketing professionals who currently use short-form videos will be continuing, or further investing in 2023.
This is unsurprising as many of us have become so accustomed to TikTok and Instagram Reels in our personal lives, not to mention, struggle for time. So, short snappy content not only gives that dopamine hit we all want, but it dishes it out in a timely manner.
This can work to charity marketers’ advantage as shorter videos are less time-consuming to create, can help you structure key messaging more effectively and often don’t require advanced video editing skills, or complex apps.
So, why not give it a go? Break that 3-minute video into six short-form pieces and test out the engagement!
But… also long and serious
To balance against short-form visuals, expect to see a rise in longer-form written content for websites in 2023. For example, how-to guides, glossaries, and case studies.
Often referred to as evergreen content, this more detailed and comprehensive content can increase engagement, improve SEO and help you build trust with your audience.
Case studies are a tried and tested method for raising awareness of charity objectives and demonstrating impact, so it’s no shock that this will continue into 2023.
If you’re not using case studies to their full potential, maybe 2023 is the time to build them into your content marketing plan.
To learn more about how to develop, write and use case studies, check out the DSC’s article on the basics, or, use our case study consent form template.
Email marketing maintains its crown
Last but never least… email continues to dominate strategies as a highly effective form of marketing for charities.
Listed in the top fundraising trends three years in a row by Charity Digital, it continues to allow organisations to reach mass audiences with one click.
As such, with many low-cost, or even free marketing software options, if you have the temptation to try something new, or update your approach to incorporate this more – this year is a good time to start.
Alternatively, if your email marketing strategy is returning solid results, you can rest assured that this approach isn’t going anywhere, and turn your attention and capacity to other channels and ideas.
Overall, 2023 seems to be providing us with an opportunity to adjust our marketing approach a little, get creative and take some (calculated) risks.
Sound good?
If you’re interested in learning more, or levelling up your marketing strategy in 2023, join us for our first-ever Strategic Marketing Conference in March. There will be practical talks, case studies and plenty of time for questions.
Did you miss our Twitter chat on marketing? Head over to #CharityCommsChat to catch up.
Banner Image: Aman Dinkar on Pexels