Author name: soladvocates

Artificial intelligence (AI) has started transforming every aspect of our professional and personal lives. The marketing industry is not immune to this digital transformation, with leading brands starting to embrace the opportunities the technology brings. Gaining a better understanding of customer behavior is one of the core benefits of AI in marketing.For years, marketers have gathered and analyzed data about customer behavior. Their goal has remained largely unchanged — extrapolate patterns and predict which products and services will be most popular with a certain audience. From that basis, marketers would then identify the channels to reach their target customers.AI is giving marketing professionals an essential advantage in this quest. This fast-evolving digital technology can analyze more data more accurately than humans can. AI and its subfields, such as machine learning (ML), also identify existing behavioral patterns and predict future behavior based on that. The growing role of AI in marketing In 2020, the market for artificial intelligence technologies in marketing was valued at just over $12 billion. While that may seem impressive, it pales in comparison with the global AI market, which was valued at over $325 in 2021. However, the current market size does not reveal the true potential of marketing-related AI. That only becomes clear by considering growth predictions.According to experts, the market for AI in marketing will exceed $35 billion next year, nearly tripling in size in only four years. Another four years later, in 2028, industry insiders believe that this area of the marketing industry will have tripled once again. Statisticians expect that marketers will utilize AI to a value of nearly $108 million before the end of this decade. How marketers are using AI today How realistic are those expectations? Consider this: as of last year, four of five marketing industry experts said they had already included some form of AI technology in their work. When asked to identify the areas in which AI and ML were already enhancing campaigns, marketing professionals named benefits in several areas: Automation of repetitive tasks Analysis of large quantities of data Personalization of campaigns Predicting conversion rates Optimizing the timing of email marketing Most of those areas benefit the current leading application of AI technology in marketing — programmatic advertising. A recent survey found that 50% of participating marketing professionals named more targeted advertising as one of the main advantages of integrating AI and ML in their approach. How AI enhances programmatic advertising Placing the right adverts in front of the right customers at a time when they were receptive to this content used to be a painstaking process. Machine learning algorithms have allowed marketers to automate buying and selling digital advertising space.Once programmed, the ML algorithms are not static. They mimic human behaviors, including learning. In practice, the algorithm ‘understands’ whether an advert has missed or exceeded expectations and learns from this outcome. There is no need for additional human intervention. The algorithm, or the machine, learns without additional input simply by analyzing results and iterating its approach.Marketers and the brands they represent benefit from improved targeting of specific audiences with customized messages. As a result, conversions grow, and advertising spends more efficiently. Programmatic advertising platforms work by analyzing quantities of data that would overwhelm humans.These platforms cannot only compute data about user behavior, website analytics, and demographic information. They also see trends and patterns before humans can. Marketing professionals can then use those insights to make their content more relevant, increasing the likelihood of customer engagement. Plus, marketing algorithms can optimize ad placement and bid pricing Understanding AI-related concerns in marketing Like most powerful technological developments, AI has raised some concerns in the industry. In addition, marketers starting to invest in AI technology are dealing with unanswered questions as the technology continues evolving at great speed. Two of the main concerns relate to customers and marketers themselves. These concerns are privacy, data protection and job security in the industry.Protecting privacy — AI and ML rely on access to large quantities of customer data to recognize patterns and predict potential behavior. Despite their far-reaching capabilities, these technologies cannot self-police. They will analyze any data fed to them. Marketers need to ensure that their data collection and usage practices are not only ethical. They must also comply with current privacy and data protection legislation, such as the European Union’s GDPR or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).Job security for marketers — Job security for marketers is another concern about the growth of AI-based applications. Most recently, these concerns have been discussed in connection with OpenAI’s ChatGPT software. Granted, it is not possible to predict entirely where the marketing industry is headed, but most experts believe that AI and ML will change existing jobs rather than replace them. Marketers can work more efficiently and effectively to benefit the brands they represent. Their daily routine may change, but it is unlikely that robots will replace human marketers anytime soon. Final thoughts While AI has the potential to transform the marketing industry as we know it almost beyond recognition, the technology is not here to replace human marketers. Instead, AI and ML can optimize and streamline current marketing approaches.Both technologies can also take care of repetitive tasks, allowing their human team members to focus on what they are best at and develop creative campaigns that engage more customers than ever before.

It’s tricky being a nonprofit marketer. You’re often left wondering if it’s okay to spend part of the money on marketing your fundraisers, or if you should just spend it all on the cause itself.However, marketing — especially for nonprofits — couldn’t be more vital for the betterment of your beneficiaries. By raising awareness and engagement, nonprofits can achieve their goals and make a real difference in the world.Use these nonprofit marketing statistics to inform your marketing strategy and maximize your budget in 2023 and beyond. Why Marketing Matters for Nonprofit Nonprofits that invest in marketing can have more of an impact. They’re able to get their nonprofit organization in front of more people.“Nonprofits have to use marketing tools and tactics to tell their stories, spread their impacts, and garner support from the greater community,” says Joshua Fields, co-founder of the nonprofit The Next Step Programs.”The more connected we are with the community, the more families we reach, the more services we provide, and the more resources we can generate.”Setting aside a budget for marketing can increase the impact of your message, the money your raise, and the number of volunteers you have. Other benefits include: Raising awareness for your mission. Attracting new donors and supporters. Building relationships with current donors and encouraging donor retention. To effectively build your strategy, you’ll need to understand the landscape of nonprofit marketing. We’ll explore essential trends in the next section. Nonprofit Marketing Statistics The State of Philanthropy In 2021, giving grew by 4%, even with challenging economic conditions. Memberships still matter. Cultural nonprofits generated 53% of their online revenue from memberships, while Public Media generated 100% from memberships. 45% of donors are donating to crowdfunding campaigns that benefit nonprofits. 56% also donate through online stores that benefit NPOs. Consider creating an online store for your nonprofit if you don’t already have one. NFTs are taking off as a way to raise money for your nonprofit. Unsilenced Voices sets up NFT art competitions for the girls in their program to draw/paint pictures. The nonprofit mints and sells them to fund school tuition, supplies, and lunch for the girls. Nonprofits raised $78 for every 1,000 fundraising messages sent. Partnerships, social media challenges, and user-generated content remain some of the most effective ways to gain funds. Use your social media channels to amplify people already supporting your organization. Which Nonprofit Marketing Channels Generate Results Most donors are more inspired to give when email marketing or social media is the communication medium (26% and 25% respectively). Meanwhile, other media generate 12% of donations. On average, nonprofits increased digital advertising budgets by 19% in 2021 to reach new and existing audiences. Nonprofit email list growth is on the rise. Email list sizes increased by 7% in 2021, compared with 4% and 2% in the previous two years. Image Source If you haven’t already, dive into events. Events with peer-to-peer fundraising converted at 47%. This is the highest rate of all campaign types, according to research from Classy. Nonprofits invested 19% more in digital advertising in 2021 compared to 2020. Search ads (Google ads for example) deliver the biggest return on ad spend ($3.72) while display and social media generated $0.59 and $0.57, respectively. The average cost per click sits at $2.99 for social media ads, up to $3.68 for video, and $3.72 for search advertising. Image Source Nonprofits Social Media Statistics Donors between the ages of 18 and 29 increased the amount they donated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these donors, one in four wants social media communication from nonprofits. 48% of social media platform donors give on Facebook. That’s double the impact of Instagram (24%), and other platforms at less than 10% each. Mobile apps, Facebook, social media, and text messages are the most popular ways for Gen Z and Gen X to donate. Donors like to give through social media fundraising tools too. 32% have donated through Facebook Fundraising Tools and 89% of those say they’ll do it again. Pay attention to TikTok. The platform directly contributed $7 million in donations to nonprofits using the app. Social media and constant communication won’t work for every age group. Boomers and Gen Xers prefer quarterly or yearly communication to monthly or weekly. Image Source How Users Want to Make Donations Users on desktop devices donate 76% of total revenue and perform 65% of total transactions. 55% prefer to donate online using their credit or debit cards — a cue that digital marketing is important. Make sure you have multiple ways to donate on your website. The average one-time donation was nearly 1.5x more when nonprofits offered ACH, PayPal, and digital wallet payments. HubSpot found that Gen Z prefers to donate via Facebook, social media, texting, or mobile apps. Meanwhile, millennials prefer texting or app-based donations. The number one reason Gen X may choose not to donate to an org is an outdated website. Making the Most of Your Strategy One thing remains constant with these stats: Data-based decisions are more important than ever.Invest in a nonprofit technology that tracks and provides visibility for all your data. Be sure to stay up-to-date with the nonprofit marketing world and trends shift.