Ace Your Back-to-School Campaigns

After years of online learning, youngsters and college students alike are getting excited about the return of in-person classes. The annual back-to-school season will be full of shoppers who are looking for refreshed wardrobes, supplies for the classroom, and new electronics. Brands have an opportunity this time of year to engage with new audiences by maximizing their social media presence.

Time to Optimize

Back-to-school is a long and sturdy shopping season and shoppers are prepared to look for new brands to buy. In a recent poll, 62% of respondents said they clicked on an ad from a brand they saw on social media. Spanning from June through September, it’s an optimal time to develop a relationship with your audience. This prolonged shopping duration gives you plenty of time for optimizing your campaigns. Learning on-the-go means you’ll gather invaluable insights that can help you not only for this season, but also future shopping events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Tricks of the Trade

With this longer period of running campaigns comes more work. Automation and optimization can solve the difficult problems that arise while juggling multiple tasks associated with marketing campaigns. Leveraging automation tools makes social advertising easier, faster, and smarter.

Creative is also an important factor to consider. Competition is steep during these universal shopping events and you’ll want to make sure your campaigns are eye-catching and engaging. Dynamic ads can help set you apart and distinguish different product sets, while automated ads can make sure you’re reaching the right audience at the right time.

In addition to the generalized best practices outlined above, here are some specific tips that will help you ace your back-to-school campaigns in 2022:

1. Hyper-localize the audience targeting around your physical store locations that are within range of school districts or college campuses.
2. Capitalize on early shoppers by ensuring your campaigns go live several weeks prior to the start of a new semester.
3. Use social proof in your advertising such as star ratings, best sellers, and influencer review statements.
4. Consider using promotions that use a before & after strategy, displaying the price visually.
5. Improve the impact of your creative by mixing video and static ads together.
6. Design for mobile and social first by using the proper aspect ratios.
7. Make your product or service the focal point. Overlays of text and graphics should complement, but not overpower your key visuals.