Content marketers can take advantage of the huge amount of back-to-school spending that occurs each August and September by creating messages that do more than just promote their products and services.
When it comes to their children, consumers are willing to spend whatever it takes to give them the best. When it comes to their keeping up with their peers, tweens, teens and college students suddenly become more interested in what they purchase. Back-to-school content is an effective way to target both adult and youth audiences. A few approaches to consider:
Parents Want an Edge
Every parent wants their child to be at or near the top of their class, socially and academically. Marketers that can help parents achieve this can engender brand loyalty and preference.
Fitting In
“You got it in red? No! Everyone else has a blue one!” Brands that create content that helps parents understand the latest trends, fashions, gadget and other needs of tweens and teens make getting ready for school easier and less stressful.
Bargains, Bargains, Bargains
Brands can create blog posts that teach parents how to get the most for their shopping dollars, even if the tips go outside the company’s product category. For example, many states offer sales tax-free shopping several weeks each fall to help parents deal with back-to-school spending. Marketers should emphasize their products’ warranties, guarantees, payment plans, low interest rates and other financial incentives.
Only the Best
Brands that aren’t cheap can’t compete on price, but they can deliver the status and quality parents and students demand from certain products. Marketers should use a bit of psychology to address consumers’ desire to fit in, claim a higher social status and stay competitive.
Kids Have $, Too
Don’t forget that teens and colleges students spend money or directly influence their parents regarding what they need to buy. Content that helps young audiences understand what they need to buy for school will help reduce their fears and can remind them of purchases they might otherwise not have considered.
Helping Hand
Helping parents with their busy school-related chores can turn a brand into a partner. Whole Foods, for example, created a blog post that teaches green-conscious parents how to pack lunches with eco-friendly containers. Flatout flatbread created a back-to-school blog post for parents covering topics ranging from re-starting kids’ sleep cycles to planning driving routes to a new school.
Create Shoppable Content
Shoppable content is gaining favor with consumers who appreciate direct links to products they’ve just read about. Content marketers can seem less mercenary and more trustworthy if they link to several products other than their own in a blog post. For example, a clothing retailer might create a blog post on what every gym or sports bag should contain, linking to one of its clothing items, as well as another company’s heart rate monitor, sports bar, sunscreen and jump rope.
Target’s Broad Approach
Big box retailer Target knows how important back-to-school is to their annual revenues, and so it created a multi-pronged marketing approach to address the buying season. For parents, Target created a School List Assist shopping tool. For college students, the retailer blogged about Ramen Hacks: 9 Delicious Ramen Recipes for Your College Dorm Room to target college-age customers. Younger kids were even involved in writing, directing, acting in and playing the music for some of Target’s TV ads.
