If you’re not adjusting your marketing strategy to account for the back-to-school period, you’re making a big mistake. 

Seriously! 

Do you know how much money people spend on back-to-school products and services? According to this survey by NerdWallet, parents of K-12 or college students will spend about $541 USD or $700 CAD on supplies, clothing, and other miscellaneous things for their kids. 

That’s a huge market and large audience you’ve been neglecting. But luckily for you, it’s not too late.

In this post, I’ll tell you what marketing strategies you need to implement and what back-to-school marketing ideas you can use for your business, and I’ll even give you some sample copy ideas to add to your content. 

Back-to-School Marketing Strategies

Understand and Segment Your Audience 

I feel like I always talk about this in all my blog posts. Maybe I should do a separate post on understanding your audience. Let me know in the comments if you want this!

Anyway, you need to clearly define your audience. For your marketing efforts to be effective, you must understand your audience’s demographics, motivators, pain points, desires, etc. 

Once you have a firm understanding, you can take a step further and segment your audience based on their characteristics. Just because you’re targeting people engaging in back-to-school shopping does not mean you should lump them all in one box. 

There are differences within that target audience. For example, you might want to segment based on the school level (e.g., preschool, high school, college, etc.), or you can even segment your audience based on age (e.g., parents in a particular age group, kids, preteens, teenagers, young college students, etc.). 

Either way, segmenting your audience allows you to deliver more effective marketing messages that target that group specifically. 

Keep Your Offers Relevant 

After understanding your audience and segmenting them, you need to use the information collected to ensure your offerings and campaigns are relevant. 

You can do everything right but still not see results if your back-to-school product or service offerings are irrelevant to your audience. 

The way people shop, their interests, needs, wants, and problems change all the time. You need to be up-to-date to ensure you’re constantly meeting their needs. 

Pay attention to things like: 

• New fashion styles
• New study materials
• New technology
• Remote learning technology
• Consumer budget changes
• Industry pricing changes

Use these to create an offering that appeals to your audience. Marketing is so much easier when you have a product or service people actually need. 

Get Creative with Your Back-to-School Content

So far, you know your audience and have the perfect product or service offering to promote for the back-to-school period. Your work is only halfway done. Now, you need to come up with creative ways to get your business in front of the right eye. 

Finding the right marketing channels ties back to our first point about understanding your audience. What marketing channel do they use the most? What’s the best way to reach them? Is it through social media or email marketing? Search ads? Or a combination of all? 

In today’s marketing world, your best bet is probably social media because who isn’t on a social media platform? But which platform should you use? Again, this would depend on your audience. If you’re targeting parents, I would say use Facebook and Instagram. If you’re targeting younger kids, then Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest are probably where you want to be. 

However, I wouldn’t neglect email marketing and search ads, as they drive amazing results for your small business. Figure out what mix of marketing channels you’ll need because odds are you’re going to want to use more than one to make sure you have a large reach. 

Now it’s time to get creative with your content creation; these days, standing out as a small business is difficult but possible. Create content that appeals to your audience’s emotions; you want to grab their attention and make them feel something. The best way to stand out is by triggering an emotional response from your audience. 

Make them feel like your product or service is exactly what they need. Think outside the box, get inspiration from others in your industry, and create something that paints your business in the best light. 

Optimize Your Website with a Back-to-School Theme

The content you create and share using different marketing channels needs to lead your audience to where they can view and purchase your offerings. 

This should be your website. 

When they land here, you need to make sure you convey the back-to-school campaign happening. Use banners, text, graphics, sales messaging, or even a back-to-school dedicated page on your website to do this. 

This ensures your customers can easily find the relevant products they need, and it might even prompt them to explore more products they didn’t know about but might need. Also, making your back-to-school campaign visible on your website might catch the attention of a random visitor who missed all your other marketing efforts. 

You never know who might end up on your website, so you need to take every opportunity to make your offerings clear. 

Generate excitement with a sneak peek.

Teasing your audience with what’s to come is a great way of generating buzz around your business. 

A month or so before your back-to-school campaign launches, use social media and email marketing to give your audience a sneak peek into what’s to come. 

This forward-thinking tactic keeps your business in the front of your audience’s mind. Use fun and engaging countdowns and reminders. You can even incorporate games to build the excitement. 

Remember when I mentioned creating content that appeals to your audience’s emotions? Well, curiosity is a powerful emotion you can invoke and use to your advantage. 

Refresh your Search Ads.

If you use any form of ads as a means of marketing, then you will need to update them. Create a new one specifically for your back-to-school campaign, and make sure you’re targeting the right audience. 

Back to School Product or Service Ideas 

Do you want to take advantage of the back-to-school period but are not sure what product or service you can offer? I got you. Feel free to take any of these ideas and apply them to your business. 

1. School Supplies and Stationery
2. Offer “first day of school” prep services such as haircuts, hairstyles,  mani/pedi, massages, etc.
3. Digital Products such as printable planners, calendars, worksheets and study guides, flashcards, etc 
4. Fall-themed Apparel and Accessories like custom t-shirts, hoodies, and sports jackets. Gym wear, etc 
5. School accessories like lunch boxes, water bottles, pencil cases, backpacks, etc. 
6. Meal prep services 
7. Stress-relief products
8. Vitamins and supplements
9. Tutoring services 
10. Online courses
11. Workshop for parents
12. Home or dorm organization tools like storage boxes, binders, etc.
13. Art and craft supplies 
14. Music Lessons
15. Parenting ebooks  
16. Print-on-demand services for customized school supplies and apparel.

Back-to-School Marketing Ideas 

I have given you some product and service ideas, now here are some  great back-to-school content ideas you can use to market your offerings: 

1. Create back-to-school bundles or packages: Bundles are an amazing way to sell more products while still offering your customers great deals.  Create affordable bundles of your existing products that go together and are tailored to your audience’s needs.  
2. Host an event (either online or in-store): host back-to-school-related events such as workshops on DIY school supplies, webinars for parents, etc. This is a great way to build a community with your audience. 
3. Run a back-to-school contest or challenge: creating a back-to-school-themed contest or challenge is a great way to generate buzz and excitement around your business; you can also give out school-related prizes. 
4. Offer free shipping for a limited time on school essentials: if you have a product-based business, nothing drives customers to you like FREE SHIPPING! (I know I love a good free shipping deal) and your customers would, too. 
5. Collaborate with influencers popular among students or parents: if you have the means and resources to do so, influencer marketing is a goldmine. There’s a reason so many businesses are doing this. And you don’t even have to partner with a huge influencer cause I know their rates can be pretty steep. Find micro-influencers in your industry with a strong engagement and try to partner with them. 
6. Provide a teacher appreciation discount: Don’t forget teachers as part of your target audience. Offer a special discount or promo for just teachers. 
7. Send targeted email campaigns with back-to-school content: send out tips, discounts, promos, and other valuable content related to your audience. 
8. Do a back-to-school giveaway on social media: I always say giveaways are the best way to attract an audience and increase engagement cause who doesn’t like free stuff? Host giveaways on your social media platforms, including prizes like a free product, gift card, or service. 
9. Team up with organizations that support education: Doing this will set you apart from the crowd as it will show your audience that your business cares. People love supporting socially conscious and responsible businesses. 
10. Offer coupon codes for future purchases: If you aren’t already doing this, offer coupon codes to customers after they make a purchase; doing this promotes customer retention and gives them a reason to come back. 
11. Partner with local schools or community centers: Similar to partnering up with influencers, collaborating with local schools and community centers around your business is a great way to engage with your local community and get your business out there. You can co-host a small community event, like a back-to-school fair, where you can promote your offerings.
12. Offer special deals and discounts: You can offer a “buy one, get one free” or “buy more, save more” deal on essential items students and parents might need, or even last-minute deals. 
13. Donation campaign: Volunteer your time or offer a small donation to local schools or charities as a way to give back and build goodwill. Or you can organize a back-to-school supply drive where customers can drop off supplies for children in need. These are great ways to do some good and show your community who you are. 

Back-To-School Marketing Phrases and Slogans

As promised, here are some catchy slogans and phrases you can add to your back-to-school marketing content:

1. Gear Up for the school year!
2. Back to School, Back to Success!
3. Make This School Year Your Best Yet!
4. Ace the School Year with [Your Business Name]!
5. School Ready, Wallet Friendly!
6. Back to School Savings Have Arrived!
7. Study in Style with [Your Business Name]!
8. School Essentials for the Win!
9. Everything You Need for a Stellar School Year!
10. Set Your Goals, We’ll Handle the Gear!
11. Back-to-school bonanza!
12. Class is back in session!
13. Restock your classroom!

There you have it. You should be ready to handle your next back-to-school marketing campaign for your small business. 

Just remember to understand your audience fully, make your offer relevant to them, be creative with your content, make sure your website is optimized to receive your visitors, generate buzz and excitement around your business, and lastly, remember targeted ads. 

Which business idea and marketing ideas are you going to try? Let me know in the comments!