With relaxation in lockdown and the economy opening up, the vast majority of e-commerce that offer all kinds of school supplies are still immersed in uncertainty and without knowing what digital strategies they should implement when they go back to school.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread throughout the country, while the Government and Autonomous Communities are still not clear on how to organize the next school year. This, without a doubt, is being a real headache for parents, who have delayed their purchases for back to school until the last moment.
And how are companies linked to “back to school” going to face this new reality? The answer is by adapting to the new habits and consumption patterns of users.
Changes in parent and student purchasing patterns
It is clear that a crisis like the current one, which also has strong economic consequences, would cause changes in the purchasing behavior of users. The first has already been experienced by the sector, which has seen the summer months pass without sales for back to school as is usual in other years.
In 2021, the “back to school” sales season will last well into the fall and the types of products purchased will also be affected.
The new normal will not mean a decrease in spending
One of the conclusions drawn from the study is that, in reality, consumers will not spend less this year on school products. Simply, a change will be reflected in the type of items that they will acquire, how, and when.
In this way, given the possibility that the return to the classroom is not in person, the change will be noticeable, mainly, in a lower purchase of clothes and school supplies. However, there will be a significant increase in spending on computers and IT equipment, which is forecast 38% higher than last year.
A new boost for online sales
The health crisis has provided a new boost for internet sales in practically all sectors.
Broadly speaking, there are a number of interesting tips for advertisers of school supplies and other products related to the beginning of the course.
- Price will be a determining factor this year. Make discounts and offer free home deliveries or at collection points.
- School lists are usually long. Making product packs of school supplies like notebooks, pens, and pencils can make the offer more attractive.
- Children are decisive in the purchasing decisions of parents for the new course. Designing your online storefront in a way that is attractive to them can improve sales.
- Launch remarketing and cross-selling ads.
5 digital strategies back to school
Given the uncertainty of how the return to school will be for this course, consumers have started to buy in a staggered way. They will maintain an expectant attitude and will buy as they go what they need in order to better control spending.
Therefore, if companies want to reach the public without losing any sales opportunities, the smartest thing is to implement an omnichannel approach. In addition, there are 5 digital strategies that will be very effective to sell more.
1.- Geolocation
Geolocation in back-to-school digital strategies is a great opportunity to implement effective strategies based on the location and behavior of users.
Even without the autonomous communities having reached a consensus on the opening of the school year, geolocation will be a vital tool for sales strategies in the sector.
For consumers, geolocation allows them to find an interesting and real-time offer of nearby stores and businesses. Something that companies use to offer complementary information that can influence the purchase decision of users.
This type of information is collected, above all, through the geolocation systems of smartphones. Although also, there are interesting data that can be extracted from the behavior of the user, their buying and consumption habits.
One of its main advantages is segmentation, allowing brands to implement specific actions adapted to the type of customer and the channel they use. Although it also opens other types of possibilities:
- Create personalized ads, offers and discounts.
- Facilitate access to reviews from other customers through various channels.
- Offer nearby business options on mobile.
- Segmented marketing actions in social networks.
2.- Social networks
Social networks are becoming a strong lever to boost online sales. And in the current context, they are one of the main channels to reach specific and highly segmented audiences.
As this study makes clear, children and young students exert a powerful influence on parents’ purchasing decisions. Something that, together with the significant increase in the time they spend on their social profiles, makes these platforms one of the main ways to attract customers.
For this reason, brands that are adept at implementing digital strategies when going back to school through social networks will be able to generate greater awareness and encourage users’ purchase intention.
Capture customers and increase sales on social networks
To reach audiences effectively through social platforms there are a series of strategies
Content Marketing. Generating attractive content is the most effective way to attract customers organically.
Advertising in networks. With the latest changes in the algorithms of most social platforms, running paid campaigns is practically an obligation. However, the investment is well worth it, since the segmentation they allow to achieve is very exhaustive. Thus, it is possible to ensure that the ads are directed to specific audiences, increasing sales opportunities.
Remarketing. Within the advertising strategies that can be implemented on social networks, remarketing is one of the most effective. Based on the user’s purchase history, it is possible to show related product ads to customers
Influence marketing. If something characterizes social networks, it is the possibility of participating in conversations and obtaining information about opinions of other clients. This, without a doubt, is another of the factors that most precipitate online purchases and generate trust in a brand or business.
3.- Segmentation based on Amazon
Amazon is one of the most important platforms for ecommerce and today it has become the third advertising platform in the world.
To address new digital strategies back to school, companies should start taking it into account in their online sales strategies. One of the main reasons is that around 65% of online consumers start their research on Amazon, even when they end up shopping on another website.
This makes it one of the best showcases for ecommerce. In addition, over time it has developed a multitude of advertising tools to provide advertisers with greater visibility of their products, not only within the platform but also in the search results of the different browsers.
Some of the advantages of using this platform during the back to school campaign are:
- Improve traffic to the web through targeted ads.
- Increase brand visibility in search engines, as product searches are led by Amazon ads.
- That the products uploaded to the Amazon store appear in the first search positions also improve the SEO positioning of an ecommerce.
- Only the fact of operating within the Amazon marketplace generates trust in the client, since it is a certain guarantee of safety and quality.
- It allows you to carry out effective remarketing campaigns thanks to the consumption data of the users of the platform.
- It offers very comfortable sales and shipping logistics and excellent customer service.
4.- Creative dynamic optimization (ODC)
Having a Creative Dynamic Optimization (OCD) system is also essential to adapt the messages to the school reopening plans in real-time in the digital strategies in the back to school.
The OCD allows advertising campaigns to be tailored to the user’s profile and to automatically display personalized messages on the banners of the web pages you visit.
The segmentation of the public is carried out through the obtaining of user data such as gender, age, location and other relevant information through cookies and browsing histories.
In this way, advertisers can have various content models that will be shown to users based on their characteristics and preferences.
Without a doubt, it is a very profitable strategy that improves the results of the campaigns. Creative Dynamic Optimization generates a higher click-through rate and, therefore, increases the conversion possibilities of users.
5.- CTV (Connected TV) / OTT (Over The Top)
The last of the back-to-school digital strategies that will save the sector during this buying cycle is knowing how to take advantage of the penetration of smart TVs in homes.
And the trend continues to rise. For this reason, systems such as the OTT and the CTV have emerged, which allow advertisers to reach a wider audience through digital video or audio content and advertisements, irrespective of the device they use.
Although both terms are used interchangeably, they are not actually the same. OTT stands for “Over the Top”, which specifically refers to content that is delivered over the Internet rather than through a traditional television system.
It is television content that can be offered on the big screen, but also includes smaller or lower-quality content and does not involve the involvement of any traditional video distribution operator.
For its part, CTV stands for Connected TV and encompasses any device connected to the Internet on which a video transmission can be made. These can be smart TVs, game consoles, or devices that connect to televisions and have an Internet connection such as Amazon Fire, Apple Tv or ChromeCast.
As it is a content consumption system on demand, brands have a great opportunity to implement digital strategies in the back to school to impact consumers based on their tastes and interests by hiring well-segmented advertising spaces.
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Author Bio
Name- Raunak Pandey
Bio- Raunak is a Mechanical Engineer by qualification & Marketer by passion. He is the founder of Maiden Stride, a leading digital marketing company that provides world-class search engine marketing services and website & application development.