The back-to-school season is a marketer’s dream. Consumers are prepared to buy everything from crayons and clothing to calculators and computers, and marketers can leverage the season with creative content. Last year parents spent about $850 on all-things-school, according to the National Retail Federation. To get your piece of the shopping pie, consider one of these back-to-school content marketing ideas:
Help with meals
Everyone could use some lunchtime inspiration. There are only so many PB&J sandwiches that a parent can pack without Googling, “Kids lunch ideas.” So, if your company sells food, drinks, or containers, you can certainly promote your product as a lunchtime solution.
Goldfish connected with influencer Krista Horton to promote its iconic snack. You can do something similar. Team up with an influencer who aligns with your brand and collaborate on a sponsored ad that promotes your product with a back-to-school angle.
Of course, it’s not just lunches that are tricky to prepare; dinners are, too. Between work, school, soccer practice, and piano recitals, there’s not a lot of time to prepare dinner. For brands that cater to busy moms or those who promote recipes, write a blog post that offers time-saving dinner tips or curate a list of back-to-school dinner recipes.
Host a giveaway
Social contests and giveaways are a great way to drive engagement and generate brand awareness. Create a giveaway that’s simple to enter, like asking people to like a post or tag a friend in the comment section. This works well if your brand offers products that are necessary or convenient for students and teachers.
You could partner with an influencer or a vendor to double your impact. A label-making company, Mabel’s Labels, and a bento box maker, YUMBOX, teamed up for a back-to-school giveaway.
If your brand plans to do giveaways consistently, consider using specific platforms like OutGrow or ShortStack to help manage and measure the campaigns.
Run a back-to-school promotion
Just about any company can offer a back-to-school promotion. Fitness clubs could offer a discount to returning parents, salons could offer a break on a pre-school haircut, restaurants could offer celebratory lunch specials for parents who have their homes back — the list goes on.
You don’t have to sell notebooks and pencils to make this idea work; any business can host a back to school promotion.
You can create supporting content, too. Aside from social content, a cleaning company could write a blog post on high-traffic areas that need attention when kids return to school or talk about ways to organize kids’ closets on the brand’s podcast.
Cater to non-traditional students, too
Don’t forget, not every student attends a traditional school. Homeschooling became the norm during the pandemic and some families decided to stick with it. From homeschooling to virtual education, consider this niche in your back-to-school marketing ideas.
A modern furniture store, Room and Board, tapped into this sector with an influencer marketing campaign on Instagram. The company worked with travel and family influencer Carmen Sognonvi, who shared a picture of her family at the table.
The message talks about how the kitchen table has evolved from a piece of furniture to a family gathering spot, especially for school work.
Help prevent brain drain
When kids string together endless days of swimming, traveling, and TV watching, they’re bound to lose a few skills. Consider running a marketing campaign that helps kids “get back in the game,” so to speak.
Online learning brands might encourage students to subscribe to a few “refresher” classes, a daycare might run an education bootcamp to prepare for school, or a bookstore could suggest a reading challenge.
Memrise, a language platform, encouraged people to sharpen their skills before heading back to school by offering a special class, “Get Street Smart Spanish in 28 Days.” The brand had several influencers promote it, including Chris Olivera.
The back-to-school season will arrive quickly, so get a jump on these content marketing ideas to be ahead of the game.
