Winning The Back-To-School Race For Revenue. How To Make The Most Of Your Online Marketing Budget This Fall

Transcription

1 Winning The Back-To-School Race For Revenue How To Make The Most Of Your Online Marketing Budget This Fall 1

2 Ecommerce Opportunity It s high summer, and every parent, student, and retailer who caters to both knows what that means: it s back-to-school season. Late summer to early fall is one of the biggest Ecommerce opportunities of the calendar year; according to the National Retail Foundation, it s second only to the holiday shopping season. That means that retailers who play their cards right can experience huge profits. Timing Is Everything! $60G $50G $40G $30G $31.98G 2011 $37.20G $42.83G $49.27G $56.35G US Retail Ecommerce Back-To-School Season Sales The timing is a big deal. 22.5% of adults shopping on the Internet for kids aged 6 to 17 will start two months in advance of school. Nearly half of all Internet-using adults will start shopping a month in advance. Even better, 75% of all back-to-school shopping is completed in just two weeks or less, often right before the start of school. Don t delay on launching your back-to-school marketing campaign and bank on shoppers dollars. Back-To-School Back-To-College 22.5% 44.5% 25.4% 4.3% 3.4% 28.2% 33.4% 25.6% 6.3% 6.5% 2+ months prior 3 weeks - 1 month prior 1-2 weeks prior The week school starts After school starts Time Of Year When US Internet Users Begin Shopping For Back-To-School & Back-To-College Items Integrated online marketing campaigns that blend offline and online components tend to be extremely successful, but purely online retailers can also have great success through mobile campaigns and careful audience segmentation. Every core online marketing service can be used to your advantage in the back-to-school season. 2

3 Paid Search When it comes to back-to-school shopping, many shoppers will look for deals online first before shopping in a brick-and-mortar store. Ensuring paid ads are in place for peak back-to-school researching and shopping times is critical. Paid Ads Are The First Results Shoppers Will See When Searching Start back-to-school promotions at least a month before school starts Run back-to-school remarketing banners and remarketing for shopping cart abandoners Employ RLSA ad groups targeting broad back-to-school keywords Paid search targeting should be tailored to very specific audiences. The keywords used and the timing of ads placed should be varied depending on the type of shopper being reached e.g. a student or a parent. Students (typically college-aged) tend to shop online, while parents tend to shop in-store. Develop tailored ad text and creative messaging Increase investments for full ad visibility on the SERPs Update lookback window to a shorter duration of days 3 Mobile should be a huge part of paid search efforts, since 56% of all back-to-school consumers will use a smartphone while shopping. Special attention should be paid to implementing location extensions so that mobile searchers can receive directions to your brick-and-mortar stores. Paid mobile targeting can be made even more powerful through bid by distance, in which you can bid more aggressively on mobile ads as customers get closer to your locations, resulting in your ad being the first they see when they are local to your store and searching your product. 56% Of Back-To-School Searches Will Come From Smartphones This Year (Up From 42% Last Year) 8 Jan 2014 Nov 2014 Sep 2015 Computer + Tablet Mobile Forecasted Search Queries

4 Search Engine Optimization SEO should be focused on ranking for specific back-to-school keywords, again depending on the audience trying to be reached. This will require both on-site and off-site optimizations and adjustments to make the most out of your organic search engine rankings. On-Site Optimize images and have proper ALT tags Include back-to-school-related language in your meta data Write back-to-school friendly blogs Make sure the site is mobile friendly Optimizing Your Site Can Have A Big Impact On Your Rankings Build out back-to-school landing pages and include a back-to-school link in the main nav bar Reformat/segment product walls to shift emphasis to back-to-school products Off-Site Launch a back-to-school infographic Perform strategic back-to-school centered link building Create back-to-school press releases for digital PR and backlink development Conduct a back-to-school contest to entice customers to the site During back to school 2014, mobile impacted more consumers per dollar spent than both broadcast and cable TV. Ensuring your site is mobile friendly (by Google s standards) will play a huge role in ensuring your potential customers convert. Both Offline & Online Online Only Offline Only Research Online, Buy Offline None Of The Above 0% 20% 40% 60% Back-To-School Shopping Takes Place Online & Offline Google Consumer Surveys, May

5 Facebook Ads & Social Media Facebook and other social media platforms are an excellent way to reach both parents and college-aged students who are in the back-to-school crush and boost sales. Social media serves as an excellent way to stay top of mind with relevant audiences during a pivotal time. Offer exclusive coupons, deals, and sales to entice customers to shop online or off Employ precise targeting of parents and students, as well as device targeting Acquire s though incentivized promotions and discounts Run back-to-school social contests that require entries to win Capitalize on shoppers increased time spent online by giving social audience a reason to engage with your brand Utilize social channels to promote, host, and encourage engagement with a contest Stay Top Of Mind With Customers Through Social Engagement Social media also offers the perfect platform for both personalized messages, wherein your business can respond to consumers directly, and for retargeting, which allows you to show ads for your products to customers who have already visited your site. 34% of students and 27% of parents said retargeting campaigns were most impactful, while 40% of students and 45% of parents said personalization got their attention. 5 With Facebook mobile seeing significantly higher views and interaction than its desktop counterpart, retailers should be pushing mobile-targeted News Feed ads to customers who have shopped with them or viewed their products before. Even more powerful targeting from the use of custom audiences built around Facebook mobile users can drive higher conversions, especially from shoppers on the go. Retargeting and personalization have a large impact; 34% of students and 27% of parents said retargeting campaigns were most impactful, 40% of students and 45% of parents said personalization got their attention. - Inc.com Retargeting & Personalization Have A Large Impact

6 is one of the most powerful tools and profitable channels available to businesses. should be integrated with any and all other online marketing efforts in order to tailor offers directly to the customer. Focus offers on bonuses like free shipping or quick shipping to entice shoppers who are concerned about making sure they can get the items they need on time in the last two weeks before school. Having offers in place that reassure customers they can either save a lot of money by shopping online or guarantee they will receive their items on time can help convert any shoppers who are uncertain about shopping online vs. visiting a brick-and-mortar store. Coupons Can Help Boost Conversions ing customers coupons that they can then use in-store would help integrate online and offline marketing efforts, ultimately boosting conversions. Alternatively, ing customers about online flash sales could draw them into shopping online. Campaigns Can Increase Sales Online & Off 6

7 Summary Back to school is an unquestionably huge shopping time of the year. Google research showed a 45% increase in back-to-school searches in 2014, and the peak for those searches lasted two weeks longer than in previous years. This makes back to school an incredible opportunity both online and off, and especially for blended online/offline integrated marketing campaigns. Succeeding in the back-to-school shopping season means being prepared in advance. Remember these top tips: Retargeting customers you know are looking Personalizing messages for your shoppers Ensuring your mobile components are in place and looking strong Starting early Have all these elements in place and you ll be the winner of the back-to-school race for revenue this summer! Please feel free to contact us sales@wpromote.com facebook.com/wpromote twitter.com/wpromote with any questions, comments, or feedback! plus.google.com/+wpromote linkedin.com/company/wpromote Sources: Google Proprietary Research 7