Retailers Utilizing Social Media to Attract Back to School Shoppers
When I was a kid (seems like an eternity ago) – those dog days of August meant only one thing – school was just around the corner.
But instead of the old days when we would go off with our parents to the mall to shop for back to school clothing or page through the latest Sears or JC Penny catalogs, many of today’s kids and their parents are turning to social media.
Yes, you knew it would not be too long before companies such as Target and Aeropostale would dedicate time and effort to Facebook, Twitter pages and more social media outlets to get kids and their parents thinking fall wardrobe, not trips to the beach.
Take it to the Bank?
With the U.S. economy mired in a state of malaise, retailers who offer back to school clothing, backpacks and more are banking those sites will help them ring in some big revenues. In turn, parents who generally foot the bill for such purchases can simply sit themselves down online and browse along with their kids the latest fashions and styles.
Aeropostale has a dedicated Facebook page that offers details and images of some of the latest styles that kids may want to adorn this school year.
Viewers to the site can check out among other things, a behind the scenes look at the company’s fall photo shoot, featuring the season’s hottest jean styles. Another option is telling students to hit the books in style, by pairing a peachy Graphic Tee, with the perfect-wash jeans, along with a striped Tote.
Over at Sears, the company’s Twitter page tweets 40% off School Uniforms + EXTRA 15% off Back-to-School Apparel with BACK2SCHOOL 7/31-8/6, while the company’s blog notes some must-have and not so necessary items for returning college students.
Target, meantime, brings generations together with its “Cool Never Fades” campaign, highlighting the company’s fall 2011 Vintage Varsity collection.
No Parking, no Problem
Making things even more desirable for parents and those students who will actually foot the bill, shoppers can buy directly on a number of these company social media pages, simply adding to their carts in the online store and then proceeding to check out.
Lest you think that this usage of social media is not popular with consumers, a number of these Facebook and Twitter pages have millions of likes, with there likely being more and more to come as consumers turn to the hassle-free advantages of online shopping.
For the companies, the social media campaigns are not that costly when compared to television and newspaper advertisements, with the biggest output being time and effort.
While analysts are not ready to say this kind of retail campaign is guaranteed to be a revenue hit, there doesn’t appear to be any evidence to now that companies or consumers for that matter are getting schooled.
Dave Thomas is an expert writer on credit card processing and is based in San Diego, California. He writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs at Resource Nation.
Present day shopping has a great difference from yesterdays. No worries about parking areas, dragging kids around. Everything can be done at home beside retailers will greatly save money by advertising thru the internet.
I don’t know about this before until i visited this site, sometimes we or parents are very stressful regarding on how to buy school supplies for their kids. we all know that it is so much difficult because many people are going to public market to buy school supplies, i can see that this is the better way to reduce the stress we are encountering , this is a good idea using the internet.
Online shopping is a time and hassle saver, good to see that it is also bring connection with the kids as they shop together online before they back to school.
I shop only online, and the kids too
Online shopping had really made life easier and better. I couldn’t agree more. I have been buying and selling online at social media networks, more especially in Facebook. I think there would come a time when social media would dominate over the established online stores such as eBay and Amazon. Facebook’s beating them already.
You’re an expert! Online shopping makes buying easier and saves time for traveling to the store..and for the companies it save money for advertising..
Now days we prefer shopping online than any other kind of shopping, a time and money saver, back to school shopping its a hassle with the kids so thank god we can shop from home
The best is to shop online! you buy only the necessary stuff plus it saves you time!
Social Media is really powerful, good to know that certain companies can see the advantages of it. I also like the idea to shop online, less hassle
Online shopping saves lot of extra efforts that people usually put whilst buying products from a store / mall.Nice post.
Hi, I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say GREAT blog!…..I”ll be checking in on a regularly now….Keep up the good work!
seo optimization,
thanks for the feedback. sexy social media is a great and informative blogging site.
I mean this is an example of a great relevant marketing campaign!
This audience (kids in school) is probably the largest audience you have on social media and I can see no better marketing outlet than by using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Hm… Nice sharing here. Thanks a lot!
I was very happy to seek out this site.I wanted to thank you for this great learn!! I undoubtedly enjoying every little bit of it and
I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post. Anyway, in my language, there aren’t a lot good supply like this.