How To Build A Successful Back To School Marketing Strategy

by 97display on
back to school marketing

It’s about that time again. The Labor Day barbecues and cookouts have come to a close, and school is back in session. So what does this mean for martial arts school owners?

It means if you haven’t been running any Back To School promotions, now is the time to start! By running limited time promotions and specials, you are creating a sense of urgency for viewers to take action. Plus, parents will be looking for After School programs and activities for their children this time of year, so it’s a win-win for you.

Offer Details

After you decide to run a promotion, now comes the next question – what should you run?

Your promotion should be dependant upon your business goals. For example, if you want to increase your student body, you would want to start with some sort of trial offer. We normally suggest anything for $30 or less to get people in the door (3 Classes for $19.99 or 1 Week Trial for $29.99). This way, students can try your class before making any long term commitment.

Next, you will need to decide how you would like to accept payments. Will you just accept payments right at the door, or do you want to make your life A LOT easier and accept payments online?

With 97 Display’s online offer page, anyone who wants to purchase your trial offer can do so right on your website. Yes, it’s that easy! All you need to do is get set up with our merchant account and you can watch your sales drop directly into your bank account.

Now, how to get the word out about your promotion?

If you have a website with 97 Display, you can contact our Support Team to help promote your special online. Our design team can even create eye-catching, call-to-action graphics on your program pages – free of charge!

You can also spread the word about your Back To School special by creating a blog post, sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and other social media accounts, and you can even create an email newsletter to send out in your nurture campaign.

However, if you still aren’t getting as much traffic as you’d like, you may want to consider a digital advertising campaign.

Digital Advertising Campaigns

We offer two PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising options at 97 Display – Facebook and Google Adwords. Before choosing which strategy you’d like to implement, it’s important to understand how each one works.

Facebook Ads are proactive. This means that when your ads show in someone’s newsfeed, they aren’t actively searching for your product on Facebook. The ads appear amidst other statuses and photos your friends are sharing. However, there are various targeting methods we use to make sure your ads are showing to the right audience, which in turn, will lead to higher CTRs (click-through-rates).

On the other hand, Google AdWords campaigns are reactive. Your ads appear in Google search results based on what keywords people are using. This means people who see your ad are actively searching for something similar, making them much more likely to convert. However, this means keywords are more expensive since you are bidding for them.

If you’d like more information on our advertising options here at 97 Display or just some insight on how to capitalize off the Back To School season, our team is here to help. Just fill out the lead form below!