School Just Ended but Back to School Marketing Begins Now (INFOGRAPHIC)

Recent marketing insights from Bing reports students are planning their back to school purchases while still enjoying their summer break.

Insights: When Does Back to School Shopping Begin?

So, when does back to school shopping begin? A look at search volume for back-to-school basics shows that it starts earlier than many small business marketers might have guessed. In fact, the report suggests that advertisers should plan for three distinct waves that end in September but start in July.

During July, a full 81 percent of the searches for school supplies are non-branded.

Over the three months of the wave — July, August and September — pens, pencils and markers have the highest CTRs.

Dorm purchases really take off in September. Bedroom furniture, small appliances, and living room furniture are some of the most sought after and searched for items.

Students start searching for school apparel while they are still at the beach .  That’s when 88 percent of searches center around bags and packs as the search volume starts to grow for these items. It’s important for small business marketing teams to understand how to walk in lockstep with these trends. It’s easier to follow the peaks so you can act accordingly.

Building your brand should start early in the summer. It’s a good time to increase bidding when the brand CPCs are low.  Trending keywords are the fuel that drives the advertising engine. Being aware that searches for footwear increase at the beginning of September is central to planning your campaigns.

Check out these and other helpful statistics in the infographic below.

Images: Bing

This article, "School Just Ended but Back to School Marketing Begins Now (INFOGRAPHIC)" was first published on Small Business Trends