Back to School campaigns on TikTok: Challenges, trends and opportunities
TikTok has become a global phenomenon, capturing the attention of millions of users, especially the younger generation. This platform, characterised by short, creative videos, has transcended its origins as a simple entertainment app to become a powerful marketing tool.
Back to School is one of the most anticipated events of the year. Marked by the renewal of school supplies, the search for fashionable clothes and the excitement of a new cycle, this period represents a unique opportunity for brands to connect with a highly receptive audience.
In recent years, social media has transformed the way young people experience this time. TikTok, in particular, has become an epicentre of trends and challenges related to Back to School, making it an ideal platform to launch creative and effective campaigns.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TikTok's Back to School Trends
Here are some of the trends you can follow to create a good back to school campaign:
Viral challenges
Viral challenges on TikTok spread quickly. For brands, these challenges represent a unique opportunity to reach a mass audience organically. This is what it takes for content to go viral:
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Originality: A unique idea that captures the attention of users.
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Ease of replication: A challenge that is easy to follow and can be adapted by anyone.
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Relevance: A theme that resonates with the target audience, especially during Back to School.
Key hashtags
Identifying the most popular hashtags related to Back to School is crucial for your content to be discovered.
Collaborations with influencers and content creators
TikTok influencers have great power to influence their followers. Collaborating with them can help you reach a wider audience and build credibility.
Types of collaboration:
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Giveaways: Give away products in exchange for influencers mentioning your brand in their videos.
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Product reviews: Ask influencers to test your products and share their honest opinions.
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Co-create content: Collaborate with influencers to create original and entertaining content.
How to choose the right influencer:
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Niche: Make sure the influencer fits your brand's target audience.
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Authenticity: Look for influencers who are authentic and genuine.
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Engagement: Evaluate the level of interaction the influencer has with their followers.
User-generated content (UGC)
UGC is content that your own users create. It is a powerful way to build trust and authenticity. It offers you:
- Authenticity: UGC is genuine and reflects real consumer experiences.
- Trust: When people see other users using and enjoying your products, they tend to trust your brand more.
- Engagement: UGC encourages interaction and engagement.
Back to School strategies on TikTok
In order to create a good Back to School strategy, you need to understand the two main targets:
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Parents
55% of TikTok users in Spain are parents. 24% have only one child, 25% have two and 6% have three or more children.
In addition, 63% of parents discover education essentials on TikTok and 42% of parents buy education-related products/services through TikTok
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Students
One of the main categories that student users bought for back-to-school shopping in 2023 was office or school supplies with 68% and education with 50%.
In addition, 74% of university students plan their shopping list on TikTok in mid-summer.
Here are some strategies you can follow on the Back to School platform:
1. Creating community
Encourage interaction:
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Q&A: Conduct polls, open-ended questions and respond to comments from your followers.
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Discussion forums: Create specific hashtags for users to share their experiences and opinions.
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Collaborative challenges: Invite your followers to create content together, such as a ‘day in the life of a student’.
Building a brand identity:
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Values: Define your brand values and communicate them clearly and consistently.
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Personality: Give your brand a unique and approachable personality.
Listen to your audience:
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Comment analysis: Use TikTok's analytics tools to identify trends and interests of your audience.
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Adaptation: Adjust your content based on your followers' opinions and suggestions.
2. Influencer marketing
Authentic collaborations:
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Microinfluencers: Collaborate with smaller influencers who have a highly engaged audience.
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Long-term relationships: Build lasting relationships with influencers to create more impactful campaigns.
Relevant content:
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Authenticity: Make sure the content created by influencers is authentic and reflects their personal style.
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Natural integration: Integrate your products naturally into the influencers' content.
Measuring ROI
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Track metrics: Use unique discount codes and tracking links to measure the impact of each collaboration.
3. Paid advertising
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In-feed Ads: is effective in creating awareness and preparing audiences for more targeted retargeting efforts. These can help maintain a permanent presence during the back-to-school season.
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Branded mission: allows advertisers to crowdsource content from creators on TikTok, convert top-performing videos into ads and improve brand affinity with media impressions. Align with creators through Branded Mission to celebrate back to school.
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TikTok Pulse: is supercharged contextual targeting that allows advertisers to insert themselves into the culture of TikTok's most popular videos.
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TopView: is TikTok's most premium video ad format shows your brand immediately when users open TikTok. You can use TopView to maintain a high-impact presence on back-to-school day.
4. Educational content
Tutorials:
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Study tips: Offers useful advice on how to improve academic performance.
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Organisation: Shares tips on how to organise your school supplies and diary.
Inspiring content:
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Success stories: Shares stories of students who have achieved their goals.
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Motivational tips: Offers advice on how to stay motivated during the school year.
How to create a successful TikTok campaign
To create a successful campaign on TikTok follow these steps:
1. Choose clear objectives: What do you want to achieve with your campaign? Increase brand awareness, generate sales, drive engagement or build a community.
2. Define target audience: Create a detailed profile of your ideal customer: age, interests, online behaviour. This will allow you to create more relevant content.
3. Create original and engaging content:
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Trends: Keep up with the latest trends, sounds and effects.
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Short and dynamic format: Short and dynamic videos are key to TikTok.
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Authenticity: Show your brand's personality and connect with your audience on a more personal level.
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Call to action: Include a clear call to action in every video.
4. Monitor the performance of your campaigns on TikTok: track the performance of your campaigns.
How to measure the success of a TikTok campaign
The success of a TikTok campaign is not only measured by the number of followers, but by a number of key metrics.
Key metrics
Key metrics to consider when evaluating the success of your TikTok campaign are:
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Views: The total number of times your video has been played. Indicates the reach of your content.
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Likes: Shows how many people have interacted positively with your video.
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Comments: Reflects the level of engagement and conversation generated around your content.
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Shares: Indicates how many people have shared your video with other users.
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Click-through rate: If you include a link in your bio or video, this metric will tell you how many people have clicked on it.
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Conversion rate: If your goal is to generate sales or leads, this metric will show you how many people have taken the desired action after watching your video.
Analysis and monitoring tools
TikTok offers a number of integrated tools to analyse the performance of your videos and campaigns:
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TikTok Analytics: This tool gives you detailed insight into your metrics, including reach, engagement and audience demographics.
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Business Suite: If you have a TikTok Pro or Business account, you will have access to more advanced features, such as creating ads and managing multiple accounts.
TikTok has become an essential platform for reaching Generation Z, and Back to School is the perfect time to connect with them in an authentic and creative way. Successful TikTok campaigns combine viral trends, fun content and relevant messaging for students. Brands that are able to adapt to this format and their audience will be able to make a big impact and build loyalty with young consumers.