The dull, gray days of January are here, and that means everyone needs something fun and cheerful to look forward to — like Valentine’s Day. If you want to bring a little extra happiness to your e-commerce social media or content marketing strategy, consider creating some Valentine’s Day-centered material to share with your audience. Not sure what to post or send to your customers? You’ve come to the right place. Below, you’ll find seven Valentine’s Day marketing ideas for your e-commerce business during the season of love.
1. Showcase Relevant Products or Services
For most people, Valentine’s Day is the first big gift-giving event following Christmas, Hanukkah, and other December holidays. They’re on the hunt for new products or services to share with loved ones, and — because it’s still freezing in most parts of the country — they want to buy those gifts online when possible.
You can cater to people’s needs by showcasing relevant products or services on your social media profiles in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day. You can also highlight them on your website’s home page to make online holiday shopping a bit easier.
Are you still trying to decide what to promote? Remember that you can always advertise gift cards to your business. Let your audience know that a gift card makes a great last-minute surprise for a special someone.
2. Use Email and SMS Marketing
As Valentine’s Day approaches, you don’t have to limit yourself to social media marketing. Branch out and experiment with email marketing and SMS (text message) marketing as well.
Send messages about Valentine’s Day-related products or services, for example. You can also let people know about an upcoming holiday sale in your newsletter (maybe you can even give them early access as a thank-you for being subscribed to your list).
These options are excellent ways to share advertising company ads and connect with your target audience. You can reach them directly in their inboxes and reduce the likelihood that they’ll scroll right past your post (or not get shown it all — we know how fickle social media algorithms can be).
3. Create a Valentine’s-Themed Hashtag
One of the best digital marketing tactics you can use to prepare for Valentine’s Day (and other holidays, for that matter) is to create a unique hashtag.
If you only rely on generic holiday hashtags like #valentines and #valentinesday, your content might get lost on social media. However, if you create a branded hashtag and share it with your followers, you’ll have an easier time standing out.
This hashtag can also help you find user-generated content (content created by customers or clients that showcases your brand) that you can share on your Instagram or Facebook stories.
User-generated content helps you engage with your existing audience, reach more potential customers, and build brand awareness.
4. Encourage Early Holiday Shopping
Encourage early shopping to make the most of Valentine’s Day promotions.
There are a few strategies you can use to convince customers to avoid procrastinating. For example, you can create a sense of urgency by letting people know your promotions will only last for a few weeks leading up to the holiday.
You should also be transparent about shipping dates and deadlines. Remind people that if they want to be sure their Valentine’s gifts arrive on time, they must order by a specific date. Share these reminders often, too, to ensure people follow through.
5. Share Valentine’s Gift Guides
We all know how hard it can be to find the perfect gift for a particular person in your life. Plenty of people have no idea what to buy their partner for Valentine’s Day — this is where you can come in and save the day.
Create a series of Valentine’s gift guides with ideas for husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. Then, share them on social media, as blog posts, or in your email newsletter.
These guides simplify the shopping process and send audience members directly to products or services on your website (increasing the likelihood that they’ll go ahead and buy what you’re selling).
6. Send Customer Appreciation Messages
In addition to sending promotional messages highlighting sales or showcasing products that would make great gifts, it’s also helpful to send celebratory messages.
Contact your customers via email or text message to let them know you appreciate their business and hope they have a happy Valentine’s Day. You could also include a special “gift” like a discount code they can use on a future purchase.
7. Redefine the Holiday
Not everyone loves Valentine’s Day. Some people feel indifferent, and others feel downright hatred for the fourteenth of February.
If you think traditional Valentine’s Day marketing doesn’t align with your brand, perhaps you can redefine the holiday and run a promotion that’s more appealing to your target audience. For example, you can celebrate Single’s Awareness Day instead and encourage your followers to practice some self-love.
Simple Valentine’s Day Marketing Ideas for Your E-commerce Business
Do you want to make the most of the online advertising and social media marketing ideas discussed above? If so, here are some bonus tips that can help you level up your marketing materials.
Update Your Logo
If you want to lean into the holiday celebration, consider temporarily changing your logo in the weeks before Valentine’s Day.
You could add some hearts or a picture of cupid, for example. This change is an easy and inexpensive way to spread some holiday cheer and shake up your digital marketing strategy.
Use Holiday-Themed Colors
You can also temporarily change your website background or the colors used on your social media posts, email newsletter banner, etc. Swap your current color palette for one featuring shades of red and pink.
Offer Bonus Services
Consider throwing in some extra services just for Valentine’s Day. For example, you could offer special Valentine’s gift wrapping for all products shipped by a specific date.
You could also throw in a free gift to encourage people to shop in January and early February.
Work with a Social Media Agency
From Valentine’s Day-themed product showcases to personalized messages, there are lots of ways you can use online advertising to celebrate the holiday and optimize marketing ideas for your e-commerce business.
Do you want to work with an agency with social media expertise? If so, Socialistics is here for you.
We assist with organic social media management and paid media advertising.
Contact us today to get started. You can also check out our e-commerce case studies and social media content examples to learn more about our work.
