We’ve grown accustomed to seeing red and pink on social feeds. The onslaught of a new holiday is upon us. It feels like holidays come sooner every year as stores and online campaigns rush to take advantage of the buying frenzy. Christmas comes to Costco before Halloween!

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How do we feel about Valentine’s Day content marketing initiatives? Are they effective or not? How should you plan them? 

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Is Valentine’s Day Content worth it?

Numbers don’t lie. Between 2017 and 2018, sales for Valentine’s Day gifts and celebrations increased by $1.4 billion. These numbers are only growing. In 2021, there was $21.8 billion spent on Valentine’s Day gifts. However, just because it looks like there is a large market with many opportunities doesn’t mean the opportunity is for your business.

You must ask yourself if your product or service is relevant to Valentine’s Day. If it isn’t, simply having Valentine’s Day content for the sake of it won’t help you secure new leads or make a sale. 

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What makes great Valentine’s Day content?

Great Valentine’s Day content is like any other: it uses emotion in its messaging. No matter what your message is, it should elicit an emotional response or connection. The other thing great content does is focus on a particular target audience.

Imagine you’re selling flowers. You could have a standard message about love that would appeal to a wide range of people, or you could find a specific audience to get more out of your efforts. You could target older couples who’re dating again in their 70s. Creating a touching story relevant to that market will make a more impactful connection. 

Often, when we focus on a target audience and tell a great story, we get a lot of recognition from other demographics, especially on Valentine’s Day. Everyone loves a good love story, after all. 

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How to successfully market your business during Valentine’s Day

There are several ways to take advantage of the holiday and bend Cupid’s bow and arrow to your will. Here are some of the best ways to market your business over the holiday.

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Keep your market in mind when planning your budget and messaging. 

If you’re an online retailer selling flowers, chocolate, or jewelry, you will have to spend more and try harder to stand out from the crowd on this holiday. However, these markets also see the highest sales volume. Does that mean that a legal firm or a real estate agent can’t tap into the frenzy? Not at all!

If you have a sense of humour and want to have fun with it, a law firm specializing in wills and estates could tell a romantic tale of taking care of the ones you love forever. Similarly, a divorce attorney could have a lot of fun with some satirical humour about the “forever” nature of love.

Keep your audience in mind and develop something that sets you apart. 

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Use your subscribers and email marketing list. 

Email marketing is a powerful tool, especially during the holidays. Your subscribers are thinking about a specific topic, and you can quickly put it in the email heading. Holidays make it easier to arrive in front of a potential customer right when they’re looking to buy. We’re all thinking about cards, chocolates, flowers, romantic weekends away, and a couples massage right now. 

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Remember the singles!

There is a vast untapped market that many businesses forget during Valentine’s Day: the singles. If you want the biggest bang for your buck and your budget is restricted, consider putting your effort into single people while everyone else focuses on couples. 

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Tap into the pets and children market.

Many parents buy Valentine’s Gifts for their children. However, have you seen dog owners lately? There are some dogs out there that have nicer outfits than kids. Maybe you can tap into the Valentine’s Day gifts for pets market. Always look for the paths least travelled and figure out if there is an opportunity.

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Spruce up your eCommerce site.

More and more people shop online. In 2018, 29% of Valentine’s Day shoppers made purchases online. Make sure your eCommerce site is easy to navigate and your purchasing process has no bugs in preparation for any holiday.

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Spend the money on ads.

You can't create holiday content and expect anyone to see it if you don’t spend some advertising money. Valentine’s Day is too saturated of a market, and there is too much competition in a short amount of time. You will have to boost your social media campaigns and strategically spend just to be seen.

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Our team is here to help if you’re struggling to come up with Valentine's Day content. Our creative team can craft expert stories that will connect and tug on your customers' heartstrings, and our ads team can make sure your content gets seen. Get in touch today to stand out when the holidays are in town.