“If what they say is, “Nothing is forever,” then what makes love the exception?”
– André Lauren Benjamin aka André 3000 of OutKast
Love is such a succinct term, yet it’s so broad as well. You can love another person, you can love your favorite food, you can love the weather, you can love bad movies, you can love that one song, you can love yourself, you can love, well, love.
Well, love (as they say in the UK), one thing you can count on is people spending money ahead of and on Valentine’s Day. And more people will be spending that money online, whether for gifts or experiences, food delivery, or anything else that fits the bill.
The data backs this up.
While 2021 and 2022 didn’t look so great, 2023 saw an uptick in the amount people planned to spend on buying gifts!
With things looking positive, it’s time to think about how you can make 2024 the year to increase your sales & win your customers’ hearts.
Think about the wide breadth of people in the target audience here, and you’ll see that no matter what your industry, there’s someone for you!
Maybe Valentine’s Day was invented by a greeting card company. Maybe Cupid is real. Maybe we all just like feeling a little love.
Here’s a snippet of the people who might willingly participate in this holiday…
Some archetypes celebrating Valentine’s Day (or even going anti-Valentine’s season):
Have a significant other? You’ll want to show appreciation, affection, love, even a small gesture for that someone special, because you don’t want them (or you) to feel left out.
Just started a relationship? You want them to know you’re excited about this new beginning, and its potential.
Single? Sometimes treating yourself (Treat yo’self) is the way to go, and it’s nice to have an excuse to pick up a little something as a pick-me-up. A single person could even turn it into a group occasion by encouraging people to take part in your offer, too.
Not into Valentine’s Day? Come out with your group and share an experience together with a great discount, holiday or not! Have a beer here, share a pizza, etc.
Recent heartbreak? Then it’s time to get on and get over it, and what better way then with new gear, new clothes, a new car even!
Single, but with your eyes on someone? This is that moment to buy them something that will let them know your true feelings.
It’s a money maker. You don’t need to have romantic products to still offer relatable content during the Valentine’s Day season, so shake to it and make any number of Valentine’s Day campaigns a reality.
You can use our full complement of tools to get it done, too: Targeted emails, popups, social media ads, retargeting campaigns,
You have the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for the people, now you just need them to think of you and relate your brand with Valentine’s Day.
Your approach can suit your products and offers to just the right people, you just gotta let a little love in.
Our 7 Valentine’s Day Marketing Campaigns
Valentine’s Day marketing campaign idea 1 – Email, of course! Discount promo! Rewards! Delivery on time!
Brand: Island Soap Candle Works
Subject line: Still time to find something special for Valentine’s Day
This email packs it all in, without being too wordy or cumbersome. And, it doesn’t even use the header to say something about love or Valentine’s Day. The play on “time is running out” is always great, and they deliver on the fact of letting you know there’s time, but it’s running out, by stating the date you need to order by in order to receive the gift on time. There’s the lovely discount, 15%, shown nice and big, and the always great link to more products CTA, plus social media icons to learn and see more if you want! It’s a great example, and we’ll show you how to repurpose this Valentine’s Day content into other marketing strategies as well.
Something like this can see your sales spike after delivery, because interested folks might think, “oh yeah, I need to still buy something, and fast!” They see the great discount, they see the email with time to spare to get their order in (this was sent on Feb. 4), and since it’s a gift pack, it saves people time by giving them a ready-to-go option.
Send out an email to your list with a strong discount, a recommended product or three (or gift pack), and let them know that if they order by Date X, they will receive it in time for Valentine’s Day (notice that little disclaimer, “weather and other restrictions permitting”? Perfect) and you’re ready to go. Did we mention that creating an alluring email is super easy with the GetResponse drag-and-drop email creator, complete with tons of professionally designed templates and a built-in AI email generator?
Bonus guide
Not sure when and what kind of discounts you should offer to your customers? Plan a perfect discount strategy for your store with our easy guide!
Valentine’s Day marketing campaign idea 2 – Hook their heart with social media ads
Take the idea above and turn it into a social media campaign – if this image, discount, and offer popped up as an Instagram or Facebook ad, it would serve the same purpose but to a different (and maybe even bigger) audience. Imagine someone scrolling, and all of a sudden it hits them – Valentine’s Day is coming! Don’t underestimate people’s ability to procrastinate, or forget, things such as holidays and gifts. They see your ad, they are reminded they’re still without a gift, and there’s your offer all neatly bundled, on sale, and ready to arrive in time.
Get eyes on your perfect gift offer using your social media platforms, and most importantly, get you sales. Plus, now they know you’ll deliver the goods when it comes to gift-giving time, and they might give you a follow, or even subscribe to your mailing list (don’t forget to ask for their sign up in return for that sweet discount!). Now, you’ve got a repeat buyer, and someone who things of you fondly because you helped them in a pinch.
Repurpose your image so it fits into a social media ad. Then, add copy that fits the character count, and a great CTA (as simple as “Order Today!”) and send it to targeted, segmented audiences. You can run this ad for a few days even to rack up sales.
Valentine’s Day marketing campaign idea 3 – SMS campaign
People check their phone, especially when an SMS comes across. Basically, if a notification pops up, they’ll see it. And what notification is basically universally left on even if others are turned off? SMS.
Put you in your audience’s pockets, and hands, giving them instant access to your deal. Now, they don’t even have to be browsing or shopping or checking email or scrolling social, and they’ll still get 1. A reminder about the holiday and 2. A great, instant offer. Plus, with GetResponse SMS Marketing Automation, you can create a link that takes them directly to your page so they can order immediately.
Start an SMS campaign! Ask visitors for their phone number, maybe through a popup in exchange for discounts, where you have two fields for email and a phone number, or use your email list to let your loyal customers know you have SMS-only Valentine’s Day deals happening now, and ask them to opt-in and give you their data.
A couple of sample SMS texts that could be used based on that same ad by Island Soap & Candle Works:
Forgot about Valentine’s Day? Don’t sweat, there’s still time! Order today for 15% off our lovely gift packs, and order by Feb. 8 to get your gift right on time! Shop now [link] (don’t forget opt-out copy)
Avoid heartbreak and get your Valentine’s Day gift now! Order by Feb. 8 to make sure your gift it’s in their hands for the special day, with 15% off for you! Order now [link] (opt-out copy)
In case you’re interested, here are some great SMS campaign examples that can inspire your own future campaigns.
Valentine’s Day marketing campaign idea for 4 – Signup forms & popups
Again, imagine a customer browsing and the furthest thing from their mind is Valentine’s Day, when your signup form pops open and widens their eyes, giving them that “Aha!” moment. You present them an offer, with a pop-up form with a discount, and now they’re signing up to your email list (becoming a long-term customer) in exchange for a discount, plus they see what great gift ideas you have.
Builds trust and loyalty, as a business that is thinking ahead, being thoughtful, plus saving them money. You’ll grow your email list, sell the items you are looking to move, and maybe even get someone in the spirit so they come back to you again.
Glad you asked! Create a signup form for your website or landing page, where you can house your form, with these handy dandy creators.
This email came from signing up for their list. And it’s from a local grocery store, showing you that anything can be turned into a Valentine’s Day idea, and you don’t have to be a nationwide brand to play the game. They gave their email address and got special Valentine’s Day offers right there.
Valentine’s Day marketing campaign idea 5 – Keep It Simple, Silly (and reel them in)
Someone bought from you before but hasn’t been back in a while. Or, they bought something from you unrelated, but they fit the profile of what you want to sell for Valentine’s Day.
Put you back in their mind, and get a sale.
Segment your audience, and send them different messages.
Check out how simple this email is, sent out to pet owners who bought something from this shop, and gave their email address. It’s a simple idea, based on the color scheme of the holiday, with no heart or love related items there. Plus, it’s for redemption in-store only, which means the brand used online marketing to get people in the store, where they might browse and buy more than they came for.
Valentine’s Day marketing campaign idea 6 – Give that love a nudge with marketing automation
So, you’ve sent that email or SMS, but no love, no click. That’s ok, because you’ve got something up your sleeve – an extra bonus!
As scorned lovers say, “Give me another chance!” Well, you’ll give yourself a second and even third chance to get that sale with this tactic.
With marketing automation, you can send multiple emails targeted to specific segments, all set up to run automatically!
The first email goes out on Day X, and after a few days if a specific action happens (or doesn’t happen), it triggers email No. 2.
Let’s say the first email offers them 15% off, but they don’t bite the apple, then the second follow-up email you send can offer an extra gift with their purchase, because who doesn’t like free stuff? Maybe it’s something special for them, so when they buy something they also get a treat. Still didn’t open or click?
Then a third email can be sent out a few days later, maybe this time with a playful subject line so it’s upbeat and funny instead of pushy, and this time, offer them an increased discount, or two free gifts, your call.
Valentine’s Day marketing campaign idea 7 – Super segmentation
Now that you’re using marketing automation, you can get granular if you want! Segment your existing customers based on gender, or age, or location, whatever data you have, you can use.
As proven, men and women shop and spend differently for Valentine’s Day, so if you have products or offers that can be even slightly catered to one audience or another, this gives you a shot at giving more personalized suggestions, and an even greater chance at getting a sale.
Send two emails, for instance, one to your male audience that shows gift ideas for them to buy their significant other, and another to your female audience doing the same. Hell, you can even go against the grain and send “Galentine’s Day” emails to your female segment (if you’re not familiar with the idea, made popular by the stellar show Parks & Recreation, check out more here) and then you are getting two chances at capitalizing on the seasonality. You could even market your products as showing self-love or self-care, not even needing to make it about the gift giving part of Valentine’s Day, but more about “Treat yo’self” (another Parks & Rec goodie!).
You could create a segment for your most loyal customers as well, and make an extra-special Valentine’s Day gift email for them that says “Thank you” and shows them some extra love by offering this same free gift in another way.
Love and sales are in the air
Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club, even as an idea, shows that nobody is alone even when they are alone. People band together, so whether your customers are into love or not, into being in a relationship or not, there’s an idea out there for you, to give to them.
Get your free GetResponse account today and put the perfect pair together = your Valentine’s Day marketing ideas plus the optimal tools to complete the match.
Email marketing and marketing automation, website builder and social media ads. You can reach everyone, everywhere, no matter your audience, and deliver timely, relevant content fit for this holiday.
Go on, get started now, you’ve got just enough time to put your Valentine’s Day marketing ideas to use, with GetResponse’s lovely suite of tools – with a totally free 30-day trial for premium features – ready to be the arrow to your Cupid.