Valentine's Day is nearly here, which means you can expect an influx of love hearts and pink tones to be taking over your social streams.
Indeed, Valentine's Day conversations on Facebook and Instagram grew 1.7x, year-on-year, in 2016, while Twitter says it's expecting to see 31.5 million tweets Valentine's related tweets this year.
For brands, that makes it a valuable opportunity, and given the generally joyous tone of the occasion, it's also a good one to tap into in order to boost your promotions and generate more interest in your products and services.
To help with this, Twitter has released a new guide which provides four tips on how businesses can tap into Valentine's Day and boost their marketing efforts.
Here are Twitter's top Valentine's Day tips.
1. "Talk about love throughout February"
Twitter notes that while the main conversation takes place on the actual day, discussion around Valentine's Day ramps up in the days before, and continues after the event.
Facebook's data shows similar - while 53% of Valentine's Day-related conversation on their platform took place on the day last year, 23% took place in the three days prior, while discussion around gifts and celebrations (like "date night") spiked in the days both before and after.
In order to maximize your efforts, Twitter advises that brands should look to incorporate the Valentine's Day theme for the entire month of February, first by promoting your special offers, then maintaining some key elements to maintain ongoing engagement.
What does love look like? #ThisIsLove More on the blog > https://t.co/mBQKAK83BU pic.twitter.com/L8KCIayAlF
- Alex and Ani (@alexandani) January 13, 2017
2. "Run a contest"
Twitter says that running a contest is a great way to build buzz around your themed-promotion and generate engagement.
"For example, spin studio @Flywheel entered customers into a Valentine's Day week raffle when they brought someone they love to class."
Valentine's Week Special: Bring someone you #love to FLY, and be entered to win a gift card. #ValentinesDay pic.twitter.com/5YNLcRZgxG
- Flywheel Sports (@Flywheel) February 7, 2016
Contest posts are always popular and can be an effective way to boost interest - just make sure you understand the platform rules and regulations around such promotions beforehand.
3. "Show your sense of humor"
This is a particularly interesting consideration for brands that don't have an immediate, obvious connection to Valentine's Day.
By using humor as your catalyst, almost any brand can tie into the theme and generate more engagement.
Twitter provides this example from Stay Home Club.
Thank god I married someone who is less lazy in the kitchen than I am. Valentine's dinner woulda been tortilla shells and peanut butter.
- Stay Home Club (@stayhomeclub) February 15, 2016
Another example is McKinney's "Shred Your Ex" campaign, in which users submitted images of their ex-partner which were then sent to a printer and shredded. The remains were then sent onto an animal shelter to line cages.
Your brand might not necessarily have an obvious connection to the event, but that doesn't mean you can't get creative with it and still tap into the conversation.
Done well, this can be a very effective tactic - though done poorly, not so much.
4. "Countdown to the big day"
Twitter's final piece of Valentine's Day marketing advice is to "tweet your best seasonal deals and add a sense of urgency in your Tweet copy."
Valentine's week is already here! Lock in your X's and O's and order your stems stat! https://t.co/wOfuT6jKpG pic.twitter.com/GIYi3dgUUv
- BloomThat (@BloomThat) February 8, 2016
Urgency is one of our most powerful psychological urges, and using that in your marketing can be a great way to generate more response, as it prompts more impulse actions, with people looking to get in on the deal before it's too late.
Also, reminding people that they need to buy something for their partner is undoubtedly effective - how many times has an occasion like Valentine's Day crept up on you without you remembering?
While most of these tips are fairly basic, they also underline how simple it can be to tap into the Valentine's Day conversation in order to boost your marketing. Some creativity and planning can be a great way to get in on that increased social media activity, helping to boost your brand awareness - and, hopefully, conversions.