A few days ago a colleague of mine asked another, 'So what are you doing this Valentine’s Day?' The question sparked an office debate on whether Valentine’s Day is 'an over-the-top' money-making scam or 'a day to celebrate the beauty of love'. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic or a tad more cynical, Valentine’s Day is coming and you should take advantage of it. Incorporating Valentine’s Day into your marketing calendar can serve as a great opportunity to create exciting online campaigns, get creative with deals and discounts, as well as gain new customers (or perhaps reinvigorate old ones). Also, trends suggest that social media chatter around Valentine’s Day in Mzansi is on the rise, so hear me out.
Contrary to the rumours that it is out-dated, email marketing still results in conversions. 2017 is the year of experimentation, but we shouldn’t forget our tried and true methods of lead generation. With employees spending 13 of their working hours each week in their email inbox, and email marketing being 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter, it should still be an element of your digital marketing strategy.
But you have to get a few things right:
In between the social media notifications, subscription updates, newsletters and invitations, the email inbox is a cluttered place. A superior subject line is of the utmost importance, so always A/B test. Superbalist jumps straight to the point with 'Up to 80% off SALE' letting the customer know that they are in for a major Valentine’s Day deal. Tell customers about a sale in the subject line to convince them to click and open, instead of avoiding or deleting, your emails.
Once the customer has been drawn in by the attractive subject line, the next step is to get them onto your website or buying your product. Uber manages this well with a list of amazing Valentine’s-themed prizes customers can win just by entering the Promo Code on their next ride with Uber. This year’s Valentine’s Campaign is called 'Ride for a Share of Love' and treats that can be won range from roses, Pandoras and spa days to UberEATS discounts. The email’s success lies in its neat presentation, clear relevance and strong CTA button, 'Show me the love'.
Call to Action buttons that are short, creative and relevant have a significantly higher chance of being clicked. Also, never underestimate the power of colour – green means go. And it’s next to its complimentary colour, red, on a clean, white background. Keep your layout tidy, your text explaining the idea clearly, your brand name visible, and your colours co-ordinated.
When it comes to social media, we recommend sticking to the 80-20 visual-text ratio. Visuals are easier to digest, especially on social media. Use images to attract customers immediately, add a few lines of copy, or an effective caption to give them context, and make sure it’s either funny or informative. Research shows that the content that is most shared on social media includes either humour or statistics.
Facebook is the choice of platform for many brands because posts can be easily shared and spread by followers, but Instagram can be utilised due its main focus on images and Twitter for short, quirky comments. Even if your brand has nothing to do with flowers, chocolates or jewellery, there’s always a fun way to engage customers using Valentine’s Day.
Do try this at home:
3. Competitions and deals
Successful competitions can generate thousands of entries and site visitors, as well as boost conversion rates and produce lasting followers. If you can’t think of how to relate your brand to something Valentine’s-themed, try collaborating with a local business that does.
We suggest using an effective headline such as 'Win a Romantic Dinner and Night’s Stay for 2 This Valentine’s Day' and then specify the restaurant, hotel, how to enter and closing date. A good idea for Instagram competitions would be to make it a requirement to follow your brand (Facebook recently blocked 'like-gating') and to comment and tag someone on the post, or to follow a link to your website. The easier the process, the more entrants and site visitors.
Another option is to give one-day-only discounts. Like the businesses that capitalised on Christmas by nicknaming it 'The Season of Giving' to get customers to buy more, encourage customers to celebrate 'The Day of Love' with a friend or significant other. Cape Town’s Rush Trampoline Park frames itself as the perfect place for a Valentine’s date with a “Two Jumpers for the Price of One on Valentine’s Day” deal.
Love it or hate it, it would only be to your advantage to use it, so why not drive traffic and gain new customers this Valentine’s Day. 'But how do I know if the campaign is a success,' you might ask? Well, that’s what Meltwater’s social media monitoring tools are here for.
