Five Valentine’s Day Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses

Now we’ve recovered from the busy Christmas period, the January sales and the post-Christmas slump, marketing departments have another occasion to concern themselves with. Valentine’s Day provides an opportunity for brands to create some original and effective marketing campaigns. If you don’t sell jewellery, chocolates, flowers or lingerie, you might think you’re out of luck – but clever companies can take advantage of the occasion with their own marketing campaigns. Here we share some great Valentine’s Day marketing ideas for SMEs on a tight budget.

#1: Social media greetings and code words

The simplest and cheapest way of linking your brand to Valentine’s Day is by sending out a message via social media. Find a romantic quote that suits your brand (you could make it amusing, inspiring, or just sweet), and Tweet it – preferably as a caption to an image (perhaps featuring your product or brand name, if appropriate). Add a discount code for your online store, if you have one – or perhaps even a romantic code word visitors to your shops can use to claim a discount or freebie.

#2: Giving

If your products or services aren’t really suitable as Valentine’s Day gifts, consider switching roles and becoming the gift giver. Plan a series of promotions for Valentine’s Day. Offer discounts over certain spends, include vouchers with every purchase or invest in some promotional products to give out to your customers. You may simply want to give out a one day only, across the board discount – but don’t offer anything more generous than 10%.

#3: Contests

If you’re lucky enough to have a loyal bunch of regular customers or social media users, consider organising a Valentine’s Day contest. This could be anything from offering gift cards to the most romantic winter landscape photo, a Twitter contest where users show off their latest DIY creations or something as simple as awarding a prize to the most amusing Valentine’s Day experience shared on your Facebook page.

#4: Anti-Valentine’s Day

If you brand is bold enough to get away with it, consider an anti-Valentine’s Day marketing campaign where you criticise the occasion and suggest an alternative. Perhaps you could offer deals on the most unromantic goods you offer, or centre a marketing campaign around singles. This approach has been taken many times before, so be sure to try to add a twist that makes it unique to your business.

#5: Add a little romance

Still stuck for ideas? Give out roses and chocolates to customers. It might seem a little cheesy for your brand, but it’s Valentine’s Day, after all…

Overall, ensure that your Valentine’s Day marketing campaign fits with your overall marketing strategy, and of course, the voice of your brand.