Did you know Valentine's Day sees the 2nd biggest online spend after Black Friday? Expected to be up to $21bn this year! 

Here at DMI we wanted to help you some key tips for your social strategy for this year's Valentine's Day. On this Facebook live talk, DMI tutor Sean Kenny presented some novel approaches to this important holiday, with a look at some great examples. Sean helps our students on all our courses, including the Social Media Marketing Course so he really has his finger on the pulse.

Key Markets and Data

• Biggest spenders are unmarried men ages 25–34, according to a composite of studies. 
• 62% of men expecting to buy a gift for a loved one in 2020, versus only 45% of women.
• In 2021, BigCommerce predicts 54% of total eCommerce will be generated by M-Commerce total eCommerce transactions so we expect the same trend to affect Valentine’s Day transactions as well.

Add some romantic flair to your channels

Social media profile images and cover photos Make sure it’s a Valentine’s Day tie-in that allows your brand to still be recognizable but also celebrates the holiday!

Create dedicated Valentines day Posts and include your best selling services and products.

If your budget allows it, creating a dedicated app or a landing page.Will attract more people and offer more information, which ultimately backs up your social media efforts. 

Have a unique App or Landing page on your website. Keep your posts short and to the point for the highest engagement rates, and redirect people to your app or LP. UTM codes also helpful.

“47% shoppers choose either “social networks” or “visual social networks” as their main sources of inspiration. ” 2017 Total Retail Survey by PWC (source, page 15)

Engage your Followers to Share their Stories

2021 and beyond is all about authenticity and original content, so why not try your hand at a user-generated content (UGC) campaign?

• Go all-out and organise a contest or simply run a series of polls to test how engaged your audiences are.
• People like to be included in your marketing efforts. Giving them the option to pitch in and have a voice will help create loyalty.  
• Polls are always a quick and easy way to get clear and specific answers. (And give you more organic reach on Instagram and Facebook)
• Contests, on the other hand, allow for more creativity.

Show Love to the Singles

Approx 50% of people are single in developed markets.12% treat themselves on Valentines Day.

• Consumers are buying gifts not only for their partners (husbands and wives) but also for their co-workers, family, friends and pets.
• 19.9% of customers spending money on presents going to those cute, lovable furry friends, compared to only 10.3% buying for their co-workers.
• Experiment with taglines like “Treat yourself this Valentine's Day” or “Delicious meals for you and your friends” when selling regular products desired by single adults

Run with the Most Relevant Hashtags

Hashtags make your more discoverable and will engage users more. Here are some key ones you should know for Valentine's Day.

Valentines Day

• #valentines 14,345,454
• #valentineday 2,386,104
• #valentinegift 1,055,201
• #valentinesnails 351,747
• #valentinesdinner 153,906

Anti-Valentines Day

• #single - 17.9m posts 
• #galentinesday - 537k posts
• #antivalentinesday - 59.2k posts 
• #whoneedsavalentine - 11.8k posts

Create a Last-Minute Gift Guide

Offering a last-minute Valentine’s Day gift idea that includes your products/services and others (non-competitors). Pick romantic-themed and self-love items (or paired products, like a best seller with chocolate) and showcase them in a post or story.

• “I love you” with greeting cards, which 46%. 
• 55% buy confectionery
• 36% will buy flowers, and maybe combine it with a night out on the town as 35% of shoppers are gifting a date. 
• 19% of shoppers are buying jewelry
• 17% of shoppers plan to gift clothing this year. 
• 15% of shoppers are planning to give gift cards

Try out some ideas like:

• Gifts for him
• Gifts for her
• Gifts for your BFF
• Gifts for your family
• Gifts for yourself

Valentines in Lockdown - COVID-19

• 23% said they would spend more on the holiday this year
• 40 percent plan to spend the same amount of money on Valentine's Day shopping or activities this year. 
• Just over a third (36 percent) said they plan to spend less

Lockdowns in many of the key high spending markets around the world and there should be a big shift towards online shopping and in particular a focus on mobile.

Spend that traditionally might have gone on weekends away, restaurants and other outdoor activities may well go online

Keep an eye out for upcoming DMI Facebook Live events on our Facebook Page. 

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• 4 Great Examples of User-Generated Content (UGC)