Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest events in the commercial calendar. Last year’s Valentine’s Day sales totaled $18 billion dollars, and this year is expected to be similar. But what’s the best way to ensure you get your share of the pie? Well, the first step is to reach the largest possible audience, and advertising with Facebook is an easy way to that. Facebook sees over 1 billion unique users every day; that’s about 13% of the population of the planet. With that kind of potential reach, all that’s left for you to worry about, is how you’re going to craft an effective campaign to convert them. So without further ado, here are 7 Do’s and Don’ts to get your Valentine’s Day strategy started on the right foot.
Don’t Delay!
You don’t have to wait until the week before Valentine’s Day to begin your campaign. If you start early, you can beat the competition, and reach the customer before they buy from anyone else.
If you’re running your ads well in advance of the big day, you will want to encourage your customers to take action now by offering timed deals. It doesn’t have to be much, just a little push to encourage them to act now instead of putting it off. You could offer a coupon, free shipping, or a bonus gift, just to make sure the expiration date of your special offer is crystal clear.
Target Your Ads
Facebook provides you with a multitude of ways to make sure your ads are seen by the right people. There are some essential ways you should be targeting your ads during the lead up to the big day.
The specifics will vary depending on your ad, but for this example, let’s say we’re talking about an ad about a special chocolate hamper aimed at the ‘lady in your life’. First, you want to target men who are currently in a relationship (information helpfully provided to Facebook by the user). Then, depending on your product, you might choose to narrow it further by going for a specific age group, interest area, or geographic location.
Try to build a picture of an ideal customer avatar, and build your ad audience around that.
Don’t Ignore Singles
While everyone else is spending their time going after people in relationships, it’s the perfect time for you to turn your attention to the singles. It can be hard to be single on Valentine’s day, so a campaign of self-love that celebrates unashamedly treating yourself, will win you conversions without the fierce competition that comes with marketing to couples.
Don’t Use a Cheesy Corporate Hashtag
Hashtags can be a great way to promote interaction, and drive social proof, but if you’re going to try a hashtag campaign on Valentine’s Day, you have to be careful. It’s a very personal day, and let’s face it, marketing hashtags aren’t romantic.
However, if you’re targeting singles using the “self-love” approach, then I would encourage you to use all the hashtags you want. Your goal is to create the feeling that it’s okay to treat yourself, and make it a fun event — a hashtag can help.
Don’t feel the need to reach for a cheesy cliche or hashtag if it doesn’t make sense for your brand. Here is how to improve your copy with compelling passion points instead.
Use a Variety of Ad Types
Facebook offers several different ad templates: they’re all designed to achieve different things, and appeal to different people.
If you’re running a large campaign it will be more effective to display your ad to the user in multiple formats, rather than the same one every time. Not all of Facebook’s ad types are appropriate to every campaign. For example, lead ads aren’t going to do much for your Valentine’s day sales. But with a little creative tweaking, you can incorporate videos, carousels, and other interesting visual formats into your strategy.
Appeal to Last-Minute Shoppers
Everyone forgets important dates sometimes — we live in a busy world, and it’s easy to forget to pick up a gift.
As the day gets closer, the customer is left with fewer and fewer options; so if you offer next day, or same day delivery, you could pick up some of the stragglers with your ads. You should also consider adding vouchers or digital products to the mix that people can immediately download, send on, and use. It’s the ideal gift format for the busy person who wants to give something meaningful.
Find a Niche For Your Niche!
Some things are easier to market on Valentine’s Day than others, but even if you’re not selling roses, that doesn’t mean you can’t appeal to the Valentine’s spirit to boost your sales.
For example — we love our pets, so Valentine’s day is a great time to sell dog treats too with some #doggylove spirit. This approach can be applied to all sorts of things — just keep the tone lighthearted so people don’t think you’re crazy.
If you successfully target an untapped niche you get to reap all the benefits of selling to an audience that your competition might be overlooking. You’re not fighting to be heard, and your audience will appreciate a fresh take after being flooded with generic ads for weeks.
Image credit: Aganyga via Pixabay
Top photo credit: Libreshot
If you’re not really on board with this holiday, you could also find success by standing out from the crowd with some “counter-Valentine’s” marketing too. Whatever your approach is, you’re sure to fall in love with Facebook advertising this Valentine’s day!
Author: Victoria Greene: Brand Marketing Consultant & Freelance Writer. On her blog, Victoria Ecommerce, she shares tips on building great websites (among other things). Big fan of email marketing and targeted social media.
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