Whether you love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is rolling around again and people everywhere will be looking for that special event or gift to show their loved ones they care.  This V-Day nearly a fifth of consumers are expected to do their shopping online, so advertisers, prepare those e-marketing campaigns!  Impulse shoppers, methodical planners, the madly-in-love… and those of us on the couch in our jammies alike, we all have someone special in our lives.   So even if you aren’t in the business of gift cards, chocolate, flowers, or jewelry there is no reason to leave your site lonely on Valentine’s Day.  Use this opportunity to increase awareness of your business, drive traffic, and capitalize on this payday.  If you haven’t started promoting yet, there is no time like now!

Gaining Awareness for Small Business

A few simple techniques can be employed to help connect with your users, and social media likely has the best return for your time investment. Creative YouTube videos are an excellent source to effectively promote your offers and increase product awareness. Another great suggestion for leveraging your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media followers is to create a branded Valentine’s Day card. Come up with a catchy message and tack on a good offer with a nice discount, and you’re in business!

Appeal to Niche Audiences

We all know them; the ones who despise Valentine’s Day or consider it a purely commercial holiday. In fact, many of us are that person! However, by expanding out of the typical offers such as gift cards, dining, and flowers, you can get really creative, and attract consumers looking to avoid the clichés. Now is a great time to convince your users to look at Valentine’s in a new light by cleverly packaging your less traditional offers. There is something out there for everyone, it’s time to make Valentine’s Day cool again!

Promote Your Events and Target Your Audience

We all want to do something on Valentine’s Day, and there is no shortage of romantic and emotionally charged events to promote. Use social media, email marketing, and newsletters to spread the word about your events and offers, but keep your audience in mind. On Valentine’s we celebrate the exchange of love, however love comes in many forms. It is important to understand your target demographic, and who they are trying to satisfy. Some offers may be gender specific, we all know men and women are often interested in different things. Therefore men shopping for women (or other combinations) will likely not be enticed by an offer their significant other may have noticed. Keep things simple and provide unique solutions.

Make a Plan, Follow Through

Valentine’s is widely considered one of the highest grossing annual holidays. One contributing factor to this is the ability to promote any kind of offer as a viable Valentine’s Day product, service, or event. Due to this, competition can be stiff for this holiday. It is important to develop a solid plan of action, such as a schedule for an e-mail marketing campaign, or to create a special product or service in honor of this day. Do not wait until the last second; begin executing your plan and get ahead of the competition.

Understand What Works, and Why

Research what successful companies and sites have done, and are doing, to drive their traffic. Statistics from previous years and projections of this year’s sales are a great reference. In addition to reviewing these broad statistics, it can be very useful to study specific marketing campaigns and promotions that have enjoyed enormous success and virility.

Now it’s your turn… even if you’re exasperated, it’s time to get excited, Valentine’s Day is here. Don’t get left behind the competition as retailers everywhere cash in on this massive payday.