Fall in love with the 5 best Valentines Day SMS campaign ideas

Advanced SMS guides 7 min read Feb 2022 |   Author: Sinch MessageMedia

Valentine’s Day, considered the most romantic day of the year is here. And it’s the perfect opportunity for retailers to boost sales after a quiet January.

Text messaging is a great way to engage customers with your brand, given its 98% open rate. But, be mindful! Consumers will receive romantic marketing messages from all sides. So, how will your brand stand out?

We have some bright, fun ideas on doing this when sending texts.

Be my Valentine: a massive market opportunity

Here are some fast facts on recent Valentine’s Day consumer spending:

• In 2020, Valentine’s Day sales jumped a whopping $6.7B (32%) to $27.4B in the US. Compare this to the 2019 – 2020 increase of $1.1B.
• The most popular gift is a romantic evening or experience.
• Last year, consumers were willing to spend nearly $200 to celebrate the holiday. That’s 21% more than last year!
• Men consistently spend more at $291.15 compared to women at $106.22. 41% of gift recipients want experiences (spa trips, events), but only 28% of gift-givers plan to gift experiences.
• As we see with other holidays, consumers use their mobile phones more than ever (which is why SMS is optimal) to shop and buy for Valentine’s Day.
  • 50% of shoppers used their phones to buy a gift.
  • More than 30% of shoppers used their phones to research, compare prices, learn more about retailers or redeem coupons.

SMS marketing considerations for Valentine’s Day

Before we jump into our SMS marketing ideas, let’s dive into some planning considerations.

Design emotionally thoughtful campaigns

Today, Valentine’s Day is a special day to celebrate love (romantic or otherwise) for the special people in our lives. When planning your campaign, content, and offer, remember to connect emotionally with your audience to help drive consumers through to purchase.

Plan your Valentine’s Day campaign early

According to Google Trends, Valentine’s Day searches begin as early as the day after Christmas. In addition, Valentine’s Day searches increase between February 11 and 13, probably because last-minute lovers are scrambling to find the best deals. When planning your campaign schedule, start at the end of December to increase activity toward the end of January. Ensure your campaign also has a solid last-minute push (and easy links or guides to your best offers) until the 14th.

Include personalisation options for added value

Add additional value to your products with special gift-wrapping or personalisation, such as the inclusion of a handwritten gift card (with a message of their choice). These small details can make a big difference to your customers and be the deciding factor in purchasing your product versus another.

Expand your customer base

While it’s good to segment your audience and personalise offers for relevance, consider how you can also include as many audiences as possible. Valentine’s Day celebrations have gone beyond romance in recent years, and friends have also wanted to buy platonic gifts. Think about how you can change your offer or include new ones to reach a larger audience.

SMS campaign ideas for Valentine’s Day

Here are 5 ideas for text message marketing to help you brainstorm an SMS campaign:

1. 2-for-1 deals

Two-for-one deals can work exceptionally well for campaigns featuring services people enjoy doing together, like massages, dinner, nail appointments, etc. So offer your customers two seats for the price of one with a love-filled message. Here are a few templates to get you started:

TEMPLATE:
Treat your bae and join in on the fun! Purchase a [COMPANY] couple’s massage for the price of one: [URL] Limited time offer, ends [DATE] STOP to opt-out.

TEMPLATE:
Get out to the country with your loved ones for Valentine’s! Stay at [COMPANY] for 2 nights in a premium suite at half price. Book now: [URL] STOP to opt-out.

TEMPLATE:
Purchase any item from our Valentine’s collection and get the 2nd for free! Use code: LOVEBIRDS at checkout. STOP to opt-out.

2. Galentine’s Day

As the popularity of Galentine’s Day shows, women celebrate their friendships. Think of creating a Galentine gift guide or a special discount for this audience to expand your campaign. You could also consider hosting an event or experience and sending exclusive SMS invitations to your VIP female clientele.

3. Bad Valentine’s Day gifts

In the above section, we saw that consumers can wait until the weekend of Valentine’s Day to buy their gifts. Consider a campaign that discourages this and encourages them to shop early.

TEMPLATE:
Don’t buy the last bunch of roses from the supermarket! Order her bouquet early from our Special Ones collection: [URL] STOP to opt-out.

TEMPLATE:
Don’t get scammed on Valentine’s Day! Buy from a trusted seller on [COMPANY NAME] now before we sell out. Check us out: [URL] STOP to opt-out.

4. Treat yourself

While Valentine’s Day is about loving others, it can be an excellent opportunity to care for ourselves. Consider launching a campaign that focuses on self-sufficiency and encourages consumers to shop for themselves.

Put up signs in your shop or on social media, and invite customers to text your number to receive affirmations or products they will love.

5. Love/Lust/Like gift guides

Finally, create specialised gift guides for all the different “loves” consumers have in our lives. Include ideas for family, friends, and romantic relationships. Collection guides are simply shortcuts for those who don’t want to research or are looking for a quick last-minute value deal or buy.

TEMPLATE:
Want to make things extra steamy in the bedroom this Valentine’s? Choose from our lush Lust gift guide and get 20% off right now: [URL] STOP to opt-out.

TEMPLATE:
Show mom how much you appreciate her! Make a purchase from our Love gift collection, perfect for friends and family: [URL] Free delivery till [DATE]. STOP to opt-out.

TEMPLATE:
Sending Valentine’s at work? Choose one from our Like list. All buys are under $10, express delivery is guaranteed in 2 days. Check it out: [URL]. STOP to opt-out.

Final thoughts, further reading

Now that you have some new SMS marketing campaign ideas for Valentine’s, it’s time to start planning! As we’ve outlined, you’ll want to get a head start on launching your campaign sooner rather than later.

Start planning for other key sales dates coming this year with our other SMS guides:

• Mother’s Day SMS marketing
• Father’s Day text campaigns
• Download our FREE 2021 ecommerce and retail calendar to plan all of your SMS marketing campaigns