Last year The Mirror estimated that Brits spent £1.6 Billion on the day of love. As we approach Valentine’s Day 2016, we believe that whilst the love for your other half is important; for business owners, it is important to show your company some love too!
Here are our five top tips on how to gain the best results from a well-loved firm…
1) Social Media
Love the increased traffic online. Last year The Mirror reported that a rise in Valentine’s Day expenditure was largely down to the influence of social media. ‘Instabragging’ and posting photos of presents on Facebook has led to an increase of pressure on partners to get it right for their loved ones. Make sure your business capitalises from the extra traffic on your target social media platforms to ensure maximum exposure over this weekend.
If you’re a florist or chocolatier, you should already be boosting efforts ahead of what is probably your busiest day of the year – but B2B firms can benefit too. #ValentinesDay is sure to be trending so use clever messages with your keywords in posts on Twitter and Instagram, and it’s increasingly common practice to use hashtags on Facebook too!
2) Press releases
Stand out from your competition by showcasing your business via a special Valentine’s press release. Can you provide an opinion or comment on how much love is in your industry this Valentine’s Day? If you are a financial company, the media love statists on expenditure so use your business know-how to place a spokesperson within your business as an expert and provide the facts.
Learn how to write press releases here.
3) Blog posts
Indulge your online presence and get more mileage from your press releases. , By adapting the article into first person and uploading the content to your website, it provides yet another platform to demonstrate your expert opinion within your sector. Adapt the piece to first person to place yourself as an expert on your website and if you’re B2B, post it to LinkedIn Pulse too. Don’t be afraid to use a more informal and personable voice in your blog posts, this is a useful technique to add credibility and interact with your customers.
4) Mail-shots
Whether you use an online tool such as MailChimp to create e-shots, or you’re embracing the return of physical direct mail since its demise, why not show your customers some love with an offer this V day?
Treat your customer to a value-added extra purchase, free delivery with an increased minimum spend or incentive a refer-a-friend offer to grow your customer base and sales.
Target the delivery of an electronic communication to the optimum date and time according to when your audience is most likely to be online and be sure to track your open and click through rates, linking your Google Analytics to monitor traffic as a result of the campaign.
5) Awards
Nothing shows your business more love than an award or accolade placing you as an independently verified winner in your sector or geographical location. Now is the time most award entries are open with ceremonies generally held in Spring and Autumn.
Plan your upcoming awards and write a compelling application ahead of the deadline with plenty of evidence-based statistics and testimonials from satisfied customers.
With a clear strategy in place to ensure all of the above is regularly and professionally executed your business will feel the love from increased exposure, enquiries and ultimately sales.
If it seems too much to take on yourself, why not let us manage it for you? Contact ellie@maccomms.net to discuss further.
