Looking to give your business a boost this quarter? Consider taking advantage of Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is expected to bring in almost $19 billion in sales this year according to the National Retail Federation — that’s second only to Christmas, meaning this holiday could mean big money for your store.
One easy and relatively inexpensive way to boost your sales for Valentine’s Day is Facebook ads. Ads on Facebook have robust options for targeting your audience, which makes them perfect for selling Valentine’s Day gifts.
1. Target Your Ads Appropriately
The biggest advantage Facebook ads have over other types of advertisements is that they can be targeted to the exact people you want to see your ads. Don’t waste this opportunity.
Here are some options for targeting your ads:
- Relationship status: Whether you want to target men and women in relationships or single girls looking to buy their friends a Galentine’s Day gift, the ability to target by relationships is an invaluable tool for this holiday.
- Gender: Your ads will likely perform better if you target one set of ads to men and another to women, especially if you’re using gender to supplement your relationship status targeting. If your budget allows, consider creating separate ad sets for boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands and wives. Remember: The more specific your targeting is, the more personal you can make the ads feel, which can help them perform better. More specific targeting can also help you know which ad sets are under performing so you can use your budget more effectively. For example, men spend twice as much on Valentine’s Day gifts as women do, so you may get more bang for your buck by targeting boyfriends and husbands, rather than girlfriends and wives.
- Age: Depending on the type of products you sell, you may want to target based on age. You likely know your target audience, and if 22 year olds aren’t interested in your products, you don’t want to waste money showing them your ads.
- Remarketing: If you’re already running a successful remarketing campaign on Facebook, now is a great time to create a few new ads using your data. Update your ads to reflect the upcoming holiday, and consider adding additional targeting options to show your ads to visitors to your site who aren’t necessarily your typical customers. For example, a women’s jewelry site that has been running a successful remarketing campaign for six months or more might consider creating a set of ads targeting men in relationships who have visited their site in the last 180 days, with the goal of capturing men who have visited the site looking for jewelry for their wives or girlfriends in the past six months.
2. Start Soon — It’s Not Too Late!
Valentine’s Day is right around the quarter, so it’s important to start these ads as soon as possible and run them until your last shipping day before Valentine’s Day. Don’t worry about being too late, though! More than half of Valentine’s Day gifts are purchased the week before Valentine’s Day, according to Experian. Get your ads up soon to capture the more prepared shoppers, but be sure to keep them running as long as possible to get the business of the last-minute gift buyers.
3. Embrace the Color Scheme
There is no better way to catch the eye of someone looking for a Valentine’s Day gift than with an ad that is clearly for the holiday. Use red or pink in your ad to remind the user that February 14th is right around the corner, which will help add a little urgency to your ad encouraging them to buy a gift for their loved ones now.
Of course, you don’t have to feel cornered into only using red and pink in your ads. Sometimes, a touch of red or pink can be enough to remind the viewer of Valentine’s Day without going over the top. Make the choice that fits best with your brand and you feel will resonate with your target audience the most. If you’re unsure which way is best for your audience, consider A/B testing two ad images against each other by uploading two images when you make your ad. Facebook will automatically separate the images into two different ads so you can see which option performs better.
4. Offer a Discount to Encourage Quick Purchases
Consider creating a specific coupon code for Valentine’s Day purchases. Coupons can help push potential shoppers over the edge to become customers, and they’re great for encouraging users to make purchases sooner through the use of expiration dates.
The coupon can be a flat discount on all products in your store, free shipping or a free gift with purchase, among other options — just be sure the fine print is concise and easy-to-digest to accommodate the short time period in which you’ll have Facebook users’ attention.
5. Promote Shipping Options
Last-minute shoppers may be leery of ordering a Valentine’s Day gift online out of concern that the gift might not arrive on time. Help ease their fears by including information about shipping in the ad text. Short sentences like “Order now for delivery by 2-14” can be a great use of your ad text space and help encourage a purchase.
If you’re looking to harness the power of social media ads for your store, but you’re not sure where to start, we’re here to help. Check out our Ecommerce Marketing Services to get professional help growing your business.
How do you plan to promote your store for Valentine’s Day? Let us know in the comments below!
Don’t miss: Free Valentine’s Day Images for Your Ecommerce Website
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