It’s that time of year again. Candy hearts filled with chocolate, the cost of roses going through the roof, single people dreading the onslaught of heart emojis on their news feeds, and companies trying to navigate the social media waters of how to promote content around Valentine’s Day.
We took a look at last year to see what people were talking about, and where they were talking around this time of the year.
Twitter expects these hashtags to trend for the holiday this year:
#bemine, #bemyvalentine, #candyhearts
#galentinesday, #hugsandkisses, #secretadmirer
#SinglesDay, #sweetheart, #thatslove, #valentines
#willyoubemyvalentine, #valentinesday2018
#whoeneedsavalentine
Who is participating?
While it is a holiday for all ages, some are more active than others. The 18-25 age group makes up more than half the audience, followed far behind by the 25-35 age group, and all other age groups giving a minimal showing.
Where is your audience?
So where is your audience? Is there one social media platform over another that will capture your audience? Turns out there is! Twitter and Instagram beat out all other other media types, with the most user generated content.
This doesn’t mean that brands should ignore the other channels, but it does provide an idea of what sort of content is going to deliver the best results – fast paced streams, like Twitter, and image based content like Instagram.
It goes without saying that for such a holiday, content should be pushed out on a timely schedule. When looking at last year’s timeline we can see there was little to no activity until the day before Valentine’s day, and a dramatic drop the day after the holiday.
The right content
What about the content? To start with, don’t leave out the singles! It may be a holiday about love, but 45% of the population remains single. That’s a big chunk of people to leave out by only focusing on couples.
It’s not all about women either. Men account for 37% of the Valentine’s masses partaking in this holiday.
Be inclusive. 20% of people buy gifts for friends and pets, not just partners.
In short, offer experiences, not things. Make sure that your Valentine’s Day content is relevant for everyone – young, old, single, married and even furry. Share the love, and the social media!
Deanne McNamara is currently a Social Media Analyst at The Social Element. Before that, she was a Project Manager for over seven years. She is an expert communicator who knows what it takes to moderate, grow and build communities. Deanne currently resides in Suncook, New Hampshire.
