10 mobile messaging tips for Valentine’s Day you’re going to love

Can you feel it? That’s love in the air! Valentine’s Day is coming and it’s the ideal time for retailers to get the year righted after a slow January.  

Every year, people show their love for their significant others by spending a lot on Valentine’s Day. In the US alone, Valentine’s Day expenditures are expected to reach almost $26 billion in 2023, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.  

And while your email marketing campaign is probably ready to go and your paid social ads have just the right tone, you can’t afford to ignore mobile messaging when Cupid shows up with his bow and arrow.  

Mobile messaging is an attention getter 

When it comes to Valentine’s Day, engagement is the name of the game. No, not diamond rings secreted in champagne glasses, customer engagement. And mobile messaging, from SMS to rich messaging options like WhatsApp, RCS, or MMS, is the way to do it right.  

With its eye-popping open rate of 98% and an uber-impressive 95% read rate within the first three minutes, you will reach your customers. Add a touch of personalization and rich media to create stronger connections and inspire them to action.  

But how do you kick-start your mobile messaging campaign? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with these 10 tips to create a Valentine’s Day experience your customers will love.  

1. Get to the heart of the matter with personalization 

Valentine’s Day is all about getting personal, so prioritize personalization. Ensure your content is relevant and valuable by using purchase history and behavioral data to send offers your customers will love. Drive even more engagement with MMS images or videos and personalized landing pages showcasing recommended products.  

And when Valentine’s Day is over, use the data you’ve collected from purchases to devise relevant retargeting and upsell opportunities for the rest of the year.  

2. Make buying for love fun and interactive 

Gamify your discounts or offers with a love-themed interactive landing page. For example, pick the petals off a flower in a virtual game of “Loves me, loves me not” to win 10, 20, or 50% off where everyone comes away a winner.  

3. Send warm-up messages to build momentum  

Don’t wait until Valentine’s Day to tell your customers about your awesome deals and heartwarming products. Use messaging to send out reminders days before to build excitement for Valentine’s Day, keeping your brand at the top of your audience’s mind.  

And send follow-up messages throughout the day as customers continue to shop.  

Be careful not to overwhelm your customers with messages, though. Using analytics, you can determine when your customers are most likely to be buying and schedule your messages appropriately.  

4. Show, don’t tell!

Now is the time to experiment with rich media formats, like images, videos, and animated gifs to stand out and drive more traffic to your online or brick-and-mortar store.  

5. Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match

Help your customers shop for loved ones by offering focused gift suggestions.  

With two-way messaging, you can ask your audience to answer some questions about the person they’re buying for, how much they want to spend, and the type of gifts they like to help narrow their search down significantly with AI-driven recommendations.  

6. Give a loving nudge with abandoned cart notifications 

Send well-crafted SMS reminders for those Valentine’s Day purchases that didn’t get completed. Honor the original sale price to encourage your customers to convert.  

You can even try browsing abandonment notifications for browsed products that weren’t added to the cart.  

7. Treat your SMS subscribers with care 

Who doesn’t love an exclusive offer? Promote special deals like extra discounts and free shipping for those on your SMS list. And offering exclusive Valentine’s Day pricing is a great way to convince them to opt into your brand’s messaging program.  

But once they’ve opted in, make sure they stay opted in. If your subscribers don’t see the value of your SMS program after Valentine’s Day, they might unsubscribe. Send some compelling post-purchase content, like a link to a video tutorial for the product they bought, to prevent this from happening.  

8. Stimulate a sense of urgency 

February already is the shortest month and Valentine’s happens right in the middle, so you won’t have a lot of time for your campaign. Use this to your advantage. Fear of missing out (FOMO) is real and using language like “limited time only” in your messages encourages customers to act quickly.  

If there is only a limited number of a specific item in stock, the “Only a few left!” alert works as well. Another good urgency-driving technique is to send messages linking to a countdown clock for lightning deals due to expire. 

9. Hook email and SMS up together 

SMS and email work well together. SMS can create that urgency we discussed above, whereas email is great for long-form communication.  

For example, use SMS to let subscribers know about limited-time sales, last-chance items, and shipping deadlines. Then send emails with additional content that isn’t as time-sensitive, such as on-sale product galleries and more details of your offers. 

10. Keep crushing on conversions

Once Valentine’s Day is over, fill your customers in on what new deals they can expect in upcoming months – and make access to these deals exclusive to your list members to boost messaging opt-ins.  

It’s also important to feature high-value or popular products for your members to create excitement and drive more sales.  

So, now that you have your strategies all aligned, let’s get to work. And if you want to learn more about how we help retailers build meaningful connections with their customers? Explore our solutions for retail here.