8 Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Social Media Post Ideas
What do you think of as soon as February begins? Your usual monthly productivity goals or “Whoa! February is here – time to work on Valentine’s day campaign”?
If it is the latter, then we know you are a marketer or run a business.
Either way, Valentine’s day is one holiday where the ticket price may be usually small, but the volume wins over many other holidays. Everyone likes love, affection, and the prospect of gift-giving. Valentine’s day is a culmination of all these aspects, so it is a huge win for brands.
Over the past few years, customers have become cautious of not giving into blatant marketing techniques and look for more nuanced and personalized campaigns from their brands. Even those who do not actively take part in celebrations look out for authentic campaigns and advertisements from their favorite brands.
This puts a lot of pressure on businesses and marketers to hit it out of the park every February.
We understand the pressure and are bringing you a few well-curated, last-minute Valentine’s day social media marketing ideas.
But before we dive into those, let’s take a look at why Valentine’s day marketing is such a great opportunity. And why specifically on social media.
Valentine’s Day marketing
Who doesn’t like love? Even if it is not romantic love, people love showering their favourite people with affection and seeing their reactions. It is sort of the universal language that you can use to connect with people anywhere in the world.
So obviously, the season of love is also a season of gift-giving. So, Valentine’s day is an ideal holiday for all industries if they know how to tweak brand positioning and marketing.
But are there numbers to back the claim that Valentine’s day marketing brings you a great ROI?
Data shows that more than half (about 52%) of consumers celebrate Valentine’s Day. And in the year 2023, Valentine’s Day spending spiked up to $26 billion.
What’s even more intriguing is that it’s not just about spending on their partners. People have also been spending on their friends, family and pets. So, there’s a lot of shopping happening!
Now we know why businesses should invest in Valentine’s Day marketing. But the question of why social media remains.
Social Media and Valentine’s Day marketing
In the year 2023, the number of social media shoppers in the U.S. hit 106.8 million and is projected to increase to 118 million by 2027. This is a strong indicator of the steady growth of social commerce. Therefore, popular gifting seasons like the year-end holidays and Valentine’s Day are all critical days for brands to prioritize social media shoppers.
There are close to 2.4 million posts on Instagram for the hashtag #valentinesdaygift. Most of which are gift ideas, Valentine’s Day product launches, and curated bundles for the occasion.
Marketing rule number one is that you meet your customers where they are if you want your campaigns to bear results. And that is why we recommend you launch Valentine’s Day marketing on social media
If your target audience includes Gen Z and the younger millennials, then social media is even more relevant. Because where are they all the time? Yes, on their phones scrolling through social media.
Traditionally, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) see a high volume of Valentine’s Day content. But TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms where people look for gift ideas are worth your attention as well.
The below images give a glimpse of the engagement rates and post types that work well on Instagram for Valentine’s Day social media campaigns.
So now we know why a brand must invest in Valentine’s day marketing and why it must be on social media of all places.
Now, it is time to get down to business and see what content works the best for this holiday, and ways to replicate those ideas for your brand.
Let’s get to it.
8 Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Social Media Post Ideas
We all have met a customer who orders something last-minute and makes us rush to deliver it just in time for Valentine’s Day. And the size of this audience segment number is bigger than you think. So, you can never go wrong with a last-minute Valentine’s day marketing campaign, especially on social media.
So what works? And how do you craft the perfect content for this occasion?
1) Last-minute Gift suggestions
Getting the perfect gift for a loved one is a tough task. Even if a customer has chosen you, they still might be stumped on what to get.
If you can make this easier on them, they will be eternally grateful and more likely to become your repeat customers.
So the ideal content and a must-have in your Valentine’s day marketing campaign is a gift guide.
People love gift guides because it is a catalog that a brand has tailored to their exact needs so that they can pick one easily. You can also categorize your Valentine’s day gift guides such as gifts for boyfriend/girlfriend, gifts for spouses, gifts for friends, gifts for coworkers, and so on.
This idea works even for niche audience segments as you can see in the below post from Aerosmith.
KIMP Tip: Gift guides work best when they are visual. And there are many options to curate gift guides on social media by theme. Choose bright and love-themed colors such as red, pink, or orange in your gift guide design. Opt for decorative fonts or custom fonts for headings that evoke an emotion of love. And use the more typical serif or Sans-serif fonts for descriptions.
While doing this, do not ignore your brand’s signature visual style as well. Take cues from Aerosmith’s post featured above. While using hearts to align with the Valentine’s Day theme, the image also seamlessly incorporates the brand’s unique identity.
Looking for inspiration for gift guides? Check our blog here and if you want to replicate them, just sign up for the KIMP Graphics+ Video subscription. We’ve got you covered!
2) Valentine’s Day themed posts
Even if you do not work with a product directly related to Valentine’s Day, we still encourage you to post Valentine’s themed posts. Love is universal, and there is no harm in celebrating a day of love.
In fact, creating topical content can improve your engagement rates, which can translate into higher follower acquisition and eventually sales.
So what kind of social media posts work for Valentine’s day?
- Do a photoshoot of your products with Valentine’s Day based props
- Wish your customers and followers for Valentine’s Day with custom illustrations, doodles, and brand mascot illustrations.
- Create quizzes and puzzles that combine your product and the holiday. For example, you could work on a puzzle of “things your partner likes” and include your product in that list too
KIMP Tip: You can experiment as much as you want for Valentine’s Day. Compared to other holidays, the rules aren’t so strict. But, you have the pressure of ensuring your content stands out on your customers’ feeds and conveys that it is about Valentine’s Day. Pick offbeat colors such as Purple, coral, blue, green, and so on within the theme to stand out.
If you want to create illustrations for your Valentine’s Day social media campaign, try KIMP Graphics! And if you need help animating those designs, try KIMP Video.
3) Giveaways
When you are planning a last-minute campaign, you need something to hook the user in. Something that excites them and motivates them to take part in your campaigns. And what better motivation than winning a gift or prize?
Yes, a Valentine’s Day giveaway must surely be on your list. Giveaways can work wonders for engagement, building brand loyalty, and spreading brand awareness. They usually involve the customers commenting on your posts, sharing them with friends, and creating content on your behalf.
Freebies and giveaways make customers feel appreciated as well. And if you design your posts well, they can stand out in the horde of other marketing campaigns, bringing people to your profiles.
KIMP Tip: While announcing giveaways on social media feels pretty straightforward, a little finesse goes a long way. Ensure that you highlight the product and the brand, keeping the text to a minimum. Include details in the caption if you need to. You can also look at video announcements for a higher reach.
Create quick videos for your social media marketing with a KIMP Video subscription!
4) Promote Valentine’s Day themed AR Filters and Stickers
Where do you see the most engagement on social media these days? Stories or posts? We bet it is through Stories. Social media users are obsessed with the many AR filters and stickers we see on platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram. They are not going away anywhere, so why not embrace them?
Since we are working last minute here, launch a simple sticker that promotes your brand and fits the season of love as well.
Promote these stickers and AR filters via a social media post across channels, encouraging customers to try them out. Frame it like a challenge and sit back while your followers excitedly create content for you.
One of the largest jewelry brands in the world, Tiffany & Co. used this technique a couple of years ago, and it exploded on the internet.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
KIMP Tip: If you have the time and budget to work this filter game on just one platform, we highly recommend Snapchat. And the good news for those planning last-minute campaigns is that, on Snapchat, the Valentine’s Day chatter spikes between February 13th and 15th.
5) Embrace the Valentine’s aesthetic
Sometimes the smallest things can make a vast difference. Aesthetics are a huge thing on most social media platforms. This is especially true for Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and other visual-heavy and grid-based social media platforms.
And if you have content that fits the theme (such as last-minute sales, discounts, giveaways, and so on) then adding a Valentine’s Day touch to your designs will work especially well.
It can be a frame that has hearts and roses in it, a moody pinkish/red filter, and so on. When you post content with the same design treatment, customers can spot your content more easily. And it also makes the feed more attractive. Just check out the examples below:
KIMP Tip: Developing a holiday-themed Instagram aesthetic is easier than you think. Work with a professional design team with a KIMP Graphics subscription and iterate until you find something you like. The team can then use that as a preset and develop all your content with the same visual tone.
And with our unlimited graphic design and video design subscriptions, you can create your designs for a flat fee.
6) Create animated videos
Video content reigns supreme on social media. Irrespective of the platform you are posting on, video content can help you improve your reach. And there are so many options in the format too for social media videos. Right from Instagram and Facebook Reels to TikTok, YouTube Shorts and more the scope for distribution is so big.
You can also use the power of storytelling to reach your customers’ hearts more easily with a video than a static image. But how do you produce elaborate video campaigns when you are working at the last minute?
We have just the solution for you: Animated videos. Yes, no recording, no production issues, no expensive setup. Just a talented design team that can bring your idea alive for this Valentine’s day campaign.
The below video from Mercedes-Benz shows how you can create a Valentine’s theme while also letting your brand shine!
7) Interactive content
Starting a relevant conversation can go a long way on social media. So, if you are truly looking for something easy that can keep your profile active on that day and also engage your audience, interactive content is the way to go.
Everyone on the internet is essentially looking for connections. And on Valentine’s Day, a lot more people want to join the conversation, which makes it a great time to speak to your customers.
Interactive content that requires an action from the customer reels them in. People love tapping, commenting, reacting, and reposting on the internet. The below poll post from Sephora is a good example of interactive content for Valentine’s Day.
8) Don’t forget to have a laugh
Last but not the least, Valentine’s day is not just about love and mushy feelings. Everyone from single people to pet parents are celebrating their loved ones on Feb 14th, and you need a content idea to grab their attention too. Humor is the best resource for that.
People love engaging with and laughing at topical content. Create memes, GIFs, and other humorous posts on social media. We guarantee you that you will see your best engagement and share rates on these posts.
When the world is going gaga on love, you will provide much-needed comic relief to your customers and stand out in the process.
Do it well enough, and they may not even spot the brand integration.
Need help designing branded memes for Valentine’s Day? Get KIMP!
Launch your Last-minute Valentine’s Day campaign with KIMP
Never miss a holiday on social media. Holidays can skyrocket your growth on social media, and every brand must embrace the power of that. With no exceptions!
Think Valentine’s Day marketing and other types of holiday are too expensive? Check out the KIMP Graphics and KIMP Video subscriptions, and we bet you will change your mind.
Right from social media image posts to illustrations to animated videos, you get everything under one roof. And with unlimited requests and revisions, you can plan the best campaign ever. All this comes at a flat monthly fee and no hidden charges.
So why wait? Sign up and test the service out for yourself with a free trial!