February is a tricky month. It’s short, which gives marketers fewer opportunities to reach their audience. The only major holiday is Valentine’s Day, but you don’t want to slow down your marketing momentum.
You may be smack dab in the middle of the winter doldrums, but we have a handy little guide here to help you with some fresh February marketing ideas!
It’s brimming with email and social media marketing tips for the shortest month of the year. You’ll connect with your audience more meaningfully all month long, not just on Valentine’s Day!
Table of Contents
15 February Marketing Ideas to Beat the Winter blues
1. Rethink Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is the most obvious target day for salespeople and marketers in February. Although the day has romantic connotations, it’s a major shopping occasion for all those special people in one’s life.
Americans shelled out $25.8 billion for Valentine’s Day 2023, which is no small sum!
Sure, you could use this opportunity to wax poetic about what your customers mean to you, but you know your competition will do the same.
So, how do you think outside the box when it comes to Valentine’s Day marketing and promotions? Here are some ideas that work well.
Put together a gift guide
As mentioned, Valentine’s Day is a huge shopping holiday. While most people will shop for their sweeties, others buy gifts for their parents, friends, or siblings.
Why not help out these stumped shoppers by compiling a helpful gift guide? Many industries should see an influx in sales around Valentine’s, especially candy and confectionaries, clothing, and jewelry.
However, you never know what kind of gift could be right for one of your customers, so recommend a variety of items. You can incentivize sales by running an exclusive discount before the 14th with our free Valentine’s Day email templates.
Focus on the small stuff
Everyone knows what February 14th is, but do you know when Hug Day or Kiss Day is? What about Chocolate Day or Teddy Day? These holidays begin February 7th and are a thematic leadup to Valentine’s.
Your competitors might not be aware these days exist, so you can capitalize by beginning your Valentine’s drip campaign seven days early. Your audience will surely have an interest in these unique holidays you mention in your messages.
Celebrate Galentine’s Day
Another way to embrace Valentine’s season is by promoting ‘Galentine’s Day’ which celebrates women’s friendships. This holiday for the ladies is technically celebrated on February 13th, but some people acknowledge it instead of Valentine’s and celebrate it on the 14th.
You can put together a tailored gift guide for women. If your business is outside of the retail sphere but is in hospitality, why not recommend local activities or restaurants and bars to enjoy?
Don’t forget Singles Awareness Day
Singles Awareness Day or Singles Appreciation Day is on February 15th. This day is all about celebrating self-love and independence and showing that there is nothing wrong with being single.
This day is a great opportunity to reach out to your single customers. Consider creating marketing campaigns that focus on self-care products, solo travel packages, or fun events for singles. You could also offer special discounts or host events that encourage singles to treat themselves.
By acknowledging Singles Awareness Day, you can make your brand more inclusive and resonate with a broader audience, and make sure that no one feels left out during the season of love.
Read also: Let Sparks Fly With These Valentine’s Day Email Subject Lines
Enhance Your Email Marketing
Want to make your emails more impactful? Check out our beautiful, easy-to-customize Valentine’s day email templates. Designed to boost engagement, these templates from EngageBay will help your emails stand out. Just customize the images, headings, and CTAs for your brand, and hit send in a few minutes!
2. Celebrate Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, usually falls in February or early March. It is a celebration filled with vibrant parades, music, and delicious food.
Use this festive occasion to create themed promotions, share Mardi Gras recipes, or host a virtual party to engage your audience. Encourage your followers to share their Mardi Gras celebrations and tag your brand for a chance to be featured on your social media channels.
3. Get on board with Children’s Dental Health Month
Maybe it’s a touch ironic that a month about enjoying candy and sweets also coincides with Children’s Dental Health Month, but February has room in the calendar for both.
You must review your audience segments before posting about this monthlong occasion on social media or through email. There is no sense in using your best marketing ideas for your customers without children, as your message will fall on deaf ears.
Target your audience members with families. You can post about Children’s Dental Health Month throughout the month. Perhaps you make graphics reminding readers to schedule a child’s dental checkup or brush and floss their teeth daily.
Appealing, simple graphics like these are very sharable, which increases their chances of spreading on the internet. This boosts your company’s trustworthiness and authority.
Read also: 50+ March Marketing Ideas To Make Your Brand Unmissable
4. Spread the word for Heart Health Awareness Month
February is all about the heart, even beyond the 14th. American Heart Month happens all month and seeks to increase awareness about how to become heart-healthy and prevent heart disease.
While you should refrain from sharing medical advice if your business doesn’t operate in that capacity, you can still participate in this monthlong occasion.
There’s Wear Red Day, which we’ll talk more about momentarily. You can also post tips and observe Children’s Dental Health Month reminding your audience to speak to their doctor about their heart disease risk.
If you don’t want to post more social media graphics for Heart Health Awareness Month, why not put together a list of heart-healthy tips and send it in your next email newsletter? Your audience will appreciate it.
5. Encourage good habits for Gallbladder Cancer Awareness Month
According to the American Cancer Society, 12,220 new cases of gallbladder and bile duct cancer will be diagnosed in 2023.
While every month is Cancer Awareness Month in some form, February is Gallbladder and Bile Duct Cancer Awareness Month. It’s time to bring out the green ribbon and make more people aware of what causes this cancer, what some signs are, and why early detection is so important.
Your business can get involved in so many ways. You can spearhead a community cancer screening. You can post about gallbladder/bile duct cancer to spread awareness through social media or your email newsletter. Here are our free email templates to help you get started.
Moreover, February 4th is World Cancer Day, which is a perfect moment to spread awareness and join the fight against all cancers.
Read also: 15 April Marketing Ideas to Make Your Business Blossom
6. Go bold for National Wear Red Day
We touched on it before, but now we’re ready to explore Go Red Day fully. It’s acknowledged on the first Friday of every February in association with American Heart Month.
The crux of it is incredibly simple – wear red. That’s it. Everyone is encouraged to don red, either a shirt, pants, or from head to toe.
If you’re a retail or medical brand, a day like Wear Red Day has your name all over it. Even businesses outside of those industries can still capitalize on this holiday.
For example, you might host a giveaway. Create a social media hashtag and tell everyone to use it and post themselves wearing red. Randomly draw a name, and they win a prize.
You could also discount all your red items for the day, especially if you’re a clothing retailer.
7. Send healthy recipes
If you read our post on January marketing ideas, you’ll recall how we recommended emailing or posting healthy recipes on Facebook or Instagram. We’d also suggest this for your February marketing plan.
Healthy recipes are a great recommendation all year long, but coming off the heels of January, a recipe post or newsletter makes sense to slot into your marketing materials. You can help your audience members who are still committed to their New Year’s resolutions stay on track.
Amidst all the delicious celebrations like World Nutella Day (February 5th) and National Pizza Day (February 9th), you can encourage healthier eating habits. Even during National Drink Wine Day (February 18th) and National Margarita Day (February 22nd), you can share tips on enjoying these treats in moderation.
You can also encourage those who have tried and failed to get back on the bandwagon with healthier eating. Some other parties you can target with this messaging are those trying to eat healthier to reduce their cancer or heart disease risks.
Read also: Spring To Success With These Vibrant May Marketing Ideas
8. Get stately on Presidents’ Day
Washington’s Birthday, better known as Presidents’ Day, is the third Monday of the month. While it’s a day with lots of historical significance, it’s become better known as a commercialized sales holiday.
Not like there’s anything wrong with that! If your business has patiently waited to offer a sale since earlier in January, Presidents’ Day is a great time. You can customize and send out this President’s Day sale email template from EngageBay to promote a sale.
However, you must anticipate that your competitors will have ideas similar to yours, so you must find a way to gain an advantage. Announce your sale early (on the first of the month, perhaps) and build a nice email sequence to lead up to the special day.
Your Presidents Day sale must be a draw. Give your customers a reason to choose your business on this shopping holiday, whether you offer the most valuable discount or the steepest.
9. Spread the love for Love Your Pet Day
A 2023 report from Forbes notes that approximately 86.9 million US homes have a pet, which is 66 percent of people in the country. Pet ownership has been on the rise in recent decades and should continue its upward trajectory.
You can reasonably bet your customers are comprised of pet lovers, so add Love Your Pet Day to your marketing calendar for February. This February 20th holiday isn’t as known as Valentine’s but, among pet lovers, is just as sacred, if not more so.
Companies that sell pet food and supplies should embrace this day wholeheartedly. Businesses in other spheres can and should get in on the pet-loving fun. Perhaps you pair up with a pet brand or recommend your customers donate to a pet cause (see what we did there?).
You could offer exclusive discounts to those who donate and match their donation, further inspiring them to give.
Promote awareness on World Spay Day
While we’re celebrating the joy pets bring into our lives, it’s also important to consider their well-being. World Spay Day, which is observed on the last Tuesday of February, is a great reminder to spay and neuter pets.
Businesses can join in by offering discounts, hosting events, or sharing helpful tips. Showing you care about responsible pet ownership strengthens your bond with pet-loving customers and makes a positive impact in the community. Spread the word and help make a difference!
Read also: Stepping Into Summer: A Handy June Marketing Ideas Guide
10. Host a Groundhog Day Contest
Groundhog Day is an international holiday celebrated in Canada and the US on February 2nd. Punxsutawney Phil, the famous groundhog, determines if the country will see six more weeks of winter or spring.
Although Phil’s weather predictions don’t always come true, it’s still always nice to begin thinking about spring in February, and the question of will he or won’t he is a fun one.
Invite your audience to participate by running a Groundhog Day contest.
The contest rules are simple. People can vote yes or no. When the big day arrives, you can pull a name from those who got the answers right and assign a grand prize and several runner-up prizes.
You don’t have to hand out anything extravagant. Free products or samples work well here, as do gift cards to your store or small cash prizes.
11. Gear up for the Super Bowl
Football fanatics look forward to the Super Bowl perhaps more than any other day of the year. It’s like Christmas to them. Even those with only a passive interest in football usually tune in, with 115.1 million viewers watching in 2023, says The Athletic. That’s a new record.
Your business can launch a Super Bowl marketing event even if you can’t afford the ad space on the big day.
Choose omnichannel options like SMS, email, social media, and influencer marketing to reach a broader audience. Embrace your local team if you’re in one of the two cities competing for the trophy (or in the vicinity) but refrain from using team logos. Those are trademarked, and you could end up in hot water.
You might create a product themed for NFL and the Super Bowl, make a social media poll to see who your audience predicts the winner will be, or create a roundup of the best commercials.
Read also: Sunny Strategies: July Marketing Ideas for Bright Results
12. Honor Black History Month
February is Black History Month, a great opportunity to align with black-owned businesses, participate in community events, and raise awareness through your email newsletter and social content.
This month also begins with National Freedom Day on February 1st, which commemorates the signing of the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery. Acknowledge this significant day as you highlight stories of freedom and resilience throughout the month.
Encourage your audience to share your posts to bring attention to the social causes that need it this month. Don’t interject sales opportunities into a campaign centered around Black History Month. It simply doesn’t fit, and you could only alienate your customers.
13. Encourage a signup during Free Open Source Software Month
Now that we’ve checked off all the major occasions in February, you might wonder, what could there possibly be left to celebrate? Plenty.
For instance, February is also Free Open Source Software Month or FOSS. The whole month is a testament to this modifiable software.
Software-based companies should really use this occasion to their advantage all month. If you don’t offer FOSS software, you can still craft promotional materials guiding people toward your software solution.
For instance, you could write a guide on how to choose business software or review software solutions with pros and cons.
Read also: August Marketing Ideas That Can Boost Your Brand Image
14. Celebrate Facebook’s Birthday
Facebook was born on February 4th, 2004. Here we are almost two decades later, and Facebook remains the penultimate social media platform.
You might already have a sizable audience on Facebook, and perhaps you use Facebook Ads as part of your social media advertising and marketing campaigns.
Celebrate the platform’s birthday among your users on Facebook. You might offer your Facebook followers a day-long discount (maybe 19% off since that’s how old Facebook is in 2023).
What about your followers on every other social media platform? You don’t want to leave them out, so encourage them to follow you on Facebook and take advantage of the discount.
You should see more sales and social followers for acknowledging a relatively simple holiday.
15. Get more social followers on National Make a Friend Day
Did you miss Facebook’s birthday? Perhaps you’re interested in launching a more expansive social media campaign? If so, make a note in your calendar for February 11th.
That’s National Make a Friend Day. This holiday isn’t about social media at all, but it’s all about how you frame it. You could ask your audience for more “friends” or followers by requesting they follow you or recommend your page to a family member or colleague.
Perhaps they get an exclusive referral discount code for their troubles!
Read also: September Marketing Ideas to Boost Your Bottom Line
16. Share tips on Laugh and Get Rich Day
The last February marketing idea to consider is celebrating Laugh and Get Rich Day to the fullest. This holiday falls on the 8th. It’s not about getting rich financially but in other areas of your life through laughter.
Everyone could use a laugh, so why not be the source of someone’s smile? You can make a humorous social media post or send a newsletter full of amusing one-liners.
Of course, you’re also free to do so if you’d rather focus on the literal definition of richness.
Read also: The Most Exciting October Marketing Ideas for Your Business
Other important dates in February
Here are some more events that fall in February.
1. Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, marking the beginning of the lunar calendar typically falls between January 21 to February 20. This joyous festival is celebrated by the East Asian community with dragon dances, red envelopes, and family gatherings.
2. Kindness Week
Kindness Week, held in mid-February, encourages spreading goodwill and positive actions which fosters a sense of community and compassion through random acts of kindness and charitable activities.
3. World Marriage Day
Observed on the second Sunday of February, World Marriage Day celebrates the beauty of marriage and honors the commitment and love shared between married couples.
Conclusion
February has many occasions for marketers to spread awareness, promote new products and services, and strengthen their audience relationships.
While Valentine’s will always be the most prominent occasion on the calendar, you can further your marketing goals just about every other day of the month.
And if you need help with your online marketing needs, try out EngageBay, an all-in-one marketing and automation software.
Good luck!
Content updated for freshness and SEO by Swastik Sahu.
One of the standout ideas mentioned in the blog is leveraging Valentine’s Day to create unique and personalized campaigns. By tapping into the emotions associated with this romantic holiday, businesses can create content that resonates with their audience and drives engagement. Whether it’s offering special discounts, organizing social media contests, or creating heartfelt content, incorporating Valentine’s Day into your marketing strategy can help you connect with your audience on a deeper level.
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