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February, of course, is more than just hearts and candy. In addition to known holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, and Presidents Day; it’s home to Black History Month, Children’s Dental Health Month, Random Acts of Kindness Day, and lot’s more, like Love Your Pet Day.
In this post, I’m going to give you a list of February holidays, awareness causes, and unique observances that you can use for creative and meaningful marketing that resonates with your audience.
P.S. For marketing ideas for the whole year, check out this ultimate list of monthly marketing ideas from our friends at LOCALiQ.
Below is a list of awareness causes recognized in February that can help you with values-based marketing.
Some of these are general while others are highly specific, so depending on your business, your trade, or your niche, you may or may not be able to apply these to your marketing (National Embroidery Month isn’t exactly versatile, for example).
Showing your support for causes you care about is a great way to connect with your audience and build a solid reputation. Here are some examples.
So February isn’t all about that $1 pink balloon heart but also that invaluable organ inside of you that makes you tick. If your business is focused on health and wellness, this is a great marketing opportunity for you. Fitness centers and gyms can partner with a local health center for heart disease awareness or screenings.
You can also host special classes focusing on cardiovascular activity or write informative blog posts about heart health and risk factors. Use this time to market your business by educating your customers on leading healthy lives.
In the example below, this fitness center is giving out free heart rate monitors to those who join in the month of February.
If you’re not a health or fitness business, no problem. Any business can sponsor a Healing Heart 5k, or donate a portion of their profits to a heart health-related nonprofit.
Children’s Dental Health may sound like a boring topic but it can be a great month for marketing your small business. Dentists can certainly have a field day with this one, but other businesses can use this opportunity to teach parents and students about the importance of dental health.
Daycares, fitness centers, and churches can host special classes about the importance of dental hygiene. If you’re a dentist, you may offer to teach such classes This not only businesses interact with the community, but it helps local dentists market themselves all while educating parents and children about dentistry.
If you’re not a dentist, a simple social media post to bring your target audience’s attention to the cause can go a long way.
Given the events of 2020, this year in particular will be a special celebration, so you may want to put extra thought and planning into Black History-related expressions from your business. In particular, there should be less of a marketing focus and more of a social change focus.
Highlight prominent Black leaders in your industry—lawyers, politicians, scientists, artists, educators, and athletes who have shaped or are shaping American society or your industry. Interview or feature Black business owners, influencers, or members of your community who are helping to make history.
In addition to having World Cancer Day, the whole month of February is dedicated to cancer awareness. Show your support on Facebook with a purple-themed post or initiative. You can encourage your followers to “purple” their profile, promote your purple products, or run a purple-themed contest.
Some of these are well-known, others not so much. Take a look and see which ones align with your brand voice and values.
Another simple way to implement some February-themed marketing is to run a Presidents Day sale and promote it on Facebook. The sale can last for the weekend or just for Presidents Day itself. Create a landing page for your event and link to it in your post.
You can promote your sale on Instagram by taking pictures of signage if you have it, as with the example below:
Or, you can post pictures of the items that are on sale. Either way, make sure the details of your sale are somewhere in your post, whether in the image itself or the caption. The less uncertainty for your audience, the more likely they are to engage.
You can also see with the above two examples that hashtags are used to describe the item up for sale. This hashtag strategy is most effective for reaching an audience who knows exactly what they’re looking for. However, it also serves as a way to reveal details of the product without cluttering up the caption or having to label the photo.
Ironically, in the middle of Children’s Dental Health Month is Ice Cream for Breakfast Day…oops? But who says you can’t use this quirky holiday to market your business? Held on the first Saturday of February, this is an opportunity for bakeries, ice cream shops, or restaurants to run special promotions. Although it is supposed to be on a Saturday, you can do this any day of the week. Invite customers to come in to eat ice cream for breakfast—it’s a fun way to interact with families and do something new to promote your business.
One Mardi Gras marketing idea is to run an Instagram giveaway. Capitalize on the positive Mardi Gras vibes to engage your audience, gain new followers, and generate leads. Your prize could be a Mardi Gras-themed gift basket as with these tag-a-friend contests below:
Or, you could have a non-Mardi Gras-themed gift for which followers can enter to win by making purchases during the week of Mardi Gras, as with the example below:
A third option would be to run a giveaway whereby the prize is given out at a Mardi Gras event.
Another way to incorporate Mardi Gras into your marketing strategy for February is to offer a discount to those who wear Mardi Gras beads to your store, event, or classes. Promote the sale ahead of time with a post and encourage followers throughout the day by posting pictures of customers wearing their beads.
Love Your Pet day is February’s opportunity for you to shamelessly post about your pet. Or, you can do something like Select Hotels did and come up with a creative pet-themed incentive. For customers who post a picture with their pet in the comments section of their post, “A surprise awaits the two of you on your next visit.”
The Instagram example above is a good reminder that you don’t have to be in the animal or pet industry to take advantage of pet-related holidays. Think about your target audience’s relationship with pets and see if you can come up with something clever.
Do you have or have been wanting to start a referral program? Capitalize on Make a Friend Day. You can remind people of a program you’re already running, launch a new one, or run a one-day special where referrals result in a discount or gift.
There are lots of ways to post to Facebook on or about Groundhog Day. You can run a contest, share a question or poll with your audience, or simply share a fun fact about the day.
National Wear Red Day is focused on raising awareness for heart disease. On this day, post an applicable picture to Instagram on this day with an eye-opening stat.
Or, you might host an event in support of cardiovascular health and promote it on Instagram.
If you do go ahead with an event, make use of real-time marketing and post pictures from the event!
You may also want to run a special promotion on World Cancer Day itself, especially if you’re in the health and fitness industry.
The Super Bowl is one of the most watched programs on television. How does your target audience relate to football? Are they football fans? Spouses or parents of football fans? Athletes? Is your business located near a Superbowl venue? Run a special during Superbowl weekend, create Superbowl-themed products, or share a helpful tip relevant to what their Superbowl experience will be like.
If you’re just getting started with your Instagram marketing, start basic with something as simple as a #Febsale. In the below example, the small business Mexicali took a snapshot of their ready-to-ship orders to promote their February sale and encourage people to buy.
They didn’t use a photo shoot or fancy Photoshop graphics; just a simple behind-the-scenes sneak peek and a caption that closes with a question.
You don’t need to have a sale for a February-friendly Instagram post. How about just appealing to your audience’s mood during this time of year?
Just make sure you’re appealing to the mood of your specific audience in February as it relates to your business. Is your audience focused on filing tax forms in February? Returning back to school after break? Reading love stories and seeking positive vibes?
Look back through your photos or even consumer-generated posts. Can you repurpose any of them for a #FebruaryFeels-inspired testimonial, as the Australian Girls Choir does below?
“February Favorites” blog posts are a great opportunity to offer something of value to your audience. You can share a roundup of your most popular products or services during February to help new or indecisive buyers decide, or you might share a list of favorite tips, tools, products, or resources related to your audience’s goals and needs.
Then, as with the example below, you can drive traffic to your blog post with an Instagram post and a link to the blog post in the caption:
Or you can include a link to the blog post in the bio section of your Instagram profile:
Whether the product you are promoting is February-themed or not, you can make it so by using the hashtag #Februaryfeature. Pick something you’d like to promote in February and see if #Februaryfeature can help increase sales and engagement related to it.
As an alternative to featuring a product for February, you could also feature an employee, student, or customer. These types of feature posts can get your employees, customers, and fans excited about your business. Plus, they’ll want to share their “celebrity” post with their network, which can help increase your reach.
Another theme you can take advantage of in your February Instagram marketing is #FreshStartFebruary. This is especially applicable for businesses in the health and wellness industry.
As you can see, there is much more to February than Valentine’s Day. Use the ideas above for creative and quality engagement with your audience—the best way to market your business. And don’t forget about March! If you have events or promotions planned for Saint Patrick’s Day or other holidays, get your audience in the know.
For more monthly marketing ideas, check out our other posts:
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