Roses are red, violets are blue… when it comes to Valentine’s Day marketing, we’ve all seen those standard hearts-and-flowers posts shared by brands cashing-in on romance.
But a few organisations take a different approach when it comes to Valentine’s Day social media campaigns.
They’re steering away from the traditional celebration of amour and doing things a little differently.
And we ❤️ it.
We’ve pulled together some stand-out Valentine’s Day campaigns to help you create inspired content this year. Here are our favourites:
The Climate Coalition are sharing the love, but not for romantic couples.
The charity that represents over 140 UK organisations is spreading green hearts for the eighth year running, as they campaign for rapid, meaningful action in the fight against climate change.
They’re encouraging people to get involved by sending green hearts to MPs, or by making, baking or crafting green hearts to share with the hashtag #ShowTheLove.
San Antonio Zoo takes Valentine’s Day to the polar opposite of corny slush. Instead of getting loved-up, you can celebrate Valentine’s Day by watching your ex get eaten by animals.
Well, ok… they name a cockroach, rat or cabbage after your former squeeze, but that’s close enough, right?
The annual fundraiser’s in its third year, and is a light-hearted, sharable campaign bringing in vital funds to help secure a future for wildlife.
3. Blue Cross
Here’s one that’ll give you the warm fuzzies: in 2021 animal welfare charity Blue Cross celebrated the love of pets. They asked followers to share a poem about their furbaby using the hashtag #YoursFurever in a campaign headed-up by animal-loving celebs.
Check out their feed to see Bill Bailey, Anton du Beke and others reading heartfelt odes to their furry friends. It’s a heart-warming awareness campaign to help the organisation continue caring for sick, injured and abandoned animals.
Another goodie from 2021 was by campaign group 38 Degrees, who used social to lobby for better pay and conditions for NHS staff.
The Valentine’s Day campaign captured the public mood of appreciation for healthcare workers during the pandemic, and showed that even without romance, there’s nothing like personal stories to tug at the heartstrings on social.
There are so many novel ways to grab attention on and around 14 Feb
Here are some other ideas for how different sectors could approach Valentine’s Day on social:
- We can all get a boost from appreciating the everyday things around us. Universities could get great engagement by asking students to share why they love their subject, city or campus. We’ll be watching out for inspiration from @uniofgreenwich and others in HE.
- Are you and your date getting on like a house on fire? With candle-lit dinners a-plenty, fire services like @kentfirerescue could come to the rescue with some handy safety tips, to make sure the only fires burning are the passionate kind.
- Meeting for the first time? There’s a great opportunity here for the police to give advice on online dating safety, and raising awareness about consent. And with cybercrime on the up, people looking for love can be particularly vulnerable to online fraudsters. We’re hoping for some hard-hitting messages from forces around the country, including our favourites @nottspolice and @wiltshirepolice.
Seen a post that’s taken your breath away, or tickled your fancy?
Share your favourite Valentine’s Day social media campaigns @SoCrowd using #ValentinesDay2022.
Lots of love, SoCrowd
