With around 15 million singles in the UK alone, the Valentine’s Day period is one of the busiest times for the online dating industry. Over 60% of UK singles are looking for a serious relationship and last year, we saw a 15% increase in new registrations over the Valentine’s period.
To help you capitalise on that success in 2015 Partner Manager, Sarah, is armed with advice on how to make social media work for your site around 14th February.
Refresh your image
Follow in Google’s footsteps and update your imagery for key holidays. Over the next couple of weeks, add some romance to your cover and profile pictures. This helps to build trust in your brand and site, as it shows that the site is regularly refreshed, updated and legitimate. You don’t need any fancy software to refresh your imagery; websites like PicMonkey are easy and free to use.
Be your ‘site-self’
Whatever you post or share online needs to be in keeping with your brand voice. Don’t forget to make things relevant to your audience and your site when posting online. If you specialise in dating for seniors, your typical member isn’t likely to be interested in articles targeting a younger focus. If your members believe your site shares their interests, they’re more likely to stick with you.
Have fun!
Try to have fun with your posts to make your site more memorable. That way, when someone is asked for a recommendation, you’ll be top of the list. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that being single at this time of year can be a sore point for some singletons, so try and celebrate the benefits that people can have when dating or single. We’ve witnessed social media failures in the past when other brands have focused on how important it is to get a date for Valentine’s Day. This can result in negative responses, so try to keep things light, positive or commiserative instead.
#Hashtag
Join existing conversations and get yourself trending on social media by creating new #hashtags that encourage others to join in too. You might ask your followers to share their best dating stories using your hashtag, with a prize going for the best one. Using a hashtag improves click-through rates for your posts and allows people to join your conversation easily. Type #dating into the Twitter search bar to see how it works!
Get people talking
Ask your followers to give you their best Valentine’s Day date ideas, presents and stories and incentivise them to contribute with a prize (nothing fancy – free membership, chocolates, or even a voucher are enough!). Getting more people to get into a conversation with you will lead their friends and even friends-of-friends to your site, which could result in more high-quality traffic.
Celebrate the day
Give your followers some love by posting a Happy Valentine’s Day from your site. Krispy Kreme achieved great success last year, combining an update to their cover photos with a promotion around heart-shaped donuts. You can also capture your audience’s attention with pictures, video clips and engaging posts to build stronger relationships and better brand reputation for your site.
Don’t fail to plan
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner so start your social media promotion plan now! Consider ideas, jot down some posts and think about promotions you’d like to run to get the attention and recognition you deserve. Speak to the partner team about our Valentine’s Day special offers so you can include them in your social media strategy.
Don’t forget, the partner team are here to help you get the best from your dating business. Let us help you create an effective social media strategy to maximise the potential from Valentine’s Day.