3 Reasons Valentine’s Day is Like Content Marketing

“She loves me, she loves me not,” can be a fretful refrain of both lovebirds and exasperated marketers struggling to keep fickle consumers. Just like in dating, brands that are overbearing (or too self-centered) may be left out in the cold as the consumers that they’re trying to court may look for a better match elsewhere. 

But what’s the right mix of showing your brand’s good side without coming on too strong? Try these three lessons from Valentine’s Day to help get content marketing right and build long-lasting relationship with consumers. 

1. It’s All About You, Not Me:  Red roses and jewelry are selfless gifts for that special someone – there’s nothing in it for you aside from seeing your mate smile and having the satisfaction of a job well done. (But chocolates that you can share can make it seem like you have an ulterior motive). Similarly, instead of focusing your brand’s messaging on specific features, spotlight the benefits that are the most important to your customers. So rather than promoting the new management capabilities of your cloud-based IT solution, specifically outline how this upgrade will save customers time and simplify their business operations. And use case studies/customer testimonials to demonstrate your value.
   
   
2. Start Hot and Keep it Up:  In the early stages of a relationship you typically try to pull out all of the stops to make a good impression. And it’s not that your effort wanes as the years go by (ok, sometimes it does), but the nature of your relationships change. Just because you’ve already given a number of big gifts over the years doesn’t mean that your loved one isn’t still expecting a token of your affection, even if it is a small one. Customers are always looking for something new, and those needs change depending where they are in the sales cycle. A longstanding customer may find a few specific tips as valuable as a prospect looking for a detailed analysis of a specific market or technology. So think through the path from prospect to customer, and create informative content to help entice buyers through this process.
   
   
3. Your Valentine Never Forgets and Neither Will Your Customers:  Gifts are just one way to show that you pay attention to someone’s likes and that you truly understand them. But be prepared to face significant wrath if you don’t pick up the hints that your significant other leaves for you. (In my case, my wife definitely does not like roses. And by no means can I celebrate her birthday and our wedding anniversary together – even if they are only three days apart!). The more consumers engage with you, the more they expect you to remember their interests and pain points. So provide them with specific content to help make their jobs easier. After all, they are expecting it.

Although Valentine's Day is overhyped, it is a good reminder to pay special attention to the people closest to you. And for marketers, it’s a good way to remember what customers are looking for and how you can help keep them coming back for more.

(Image courtesy of Master Isolated Images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)