The Best Texts We've Ever Had: Creative Valentine's Day SMS Marketing Examples

Valentine’s Day is all about good texts. You know the kind. When you get it, you can’t help but smile thinking about it. Maybe it replays in your head over and over again. And it definitely makes you want to pick up your phone and reply back with a couple of choice emojis.

Though we traditionally think of this loved-up holiday as one for those who are coupled up, there are plenty of ways to get creative with how you market—and to whom—during Valentine’s Day. It’s the perfect time to remind subscribers to celebrate their friends on Galentine’s Day, celebrate themselves with some self-love, or order some snacks before posting up with a good rom-com.

But before we dive into some of the best Valentine’s Day texts we’ve ever had, let’s look back at some SMS stats from 2021.

Our merchants were definitely feeling the love last year:

• Campaign sends grew a whopping 591% in 2021 compared to 2020.

• The biggest day for V-Day campaign sends was on Valentine’s Day itself, when merchants took advantage of the opportunity to offer special sales or promotions.

• The second-most popular send day was two days before Valentine’s Day, with nine days before Valentine’s Day coming in as the third-highest send day. (Obviously Valentine’s Day isn’t just a gifting holiday anymore—unless self-gifts count!)

When we looked at which industries were pushing out Valentine’s Day messaging, health and wellness merchants had the second-highest average number of campaigns per shop, with a distinctly more self-focused take on V-day. (Self-love strikes again!)

The jewelry industry accounted for the most total campaigns as well as the most sends occuring at least a full week before Valentine’s Day—suggesting that jewelry shops focused more heavily on gift purchases.

There was no real surprise on the emoji front. In fact, the same top four emojis from 2020 reigned supreme in 2021: ❤, 💕, 😍, and 🥰. Fifth place in 2020 was a tie between 👇 and 💘, but in 2021,👇 surged into the fifth spot. 

We expect to see similar trends this year—especially the emphasis on self-love. With that in mind, here’s some inspiration for your 2022 Valentine’s Day campaigns.

Self-care has been a mantra since the early days of the lockdown. In 2020, Google searches for self-care products went up 250% percent compared to 2014, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. 

In 2021, brands got on board with the need for “me” time and focused campaigns on celebrating yourself.

Jewelry brand Plushberry Jewels didn’t push gifting jewelry for others, but instead urged subscribers to treat themselves on February 14. 

Hair brand Yummy Extensions turned their V-Day sale into a “Me Day” sale, offering subscribers an exclusive, password-protected shopping event. 

Health supplements brand Your Super ran a five-day campaign celebrating self-love. Subscribers who opted in received a daily tip (often with a sexy slant) on how to take better care of themselves. This is a great example of offering relevant content to subscribers during a holiday.  

Put together your own curated collection of goods that subscribers can get for themselves, all in the name of self-love. Boutique Three’s a Charm built a box that included everything necessary for a solo night in.

Self-care doesn’t have to stop at jewelry and beauty. Merchants that sell everything from bedding to barbells can get in on the action by encouraging customers to show themselves a little love come February 14.

If your brand’s products feel like a hard sell for a Valentine’s Day promotion, start a conversation instead. Ask subscribers how they plan to practice self-love or share a personal self-love journey. Use it as an opportunity to engage in a popular topic that’s timely too.

Nobody dotes harder than a parent. Does V-Day mean date night for parents? Nope. Turns out 56% make it a family affair and stay home with the kids.

If you can tap into a parental figure’s mushy side, you can cover every Valentine’s occasion from school parties to at-home celebrations and even some festive outfitting occasions along the way. (They do it for the ’gram.)

Clothing brand Orchard Way launched a line of matching outfits in time for the holiday.

Children’s clothing brand Eliza Grace Clothing launched a pretty-in-pink pre-release, but any clothing outfitter could easily replicate this idea by pushing any red, pink, or heart-centric gear.

Parents of children who are back in school this Valentine’s Day will be on the hunt for cards and tiny trinkets, especially for schools that have a no-candy policy. If your brand can help solve this dilemma, consider marketing directly to Mom and Dad. 

How can you make the herculean feat of supplying valentines for entire classrooms easier for parents? Offer some how-to content in the form of a cute DIY or a favorite dessert recipe.

Not every brand can sell a Valentine’s Day gift. But that doesn’t mean they can’t play on the holiday with their creative.

When love’s in the air, it’s the perfect opportunity to plug face masks—which is exactly what We Are The Shield did.

Maybe all that kissing is a good reason to remind folks that they may need some help cutting down on the spread of germs, like supplement brand Trulean did. 

Think about what most people do on Valentine’s Day. Netflix and chill? Ask subscribers for their best rom-com (or horror?) movie recs. Galentine’s hang? Send out your favorite Spotify playlist subscribers can spin while they spend time with friends.

It’s easy to overthink this expectation-heavy holiday. But even a simple promotion, flash sale, or sneak peek at a new product drop are enough to stir up those feelings of desire from your subscriber list.

Here are a few ideas.

Take a cue from plus-size clothing brand Stacked and throw your own Facebook Live party to give out some free gifts and introduce new arrivals. What better way to spend this day of love than with custies?

Put together a mystery box of gifts like dancewear brand Jo + Jax. 

Push one of your bestsellers as a customer’s future main squeeze like beauty brand Hyper Skin. 

Give a really sweet gift—like a deep discount or gift card—to the first customers who make a purchase. Jewelry brand David Von offered a $500 gift card to the first five customers who shopped their promotion. 

Want even more Valentine’s Day ideas? Check out our recap post from Valentine’s Day 2020 right here. 

And don’t forget, roses eventually die, but nothing says I love you more than some really great texts.