Internet Marketing

Yesterday, while listening to my favorite online radio station (usually commercial-free), I was bombarded with an ad that played after every single song for ProFlowers, an online plant, flower and gift store. It was then that I realized that Valentine’s Day has quickly shifted from a greeting card holiday, to the largest e-commerce holiday out of the year.

Looking to use the internet to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Here are some ideas:

· Buy your flowers, gifts and chocolate online. The top websites are 1800flowers.com, ftd.com, and ProFlowers.com.

· Send an e-card. Hallmark.com offers free cards you can send to your sweetie online.

· For a unique gift idea, give a romantic website name such as WorldsBestValentine.com, ILoveYou.net, or ValentinesDay.travel. You can even populate the website with some surprise content.

Businesses can use the holiday to promote themselves. An entertaining Valentine’s themed YouTube video or a Facebook fan page offering valentine promotions are great ways of getting the word out to potential and current customers about the holiday.

Using E-mail, Cross-Marketing and Special Promotions are more great internet marketing tools. According to retailemailblog.com, two-thirds of Valentine’s Day-related emails were sent during February. The biggest days were Thursday, Feb. 8, followed by Tuesday, Feb. 6, and then Monday, Feb. 12.

Happy (e)Valentines Day!