5 Content Marketing Ideas for February 2015

In February 2015, content marketers can connect with potential customers around holidays like Valentine’s Day or Groundhog Day, via sites like SlideShare, or even with inspirational quotes.

Content marketing is essentially the act of creating some content — articles, videos, podcasts, whatever — and distributing that content with the hope of engaging customers and eventually making a sale.

What follows is a list of five content marketing ideas to try in February.

1. Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is for lovers. Or at least that is the case for the modern holiday celebrated on February 14 each year.

Valentine’s Day is also a gift buying opportunity. According to published estimates, American men may spend as much as $130 on presents for their partners, while American women might spend $60. This gift buying may make Valentine’s Day important for some merchants.

For Valentine’s content marketing, consider publishing buying guides that offer tips or suggestions for picking the proper present for him or for her. For inspiration, consider looking at what popular magazines have published around the topic.

• Real Simple: “Creative Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for Her”
• Paste: “Celebrate Love in Style with These 25 Valentine’s Day Gifts for Him and Her”
• Tech Times: “6 Valentine’s Day Gifts for that Techie Sweetheart”
• Wide Open Spaces: “10 Best Valentine’s Day Gifts for the Hunter”

Try to make your gift-idea articles, videos, or infographics specific to your store’s segment, but generally broad enough to attract site traffic. Here are some article titles that might help.

• “The Only Valentine’s Day Gift Resource You Will Ever Need”
• “11 Horrible Valentine’s Day Gifts You Should Never Give”
• “What Your Girlfriend Won’t Tell You about Picking a Valentine’s Day Present”
• “How the Right Valentine’s Day Gift Can Improve Your Relationship”
• “Why Your Valentine’s Day Gift Never Works Out the Way You Plan”
• “17 Non-traditional Valentine’s Day Gifts for the Professional”

2. Publish a Deck on SlideShare

SlideShare, which allows folks to upload and share presentations and videos, receives more than 60 million monthly visits and more than 120 million monthly page views, according to Todd Wheatland, the author of the book The Marketer’s Guide to SlideShare: How to Build Your Brand, Generate Leads & Create Opportunities.

Business-to-business marketers have found SlideShare to be a good way to attract potential customers.

“Jake Wengroff from Frost & Sullivan says SlideShare gives his company thousands of qualified leads a year, and a 50x return on investment. Joe Chernov rates SlideShare in Eloqua’s Top 3 essential social media sites — beaten out only by their own corporate blog and Twitter account,” wrote Wheatland.

Merchants selling B2B or directly to consumers may find that February, which is traditionally a bit slower month for retail, is a good time to experiment with SlideShare content. As an example, Amanda Starbuck recently shared a presentation titled “The Best Mountains in New York,” a SlideShare built to help folks who are looking for a place to ski in New York. A retailer selling ski equipment might publish a similar presentation.

Published in September 2014, the SlideShare titled “Horse Grooming Tips – A Step-by-Step Guide to Adding False Tails” was published by Deborah Davis. The presentation is certainly a helpful how-to, but it also promotes Australian retailer Horseland, encouraging viewers to visit the site for more horse-related information and products.

3. Build a List of Quotes

For February 2015, consider publishing a list of quotes, famous or otherwise, that are related to your industry and, hopefully, interesting to your potential customers. This list should be informative, entertaining, or both.

As an example, a retailer of business suits might publish a list of inspirational business or innovation quotes.

• “We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” – Kurt Vonnegut
• “You are not your resume, you are your work.” – Seth Godin
• “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rogers

Similarly, a retailer selling tools to the construction trade might publish a list of quotes about hard work.

• “The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more” – Jonas Salk
• “When you do good work, people will notice you.” – Ram Kapoor
• “It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; it’s the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time.” – David Allan Coe

Be creative and see what you can come up with.

4. Celebrate Groundhog Day

On the 2nd of February 2015, a groundhog will emerge from its burrow in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. If that groundhog sees his shadow, and retreats back into his home, we’re told that we can expect winter to last for at least six more weeks. But if the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow, spring will come early.

For your content marketing, consider publishing interesting or entertaining articles or videos that explain the history of Groundhog Day, talk about how the tradition started, estimate the groundhog’s accuracy, or offer similar insights.

Try to make your post long lasting, so that it can continue to attract traffic for a few years to come.

5. Make Art

During his presentation at the Inbound 2013 conference, marketing guru Seth Godin stated that there is no shortcut to inbound marketing. Similarly, there is no shortcut to effective content marketing. Rather, you need to genuinely create something that people want.

“You don’t have a job. You have a platform. You have a platform to make art. You have a platform to speak up. You have a platform to connect to people, which is what humans are for,” Godin said at about minute 54 of the keynote speech.

In February, consider taking Godin’s advice and try to find a way to make art, if you will, with your content marketing. Produce one post, one video, or one graphic that can make the world a little better.