It’s easy to lose track of time at a time like this when our routines have shifted dramatically, but Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and just like in any other year businesses are focusing their marketing tactics on celebrating mothers and mother figures everywhere. Some of the most treasured gifts you can give any mom is quality time and meaningful experiences spent together. This is a bit tricky right now when so many of us are still following stay-at-home guidelines – but not to worry, there are plenty of creative ways to show the mothers/sisters/aunts/grandmothers and like-a-moms in our lives that we love and appreciate them! This guide will offer tips on how to promote your offerings this Mother’s Day, whether that’s gift cards, virtual experiences, or helping to make plans for the future. 

Gift Cards for Future Experiences

You’ve heard it before and we’ll say it again, gift cards and certificates are a great way for people to support local businesses and plan for the future during the pandemic. Even though we are very limited in the ways that we can physically be together, a gift card for a future tour or activity lets mom know you’re thinking of her and looking forward to spending time together as soon as possible. If you already offer gift cards for your tours and activities, focus your marketing efforts leading up to Mother’s Day on communicating how your experience is a great gift for mom and the kinds of memories guests will create by doing it together. Whether it’s a brunch cruise, scenic train ride, historic walking tour, wine tasting, or something else she loves, a gift card is a promise that you’ll enjoy your favorite activities together soon. Make sure to use your social media, email marketing, and other channels to promote your gift card offerings for Mother’s Day!

Pro tip: Emotion is an effective marketing tool, especially on holidays like Mother’s Day, and even more so with Coronavirus-related distancing restrictions in place. Be sure to include language that conveys happy memories, gratitude, and taking care of family in your marketing efforts. 

In addition to promoting your business’ gift cards for others to purchase, you might be looking for a great gift for your own mom! Explore the largest online collection of tour and activity gifts cards at iwilltravelagain.com. 

Virtual Experiences That Can Be Enjoyed Now

Online tours and virtual experiences have proven to be a fun way to stay connected and try something new during self-isolation. Virtual tours are a great gift for mom and are ideal because they are something she can enjoy now! If you don’t currently offer virtual tours, consider whether you can get started in time for the holiday. There are so many ways to turn your existing offerings into virtual experiences, from online cheese tastings, to digital pizza-making classes, to virtual tours of iconic destinations. It can take some time to plan and prepare for these, so get started as soon as you have a firm idea! You can start with our virtual experiences guides. 

Pro tip: Don’t think you have enough time to put together a full-scale virtual tour or experience for Mother’s Day? Don’t worry. Consider hosting a short Instagram or Facebook Live event where you share your expertise in a pared-down setting – feature a single highlight of your normal walking tour, share the best tip or trick from your painting class, or answer the most often asked questions from your tour. This demnonstrates your expertise and will also get people excited to participate in a full tour or activity with you once they are to able again.

When it comes to marketing virtual experiences, be sure to appeal to that wanderlust we’re all feeling, using language that gets customers excited to share your experience with the moms in their lives. You can even consider a two-for-one deal so the gift-giver and their mom can enjoy the virtual experience together, giving them a chance to bond and create memories even if they’re in different places. This might just be their most creative and memorable Mother’s Day gift yet!

Ask for User-Generated Content

Real stories tend to resonate more with customers, especially when it comes to holidays like Mother’s Day. One way to get your customers engaged with your Mother’s Day marketing campaigns is to ask them for user-generated content. For example, ask people to share a photo of them with their mom along with a story of how they’d like to spend Mother’s Day together in the future. To get a little more traction, consider running a social media contest and offering a gift card or virtual experience for the winner. If you choose to run a contest, be sure to read up on the rules for your state. 

To keep track of submissions, create a hashtag and ask that users include it in their photos, such as #adventureswithmom, #travelmom, #travelmemories, or something that specifically aligns with your business. Just be sure to keep the hashtag brief and easy to remember. Share what your followers create on your Instagram Stories, a Facebook photo gallery, or even a video! 

Create a Social Media Template

Templates have become a big trend on Instagram Stories, by providing users the opportunity to share a little bit about themselves and inviting others to do the same. This is a super fun and easy way to increase awareness about your business, especially during this difficult time for small businesses. The way templates work is they pose a question or series of questions that users answer, and then they are asked to challenge a few friends to do so as well – and so one and so forth, keeping the template going. Users upload the template they want to use to their Stories and fill in their answers using text, stickers, and gifs. 

For example, you could create a simple template with three questions: What’s your favorite travel memory with your mom? How will you celebrate mom this year? Where do you want to take mom on a future trip? This could encourage your followers to dream of how they want to spend time with the mothers in their lives in the future, whether it’s taking them on a trip across the world or enjoying their favorite activity in their hometown. It can even get people excited to start making travel plans so they’ll be ready to book their dream activities as soon as it’s possible! 

Pro tip: Templates can spread pretty quickly, so be sure to brand yours by placing your company name or logo at the top or bottom so people know where it came from!

This is an unusual Mother’s Day for many, and a difficult one for some, so let’s show our moms and like-a-moms we are thinking of them! Now is the time to get creative with your marketing efforts and find alternative ways to connect with guests to help them celebrate a special day. Give one or a few of these tips a try — you might just discover new ways to connect with your customers. Stay safe, be well, and happy Mother’s Day!