Two guys walk into a bar. Ouch. Insert rimshot and cymbalhere. Ok, probably not the funniest thing you’ve heard or seen today, but can you remember what that humorous moment was? I’ll bet you can. Was it a 30 second advertising spot? Was it your favorite morning radio DJ?4 venture capitalists rapping? Or perhaps a YouTube video illustrating thepower of the force?
Either way, by employing humor in their message these advertisers, radio personalities, or car manufacturers not only got their message in front of you, but they presented it in such a way that you remembered it. While the previous examples illustrate messages that have a decent sized budget behind them, clever marketers know that adding a bit of humor to your social media campaigns can make the critical difference between yawn and yahoo!
Why Humor?
To effectively use a good chuckle in your social media messaging, it’s important to first understand why humor can go such a long way. Depending on which theorist you subscribe to there are anywhere between 2 and 10 primary human emotions. However, a 1993 Journal of Marketingstudyrevealed that,
“Humor is more likely to enhance recall, evaluation, and purchase intention when the humorous message coincides with ad objectives, is well-integrated with those objectives, and is viewed as appropriate for the product category. Under such circumstances, humorous advertising is more likely to secure audience attention, increase memorability, overcome sales resistance, and enhance message persuasiveness.”
Any of these sounding exactly like your social media objectives?
A lil’ dash’ll do ya
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Using humor in your social media channels can be a highly effective way to convey your message, but it shouldn’t be the only way you convey your message. I like to think of humor in social media as the special sauce. Meaning, not every hamburger you eat has a special sauce on it, but when you’re greeted with that zestful taste it’s either a pleasant or unpleasant experience, depending on your propensity towards special sauce.
The same is true for humor in your messaging. Your core messages should focus around customer interaction, building relationships and trusts, etc., i.e. the paddy and the buns. A fan of special sauce or not, eating the same burger day in, day out, will eventually start to taste the same. But by throwing some special sauce on that burger, you’ve made my interaction with your brand zestful, new and exciting.
However, special sauce is exactly that; special. Using humor in your social media channels should be treated the same way. If you’re using special sauce everyday, it no longer retains it’s special status, and simply becomes sauce.
Funny like ha, ha?
As subjective as it is, humor can take on many different forms, and those that have truly mastered it, are gainfully employed in Hollywood. So, what do the rest of us do? Here are a few points to get you headed in the right direction.
Selling it home
As noted, using humor in your social media messaging can be risky. You’re never going to hit the “Chuckle Spot” with each and every viewer/reader, but if you can win over the majority, then your efforts have been a success. But how do you win over the entire marketing team on your, “Hey what if we put a kid in a Darth Vader costume, and have him try to use the force to unlock our new Passat?” idea?
The answer lies inThe Portfolio.
Without getting into far too much financial jargon, youshouldbe managing your social media channels just like a financial portfolio. There should be a lion’s share of “safe” investments, an appropriate percentage of “moderate” investments, and then a slice of pie devoted to “high risk”. Humor in your social media channels generally falls into the “high risk” category. High risk can mean one of two things: Epic Fail, or Major Win. As long as both your team members, as well as the higher ups understand that with any good portfolio, risks can me taken, so long as they’re complimented with a majority of safe activities (see the hamburger example above).
It’s important to preface any risks with a plan of action concerning both outcomes. If your attempt at humor backfires, and the community lets you know about it, do you have a plan in place to make amends? Conversely, if your humor hits the right chord, are you prepared to amplify the message to maximize the return?
When employing humor in your messaging, just like the message itself, don’t expect 100% buy-in from all team or boardroom members. They might not be comfortable with presenting their “serious business” in a comedic manner. And that’s completely fine, that’s what makes the world go round. However, if you’re going to go out on a limb, and take team members with you, be prepared to measure, measure, measure, and report back. Shares, likes, inbound traffic (you do have a leads capture landing page set up supporting your ad, right?), media coverage, brand lift, etc…all things to duly consider and implement before diving into the humorous end of the pool.
Whether you’re representing a Fortune 500 or a Fortune 500,000, humor is truly one of the most effective ways of leveling the monetary playing field. Consumers aren’t concerned with just how big the budget was to execute what just made them laugh, only that they laughed. And once you’ve put a smile on their face, you’re far more, “likely to secure audience attention, increase memorability, overcome sales resistance, and enhance message persuasiveness.”
Story byDan Taylor
Dan Taylor is a professional Photographer and freelance writer based in Vienna, Austria. Dan is a co-founder at Heisenberg Media and speci(show all)Dan Tayloris a professionalPhotographerand freelance writer based in Vienna, Austria. Dan is a co-founder atHeisenberg Mediaand specializes in conference photography. You can find him onFacebookandTwitter
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