When you think about marketing, especially content marketing, you often do not think about humour. However, there is most certainly a case for using humour in content marketing, especially in today's modern age of memes and viral posts. Using humour in your content marketing strategy will show your clients and customers a more human side to your business. Here are some reasons why you should consider adding humour to your content marketing.
Why is humour so effective?
Humour is effective because it forces people to lower their guard, making them more susceptible to suggestions. People are often sceptical of companies who are too serious with their content when it doesn’t suit their product or service. Or they tend to roll their eyes and stop reading if the content is bland and unengaging.
If you use humour, you will catch your audience off guard by making them laugh; they will likely remember your brand for making them smile and this, if done right, can lead to higher conversion rates. You can use humour to connect with your audience, as humour has been found to be a natural human bonding activity.
Humorous posts often lead to sharing, which can do wonders for garnering traffic to your site. Social media has allowed people to share things that interest them, shock them and anger them. But, most commonly, they share content that makes them laugh. This sharing culture works wonders for marketers, especially those who use humour in their marketing.
How to implement humour in your marketing
Humour is not an easy element to use in marketing, you have to be very careful of offending certain audiences. However, when it is done properly, it can be an effective tool.
Know your audience: A content marketer may have a sarcastic sense of humour, but it is important to remember that this may not translate well into copy. Some brands can get away with their sarcastic and even controversial humour, such as the ubiquitous Nando’s, but others may have an audience which would not appreciate this type of humour. The key is to create an angle that is specific to your audience. But do not worry about pleasing everyone, rather create or curate content that is right for your audience.
Align with your brand identity: If your brand is seen as conservative, putting out edgy or blunt content may not be received well by your audience or clients. You will need to create content that aligns with your brand’s identity. Knowing your audience can help you craft content that speaks to them and that is in line with your brand. If you are a relatively new company, you may be able to use humourous content to establish your brand in the eyes of your customers or clients as funny and in touch with your audience.
Don’t force it: Have you ever been to a stand-up comedy show where the comedian just wasn’t funny but continued with their forced humour? Uncomfortable, isn’t it? This is how your audience will feel if your brand forces their humour. Your content could be seen as awkward and even offensive. Content creators with an ounce of personality should try to inject some of it into their work. After time, their humour will naturally reveal itself and improve.
Keep it simple: If your joke needs to be explained, it loses its humour. The same translates to humour in content marketing. You may enjoy complex jokes or dry humour, but your audience may not always understand it, so your content might confuse them rather than leave an impression. The reason why your content is funny should be obvious, such as Marmite’s advert parodying the 2017 film IT: Chapter One: are you brave enough to try Marmite? Keeping your humour simple is the best way to make your content resonate with your audience.
Be careful with controversy: While joking about controversial issues that appear in the news may gain attention for your brand, it may not always be the right attention you are looking for. It is sometimes best to avoid commenting on controversial issues altogether, rather than bumbling into a PR nightmare because of distasteful humour. You should also steer away from using crass language or curse words, as this can be seen as juvenile and offensive by certain audiences and could cause you to lose clients.
The last laugh
Using humour in content marketing can be an effective tool to generate interest for your brand. Humour allows for memorable content, which is part of the answer to the question, “How do digital marketing agencies work?” Memorable content can help to win the hearts of your audience and if you keep your humour relevant for the stage of the audience’s online journey, you can attract your audience and engage them with valuable content. Valuable yet entertaining content is a sure-fire way to convert leads and win over customers, so give humour a try when creating your next content strategy… but only if you can really make it work!
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