The 6 keys of using humour in digital marketing

The rise of digital marketing has led to a less formal and more personal approach to marketing. Modern brands need to be creative, and undoubtedly humour is an ideal tool to build closer relationships between your brand and your ideal audience:

1. Analyse your audience:
If you want humour to reach your target audience and get the necessary reaction successfully, you should mind your audience. Start by analysing and redefining your ideal audience as your audience’s type directly impacts the range of the topics available. Humour works best when your target market gets the jokes curated for them. But be aware that humour differs across geographies or demographics.

2. Tell a compelling story:
Stay informed to closely connect with your target market and use your consumer insights to link your brand to the insight. Track everything that your audience experiences and use pain points as well to come up with funny solutions. If you want to be funny, stay up to date about what’s going on in your industry. Based on your observations, you’ll be able to use the insights to create humour to bring people together. For example, you can creatively amplify your brand’s benefit while demonstrating knowledge, with an occasional joke related to your industry. A humorous touch will turn any campaign into a memorable one.

3. Don’t take your brand too seriously:
You can take your product seriously but not your brand. Show that your brand isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself and use a relaxed tone. To laugh at yourself and your industry creates an emotional reaction in your target audience. Your consumer’s purchase decision will depend on this emotional attachment to your brand (1). A humorous approach can draw consumer attention; it helps them relate to your brand and creates memorable marketing campaigns. Of course, not every brand can crack a joke. For some brands, the very nature of their product suggests funny content. But, if you tie humour with what will be funny to your target audience, you can showcase your brand as light-hearted and better connect with your community. People love to be entertained. So, bring a smile to your customers’ faces!

4. Align humour with your personality:
Understand what your brand stands for and focus on what makes you unique and funny. You can put a new spin on your slogans, logo and company name to create something funny that will humanise your brand and create brand loyalty. Tying humour to your branding will cement your image funny in the mind of your consumer. But There’s a risk with being funny, and alternatively, you can hedge the dangers of humour by separating your personal branding from your company brand. Another alternative is to let influencers leverage their equity in humour and relevance (see one of the fanciest fashion names out there, Tom Ford, with his partnership with Aussie comedian Celeste Barber (Study Case).

5. Get viral:
Humour can be an effective tactic to make your brand the hero who made everyone laugh. Social media users are 49% more likely to share funny content (2). If you are not afraid to push boundaries and make people laugh, you can create a viral marketing campaign that encourages your audience to share your content. Your consumers will share your posts as long as your content is so engaging and entertaining that they can’t help but share it with their friends. Also, stay engaged with your audience in using comments and mentions as opportunities for your brand to develop good relationships with humour. And if you’re not sure a joke is going to land, test it!

6. Tread carefully:
Not all kinds of attention are suitable for your business. Humour works, but you should be careful. Don’t try too hard. You don’t need to turn into a comedian and joke in every post on social media. Also, you should try to avoid complex topics such as religion, politics, sexuality, or gender if you don’t want your brand to be known for controversies. Take into account the specificities of your audience, as you can upset and offend people. If you’re going to use humour, keep in mind its long-term impact to not end up being an example of humour gone wrong.

• Has a brand on social media and digital campaign prompted you to engage online and perhaps purchase a product?
• What was it about the campaign that appealed to you?
• Perhaps you think it’s inappropriate and does not appeal to you.

Share your opinions and experience with your peers in the comments down below.

References:

1. Hoang, A.T. (2013) Impact of humor in advertising on consumer purchase decision, Saimaa University of Applied Sciences,Faculty of Business Administration, Lappeenranta Degree Programme in International Business.
2. Americans More Likely to Share “Funny” Than “Important” Content on Social Media – Marketing Charts. (2013) Marketing Charts, [Online] Available from: https://www.marketingcharts.com/digital-36502 [Accessed 11/05/2021].