Which would you rather watch – the television show that makes you laugh, or the one that doesn't? Which blog post would you rather read – the funny one or the serious one? Which video would you rather watch – hilarious or somber?
I think you get the point – everything is just a little bit better if you can add humor to it. And your prospects and customers are not only more likely to consume your content if you're funny – they're also much more likely to share it via social media.
Here then are the top 10 tips to using humor in your marketing from Amy Harrison:
- Make it relevant. Using a joke that's got nothing to do with your topic is going to confuse your audience. Instead, make sure your humor makes a useful point, and that's it's valuable all on its own as well as in context with your topic.
- Find, don't force your sense of humor. Stand up comedy might work for some, but your brand of humor might be much more subtle, laid back, off-the-wall or whatever. Watch to see how you make others laugh during the day – this is a major clue to how you can make your readers and viewers laugh, too.
- Find the funny in your customer's problem. Maybe they have ADHD and so they have trouble focusing. There's a lot of humor to be found here, and it's an excellent way to find common ground. Just be sure you're laughing with them, not at them.
- Don't insult your customer. Ever. Avoid sarcasm or blame directed at your customer. It doesn't work well. Think of it this way – instead of facing them, telling them what they should be doing – stand beside them and work with them to make the changes.
- If you're going to make fun of someone, make fun of yourself. Your customers will see themselves in what you say – you don't need to make the connection, they will.
- Incorporate a villain into your humor that embodies frustration in your client's life. For example, let's say you work with coaches. You can invent a coaching client who wants miracles to happen without putting in the work – and they want these miracles to happen right NOW and for FREE. Every coach could relate to this villain, and it's a great way to embody the frustration of your client and build empathy.
- Look for extremes or opposites and turn situations on their head. Our coaching client in #6 wanted everything to happen immediately, without effort and for no cost. This is an example of looking for the extreme. The opposite of course could be the ideal client and how to attract those, but you need the extreme version to build the empathy and show the need for a solution.
- Make a note when something makes you chuckle. Then see if you can incorporate it into any of your useful points from #1.
- Don't do it alone – feature other people and get others to share your videos. What's the use of being funny if no one sees it? And if you can feature someone else, too, while adding humor than so much the better.
- Don't be held back from trying just because you're afraid it might not go viral. You make a funny video, then you think... 'but what if no one likes it?' There's a pressure there, like every video has to go viral but they don't. So just stop worrying. Or put off worrying until tomorrow and start publishing, because guaranteed it's a lot better than you think, and even if it's not, you'll never know until you try.
Bottom line: Find your own humor style and incorporate it into your own marketing. You'll find people become more receptive to your messages, and they're more likely to act on them and share them, too.
