More often than not, being funny seems to manifest as an innate, naturally-gifted trait; something you're simply lucky to be born with. But the exact and demanding craft of comedy can, of course, be honed by anyone. Furthermore, even the funniest comedians in the stand-up circuit have every chance of their set going terribly wrong.
When viewed from a certain perspective, comedians and marketers aren't all that different. Indeed, they both have audiences that would enjoy a laugh, whilst they pour their creative energy into (what they hope is) entertaining content.
Whilst using humour to engage your customers isn't exactly a new concept, and has traditionally shared the attention of OOH and TV advertising, social media marketers have found that the conversational nature of the platforms they use is ideal for increasing both the risks and rewards of utilising comedy in their marketing strategies.
Phoebe Coles - the social media marketing manager at the multi-award-winning marketing agency, VerriBerri - has a deep understanding of just how important the relatability of a well-timed and structured joke can be when manufacturing a social media marketing campaign. Here, she explores this a little deeper:
Experimentation Is Daunting But Essential
Not every joke will land. This is true for everyone; from the bloke you've never met cracking wise in the pub; to the famous comedian that's just sold out his world tour; and even the social media marketers that fit somewhere in the middle. It goes without saying that the famous comedian is much less likely to fail in this regard, but only due to the fact that they've spent time experimenting with what works and what doesn't. They've taken the time to hone their material in order to best engage with their audience. Succeeding in this with your marketing efforts will translate to likes, shares and follows, which, in turn, will generate more engagement.
With platforms like TikTok constantly pumping out fresh ‘famous' faces, there's a common misconception that creating funny, relatable content guarantees viral success. So much so, that brands frequently worry about going viral for the wrong reason. But, with a high frequency of engagement from a responsive audience, social media grants your brand an ideal training ground to experiment and steadily grow your audience.
Improve Your Success Rate By Understanding Your Audience
It goes without saying that comedy is not suitable for all brands all the time. If your local bank or council, for example, relied on inherently subjective comedy, it's unlikely the majority of their audience would respond positively. With a solid understanding of their audience, however, brands can tailor their content and humour appropriately and effectively.
April Fool's Day is the one day a year when everyone has the chance to see just how much a brand knows their audience. On April 1st of this year, over 1.2 million social media posts went live globally, and only an infinitesimal fraction of these were able to break through into mainstream popularity. When it comes to a brand's April Fool's post, simply being noticed isn't quite enough. They need to engage their audience with genuinely funny content, without alienating prospective customers.
KitKat's 2023 prank was a highlight for many, when they unveiled their new five-finger chocolate bar; complete with the four fingers we know and love, and an extra little thumb on the end. Their audience's myriad of posts and comments celebrated the brand's existing personality and product, ultimately generating a whole lot of brand love.
Timing Is Everything
In your day-to-day life, when you think of a good joke, you want to tell someone right away, whilst it's fresh in your mind. The perfect one-liner may have erupted into your mind during a busy conversation with friends and you only have a brief moment to slip it in before the opportunity is lost. The immediacy of social media certainly provides customers with this opportunity to riff and engage with the campaign in real-time. This helps to build intimacy between a brand and their audience. It also helps a customer to feel as though they're genuinely engaging with the people behind the business, rather than the static and corporate messaging they may be used to.
In order to truly revel in the immediacy of social media, however, brands need to grant their social media team a certain amount of agility. What's hot one minute will inevitably be cold the next (or at least in most cases), so social media marketers need a hyper-awareness of what's trending - and what will trend, wherever possible - in order to create timely content and distinguish your brand as a thought leader that's ahead of the curve, rather than one that simply jumps on the bandwagon.
On the topic of trends, one that clearly isn't going anywhere soon is brands honing their comedy skills on social media. So, now is the perfect time to experiment if you haven't already. Humour functions as the antidote a lot of customers need right now, and if you're able to provide even a modicum of light relief on social media, you will find yourself fostering more brand engagement and loyalty than you might expect.