By now, everyone knows that you have about 3 seconds to grab someone’s attention before they are off to the next piece of content or the following website.

Using humor can go a long way in enhancing your marketing efforts. Not only will it engage your audience, but it is also a break from an otherwise overly dangerous world.

Humor also adds a visual dimension to your marketing, differentiating your message from your competitor’s.

Think about your own reaction to getting bombarded every minute of every day with emails, marketing messages, and advertising both online and offline. How often do you take a cursory glance and then hit “delete” or throw it into the garbage?

Know Your Audience

Your brand’s personality needs to align with using humor. If it doesn’t already, perhaps you should consider incorporating it so that it does make sense with your brand.

Knowing your audience and what type of humor will resonate with them will help you understand what is appropriate and what is not.

Just because your niche is a serious one, doesn’t necessarily mean humor is off-limits. Keep in mind that there are different types of humor and comedic styles.

For business purposes, I would recommend staying away from dirty and political humor. If you offend your audience, it won’t endear them to your brand.

Sometimes Humor is Needed

Life is not easy. And, what is going on now with the Coronavirus has the entire world in a panic and uncertain of what will be – with good reason.

Between the issues with testing, closures, shortages, and stringent implementation of safety measures, most of us need a distraction from the chaos.

Seeing funny memes on social media is a welcome relief from the horror we hear on the news every day.

These memes are not intended to take the situation lightly – they can’t. However, they can help us laugh in such an uncertain and scary time.

Which Images Below Would Grab Your Attention More?

If someone laughs at your content, they are reacting. Reactions are engagements. When someone engages with your brand, it increases their awareness.

It is also a known fact that funny images, messages, and videos get shared much more than dull or boring ones.

Consumers make purchase decisions based on emotions. When companies create advertisements for their business, they rely on how their potential customers will feel about their product or service.

Humor can be helpful to companies that are promoting or advertising their business offerings. This is especially true when their industry is not the most exciting one out there. Keep in mind that humor can also be a little risky.

You should understand your target audience. Make sure not to go beyond funny into an area that could be deemed offensive. Don’t push the boundaries of acceptable content too far.

Animals, Children, and Expressions

If you want to use humor and don’t want to offend anyone, usually using images of animals, children, and funny expressions will do the trick.

Just be sure to stay away from anything controversial. Remember what your mother taught you: two topics you should always stay away from are religion and politics.

Humor is an Ice Breaker

People who make public presentations often use humor to break the ice, especially if the topic is rather mundane. Being funny shows the audience that the speaker is human and more relatable than the subject matter they are presenting.

Teachers and professors have seen that when they use humor in their lessons, their students pay more attention. It also increases their retention of the subject matter.

Examples of Brands That Have Used Humor Effectively

Southwest Airlines is known for using humor. They say it is because they are trying to get the attention of passengers when they are going over the safety instructions. Whatever the reason, it is funny!

Squatty Potty‘s product lends itself to clever marketing. Having gained its fame and financial backing after appearing on Shark Tank, Squatty Potty has been quite successful. And, its marketing is a blast.

How Using Humor Can Benefit Your Brand

• Funny brands are easier to relate to on a human level and appear more trustworthy
• Laughter is contagious and therefore is shared more often than content that isn’t funny
• Funny material grabs people’s attention and makes your brand stand out
• People tend to remember something funny and are therefore more likely to remember your company

Be Careful Not To:

• Use humor in an irrelevant way
• Take away from your primary marketing message with humor that isn’t funny or relevant
• Use tasteless or offensive humor

Humor and Sarcasm

I like to use funny images, engaging visuals, and a little sarcasm in the videos I create. I also use many clips of animals and children as they tend to attract and engage more visitors.

How about you? Do you use humor in your marketing? If not, why not give it a shot?