3 Rules For Engaging Humor When Promoting Your Brand’s Image.
August 17, 2011 by Kevin Michael Gray
This is a wonderful article we found about rules for engaing humor while marketing a brand. We hope you enjoy!
Ask most industry professionals about effectively using humor in marketing, and their answer will turn gravely serious: don’t do it. Humor, they’ll opine, is risky business; then they’ll spout the oft-quoted Claude Hopkins: “People don’t buy from clowns.” Historically, that might true, but a recent report from Marketing Sherpa suggests a little laughter goes a long way in attracting the almighty friends, fans and followers. According to the study, while more than 60% of social media users connect with brands to learn about new products, features and services, 35% of respondents respond well to campaigns seen as entertaining, funny or insightful, where less than 30% are drawn to campaigns focused on company culture, environmental responsibility and boring things like company policies. With recent surveys revealing more than half of all social media users take their Facebook, Twitter and Google+ habits with them on vacation, numbers like these prove to be no laughing matter. The challenge for marketers is that humor, like beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder. And while some will argue that effective humor is attention-getting, engaging and creates word-of-mouth, one bad joke can alienate an entire demographic. That’s seriously funny business, indeed.?
