How to Use Humor to Connect with Your Audience

The great 19th Century Irish playwright and humorist Oscar Wilde uttered these last words: “Either this wallpaper goes, or I do.” Why some adventerous wallpaper company hasn’t used this is beyond me, however it does go to illustrate the point that humor sells. Humor essentially disarms people, often by getting them to see your point in a way they hadn’t considered before, and initiates a connection that you might have had a difficult time creating using your latest PowerPoint filed with facts. Art Linkletter told us that laughter is the best medicine, and he was spot on. It could be the cure for what ails your company too! Let’s check out 4 ways to use humor in your small business marketing.

4 great ways to use humor in your marketing!

Take advantage of pop culture - This is a generation which has mostly left the evening news in favor of the likes of Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert and the other night time mavens that have built careers around the daily misfortunes of celebrities, sports stars and politicians. It’s all fair game, so don’t hesitate to use your share when you can find ways to make it humorous. Getting your audience smiling and in a good spirits from the very beginning can go quite some distance toward helping to build rapport with them.

Make humorous videos - It only takes a few moments on YouTube for enough evidence to convince anybody that a funny video gets lots of eyeballs! Even the lamest concept, presented in a quirky way will get views and be shared widely. It doesn’t require a degree in cinema to accomplish it either. Many simply shoot them with their phone, o if you wish to go whole hog, use an app like GoAnimate or Xtranormal to produce quick and visually interesting animated videos.

Create a visual mashup - One way to make the most of both humor and the wicked hot photo-sharing world is to make a humorous meme. These are practically required on Facebook, and can be a great ice breaker and are also capable of being shared all over the place though Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and other sites.

Use humor in your content - Don’t be shy in regards to getting a little edgy with your content. The payoff will likely be that folks will see you as more like they are, and not just some stodgy firm bent on selling them something. The better you connect on a shared (and funny!) level, the better people will like you and share your site.