Finding the Funny: How Humour Can Transform Your Brand and Engage Your Audience
Who's your favourite comedian? Are you old school, or do you prefer the new(ish) kids on the block?
Are you into dry humour, quick wit? We discussed this in our Connect Group (which Conekto Pro members get access to) and had a range of answers:
Monty Python, Billy Connolly, John Bishop, Sean Lock, David Mitchell, Lee Mack all came up and each has their own inimitable style. I'm sure you can think of many others too, people like Sarah Pascoe, Jo Brand, Morecambe and Wise. who floats your boat? Let me know in the comments.
Why so serious?
When you write copy for your business, what style do you write in? Let's be honest, mostly it can be dull and boring. We often have this sense that because it's business, it has to be focused and to the point. And for focused and to the point, read lifeless, purely factual and devoid of emotion. Am I right? 🤦🏽♂️
The problem is business is made up of people. You're a real human being, aren't you? Unless you're an AI that's reading this...'Hello, by the way! Oh, and what I said to Siri the other day, was just a joke, right?' 🤖 ...but back to you humans...you will have a personality that connects emotionally with humour–just like the next person.
Of course, some people have more serious personas and that's fine. It's the diversity of life on this tiny spherical rock of ours. But sometimes, one just needs to let the hair down.
You see, humour engages with people on an emotional level. I've written about this previously when thinking about the difference between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic and the battles they had in the 80s & 90s. Virgin Atlantic, the new kid on the block, very cheeky, over the top and quite irreverent. British Airways, staid, corporate, traditional and to many...boring. It was an interesting battle of the brand personalities.
So when writing your next email newsletter, LinkedIn or other social media post, or a blog for your website, think about injecting a bit of humour and see what happens. It's got to be authentic however. So don't just use it for the sake of using it.
Here are 4 things to think about
1. How are you different? – Humour and a fun personality can be the difference between you and similar companies. How can you naturally inject humour into your content? I emphasise naturally, as forced humour is worse than none at all.
2. Be consistent - If you come across as funny when people talk to you but on LinkedIn, you're very traditionally 'corporate,' it might be time to change. Being consistent builds trust so people know who you are and that you're not trying to be something you're not.
3. Review others - Check out what others have done. I’m not going to give any specific links here, but just Google something like, ‘best brands that use humour‘ and take a look. How can you use their ideas in your own brand?
4. A different perspective - Take one of your previous headlines and rewrite it in the style of your favourite comedian. See what difference it makes. If you use AI to rewrite some copy to sound more humorous, make sure it still sounds like you or your brand. Otherwise, it just comes across as inauthentic.
Let me know how you get on with injecting a little bit of comedy into your business and ideas. I'd love to know how it goes.
Have fun! 😉
