Humour on Social Media: Totally Laughable or a Great Idea?
Ah social media! It’s a kind of love hate relationship, right? Social media is a terribly fickle place, one minute you’re hot and then next you’re not. This makes it incredibly difficult to navigate, especially for businesses.
Social media is used by people all around the world.
No matter what, your business should have at least some social media presence. I don’t care what your excuse is; you need to be on social media! If you are just getting started on social media it can be a bit daunting. Don’t worry I have written a blog to help kick off your social media presence.
Do you know how many monthly Facebook users there are? 2 billion! Yes that’s right 2 billion. Now, try to tell me that you aren’t on social media because your target market isn’t using it. No matter the type of business you run, social media will have a use for you. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or one of the many other social media platforms, it acts as another way for consumers to find you.
People are no long only looking to Google to search for information they need. Social media platform Facebook now sees 2 billion searches every day. All social media platforms can be great for your branding and actually connecting with consumers and potential consumers.
Now social media does more than just branding. It actually helps with your SEO. You must be thinking, “what social media and SEO? No way!” Well it’s true, by having an active presence on social media it can also benefit in terms of SEO. Don’t believe me? Have a read of this article I wrote!
There has never been a more powerful time for social media.
It isn’t just enough to have a social media account, you actually have to be posting! If you want more details on when and the right amount of posts you should be uploading each week, have a read of a previous blog I wrote!
So what should you be positing on your social media profiles?
Well, the simple answer is: you should mix it up. No one likes seeing the same thing over and over again. So make sure that you add variety to your posts. Also try to steer clear of direct ads, social media is a place to unwind and connect, users don’t like to see too many advertisements.
You should use your profile to form a stronger bond with your users and build your reputation. And how can you do this? Well, one of the best ways is through humour! On social media, humour can be very hit and miss. Many businesses tend to stay away from humour because they don't really know how people are going to react.
But if you go online and have a look at major brands like Wendy’s, Taco Bell and White Castle they all use humour very effectively. Even more local brands like Boost Juice uses humour quite well. And I have recently discovered the gem that is the NSW Police Force Facebook profile.
If you aren’t aware of their hilarious posts I suggest you check it out. And it has certainly paid off for them; they have almost 1 million page likes. Compare this to VIC Police Force Facebook profile where they only have about half a million page likes. I’m not saying that humour is the only reason, but it is certainly one of them!
Humour is a good tool to use on social media.
A lot of the time my clients are scared of humour say they don’t want it on their social media profile because they are a serious business. Come on, no business is that serious! It’s good to lighten up once in a while!
I mean if the police can use humour on their social media, you can probably do it as well.
Funny content is simply more entertaining and it is likely that you will see highly levels of engagement with those posts. But everybody has their own sense of humour. Something that one person finds hilarious may be completely offensive to someone else.
This is why it is important to always try to stick to light humour. Once you find out more about the users who have like your page, then you can try different kinds of humour that you know most of them will find funny.
I have written this blog for two reasons:
- Explain why you should use humour on social media
- How to use humour on social media.
So without further ado, let’s get started!
Reasons why you should use Humour on Social Media
Humorous posts are more shareable.
Have a think about the recent social media posts that have gone viral. What do most of them have in common? They are funny! Now, I’m not saying create a humorous post and it will go viral, but you are certainly increasing your chances.
If people are sharing your content it means that they like it so much that they want their friends to see it as well. The more people share your content, the more your profile is visible. This increase is exposure is great for your brand.
Humorous posts are usually the most memorable as well.
Viral content can literally come from anywhere. You don’t even have to be the creator of viral content to get on board. For example, the Ice Bucket Challenge or the Mannequin Challenge. The great thing about using social media is that your content has the ability to spread like wild fire. So make sure you produce content that is worthy of spreading.
2, Communicates your brand position
Humour helps to establish your brand.
Humour can help you in many ways; it can help you attract a new kind of audience as well as help if you are looking to rebrand. If you are looking towards humour to assist in a rebranding you are one of many and you will need to think carefully about your strategy.
If you can pull it off then it will completely change the way consumers view your brand.
Think about NSW Police Force, yes given they aren’t really a brand, but they have used social media to completely change the way people see them. They aren’t just people will guns and pepper spray, they are funny and very relatable.
Take a look at some of the funniest NSW Police Force posts. They take what is otherwise a very serious profession and make it light and funny for all to enjoy. On each post have a look at the number of likes, shares and comments.
Facebook post from NSW Police Force.
Facebook post from NSW Police Force.
Facebook post from NSW Police Force.
Even if you think you have a boring product, it doesn’t mean that your branding has to be boring as well. Spice things up with humour and let your consumers know that even though you sell a boring product, you aren’t a boring person!
With social media you have the opportunity to bring your product to life.
By using humour you have the ability to better engage with your followers and potentially creating more leads because you are connecting with specific people that want to see your content and will keep coming back for more.
3. Humanise your brand
People like communicating with people, not with businesses. By using humour you are humanising your brand to followers and making it much easier to relate to and communicate with. When you humanise your brand you are making a stronger connection with your followers.
Humour will humanise your brand.
Humour in terms of current trends, live events or everyday human problems make your brand more relatable. This makes customers view your brand not as the big business but looks at the actual people working for it.
When you use relevant humour you show your followers that you are actually keeping up with the trends and you aren’t just setting the stock standard social media posts. You are taking the time to create something more engaging that you think people will find enjoyable and actually lighten up their day. You aren’t just talking at your customers; you are sharing experiences that we all have.
When you introduce humour into your strategy you should show your followers you are keeping up with the latest trends. Whether it be the newest meme, or the latest celebrity drama. If it is trending and funny, you could use it for your own social media gains!
How to use Humour on Social Media
1. Follow Viral Posts
Jump on the bandwagon of viral posts.
I talked about viral posts above. Think about it, if something goes viral there must be something good about it. The post is spreading like wild fire and you should certainly jump on the bandwagon. However, it is important that you don’t wait too long. For example, do you remember the Harlem Shake video meme viral obsession? If not, have a look at the top 10 best Harlem Shake versions.
This viral video meme was all the craze a couple of years ago.
If you posted a video on social media of your own version of the Harlem Shake today, people would probably question your ability to stay on top of trends. So before posting anything to do with something viral, make sure that you aren’t too late!
2. Relatable humour
Humour is subjective; different people find different things funny.
Post things that you know your target audience can relate to. Think about who you want to target. I can tell you that a 15 year old girl’s humour will probably be different to a 45 year old business professional.
If you are worried about the type of humour you should use then stick with things such as puns and basic humour. Don’t make fun of serious topics that could see backlash, for example politics or illegal things like drugs, weapons etc. Everyone has their own opinion and you could see some negative comments if you venture down this path. With humour, you can’t expect to satisfy everyone. Humour is very subjective. So make sure you keep this in mind.
3. Post humour on a specific day
Like pretty much everything in life, consistency is key. You should designate a one day a week for some light humour that will brighten up everyone’s day. Something as simple as a cartoon or a funny picture.
Personally, I would recommend you post humour on a Friday or the weekend. People are usually happy that it’s the weekend and they are likely to enjoy your post much more! You could post a funny picture of a dog wearing sunglasses that says “Happy Weekend”:
Humorous posts on the weekend are great.
You don’t have to think of anything too complicated, sometimes something as simple as a dog wear sunglasses is enough to make people happy. As I said in the introduction, it is important to mix it up! So you should look to post humour probably one or twice a week.
Conclusion
Humour doesn’t have to be so scary! I can understand why some businesses would like to steer clear of humorous posts. But for most businesses, humour can certainly work wonders on social media! No one like looking at the same type of posts every day, so if you are doing this, it is probably likely that you don’t have many followers.
You should add variety to the mix by posting things that are going to get people laughing. People love to laugh! Remember, humorous posts are also more likely to get shared (and if shared enough it could go viral). Imagine what a viral post could do for your brand. Lots right?
Even if you are a really serious business, it could still be a good idea to incorporate humour into your posts. Let your followers know you are relatable and you know how to let loose and have a laugh. When you use humour, you are humanising your brand. People understand your brand better and are more encouraged to communicate with you.
When posting on social media you should look to follow viral trends (if you can’t create one yourself). You know it is popular so why not get on board with everyone else. You should also think about your target audience and create humour that is relatable to them; humour is subjective so take the time to think about what your followers would like. As well as this you should look to post some light happy humour once or twice a week! It should brighten up your follower’s day.
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