What is a pirate's favorite piece of content?
A webinAAAAR
Moments like this explain why B2B marketers are afraid to use humour. They’re scared that if they let their funny side out, then it could be them getting custard on their face. This is a shame, because marketers can actually be very funny and interesting people. Just look at Rand Fishkin…
It’s also a problem for our marketing. After all, there’s a reason why GSOH is a non-negotiable in many lonely hearts columns (not like I would know) - people like to laugh. People are attracted to people who make them laugh, they want to talk to them at parties, they want to be like them and, most importantly, they may even want to buy from them.
“Yes, but if I make a funny sales pitch for security software, customers aren’t going to take me seriously.”
Ok, so you have to strike a balance. Making a security breach seem funny probably isn’t going to attract many customers. But, as brands such as Intel recognise, you don’t have to make people laugh at your product to be funny. Rather, being funny in B2B is about getting to know what your persona laughs at and tapping into it.
Showing how shit we all are as human beings and laughing at this rather than going for the usual slick and clean sales pitch will be sure to win your customers over. It also gives you the opportunity to present your product as a solution to a customer’s weakness or pain point. This is key to making your product look better whilst making them laugh, don’t make them laugh at the product, just let them laugh at themselves.
Workfront demonstrate here how you don’t have to relate the humour directly to your brand.
What’s consistent with all of these examples is that they recognise a pain point of their customers and offer a solution, directly or indirectly, without making fun of their product.
Another thing that they have in common is that they are all videos, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Using visual mediums to create humour is usually the most effective method, but blogs can be funny too, as I’m sure this one has proved, right? RIGHT?
When using humour in blogs it’s important to use it in the same way as you would your keywords, don’t stuff them in unnaturally.
Oh yeah, and don’t come across as desperate.
Why is the fun guy fun? No genuinely why is he. It’s because even if you don’t laugh at his jokes he doesn’t give a shit. He’ll brush the tumbleweed off of his shoulder and carry on being awesome. You’re selling an aspirational quality, so wear it effortlessly, and if you can’t think of a joke - don’t make one, it was probably terrible anyway. You’re only human after all!