Laugh your way to success! Learn how to effectively use humor in your copy to cultivate stronger relationships with your audience (without being a comedian!)
Capturing your audience’s attention is challenging, and maintaining their engagement can be even more demanding. At times, it may seem impossible to generate adequate interest from your audience. This could be due to a dull and unstimulating copy. Despite sounding negative, here’s the good news: Humor is an effective tool for captivating your audience and retaining their focus until they reach the call to action (CTA).
It’s common to perceive humorous copywriting as a cheap and distracting tactic. However, that isn’t always the case, rather than solely amusing your audience, humor can actually cultivate stronger relationships. But keep in mind that humor is subjective, and utilizing it in copywriting can carry certain risks. What one person may find amusing and mildly provocative, another may interpret as arrogant and insensitive. In this blog, you’ll learn how to safely use humor in your copy.
Well-established brands can afford to take risks with humor in their content because they have the means to manage any negative outcomes. However, for newcomers or companies operating in formal settings, it may not be the best approach. Despite this, humor can still be a powerful tool for capturing attention, creating memorable content, and adding a personal touch that influences behavior. You don’t need to be a comedian to incorporate humor into your writing, although it certainly helps. Regardless of your style, humor should serve a purpose beyond simply being amusing. It must be used to deliver a message effectively. Your business may not be centered on comedy, but humor can still be a valuable addition.
Does it work? Take Ryanair as an example.
Numbers! According to Forbes, social media users increasingly seek enjoyable and humorous content, with 60% of users reportedly searching for such material.
In light of this trend, many brands have begun using humor to express their personalities online. Ryanair, for example, brands itself as “Europe’s favorite airline” on social media, despite its less-than-stellar reputation in the aviation industry due to issues such as delayed flights, poor customer service, and pricey baggage allowances. Despite this, the brand has still managed to gain significant popularity on various online platforms. Ryanair has effectively leveraged humor to win over its audience, even when dealing with complaints. With almost two million followers on TikTok, the brand has a knack for tapping into current trends, eliciting laughter, and, most importantly, increasing engagement. By using humor to humanize their brand, Ryanair has created more memorable content, leading to more likes, comments, shares, and greater brand awareness overall.
Becoming a copywriting comedian may appear daunting, as many believe that being funny is an innate talent. However, humor is a skill that can be honed with practice, and Wright’s tips below can help you do just that. Although we can’t guarantee that we’re funny all the time, we’re always here to assist you in injecting humor into your copy. So, if you require any assistance in copywriting, we recommend you hire a professional copywriter that can reflect your brand’s tone with their words.
How to Inject Humor into Your Copywriting: Tips and Examples
Tailor Your Humor to Your Audience’s Tastes
Given that humor is subjective, it’s unsurprising that what one person finds funny, another may not. Thus, it’s vital to consider your target audience and determine their humor preferences. To achieve this, you can create an ideal client portfolio (ICP) that considers factors such as age, interests, and priorities. Once you have a clear understanding of your audience, analyze the content they consume, such as the movies or TV shows they watch, the books or magazines they read, and the music or podcasts they enjoy.
The initial step is to identify your audience’s humor style, given the many humor styles available. Such as:
- Dry humor
- Sarcasm
- Parody
- Dark
- Topical
- Etc.
Discover the online spaces where your target audience unites to gain insights into their humor preferences. Social media is an excellent starting point to discover what they like, share, and comment on. Use this information to tailor your copy to their specific tastes and avoid using random, stand-up comedy-style jokes that may not resonate with your audience.
Leverage Pop Culture to Connect with Your Audience
Consider your audience’s age range and use that information to determine what pop culture they are likely to consume. This can help you identify relevant references to use in your copy. For instance, if your target audience is likely to be fans of Friends or Game of Thrones, you can incorporate references from these shows into your copy. For example, if you’re selling a laser hair removal service, you can use a variation of the phrase “summer is coming” from Game of Thrones. Pop culture references can create an emotional connection between your product and your audience, making it more appealing to them. However, be sure to avoid trademarked references to prevent any legal issues.
Ride the Wave of Trends
While trends may have a fleeting lifespan, their impact can be long-lasting. They offer an opportunity to inject humor into your copy with minimal effort. However, not every viral trend is suitable for your brand. It’s essential to be selective. Before hopping on a trend, consider whether it aligns with your audience’s preferences. If not, don’t bother.
Play with Words (pun intended!)
To make your copy stand out, love them or hate them, puns can be a helpful tool. Suppose you’re promoting a business selling glue sticks; a witty pun could be “Stick with us for all your adhesive needs!” or “We’re not just stuck up, we’re also sticky!” Puns are an excellent way to establish a strong connection between your brand and your offer, and being punny requires creativity. Don’t be intimidated; think about your niche and how to turn topics, keywords, or phrases into puns. Smart wordplay showcases your understanding of your target audience’s interests and preferences and can make them more drawn to your business than your competitors.
Utilize Acronyms in Your Copy
To effectively connect with your ideal customer, it’s essential to understand their language. Every niche has its own set of specialized vocabulary, which may include acronyms such as:
- IDK (I Don’t Know)
- DIY (Do It Yourself)
- ASAP (As Soon As Possible)
- LOL (Laugh Out Loud)
- TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday)
Acronyms are widely used as they save time, are informal, and are easily recognizable by your target audience. By using acronyms, your brand will appear more relatable to your audience. If you’re unsure about which ones to use, conduct research by exploring social media platforms where your target audience communicates and analyzes their language. If you come across an unfamiliar term, a quick search (google it!) will likely provide an explanation. In short, the better your language matches your core buyers, the more effectively you can inject humor into your copy.
Use self-deprecating humor
One of the best ways to use humor in your marketing without offending anyone is to turn the joke on yourself. By making yourself the target of your own humor, you show your audience that you don’t take yourself too seriously and are willing to be vulnerable. This can make you more relatable and help build trust with your customers. When you share personal stories and experiences, you give your audience a glimpse into your personality, which can help them feel more connected to you.
Use Memes, Emojis, And GIFs
While words have the power to amuse on their own, sometimes they’re just not enough. But when combined with the right meme, emoji, or GIF, they can pack a comedic punch that leaves a lasting impression. Just as you use stickers to make your conversations with friends fun and witty on WhatsApp chat, incorporating multimedia elements into your copy can make it more engaging and entertaining. Your copy’s chances of resonating with your audience can improve by using the appropriate meme, emoji, or GIF at the right moment. Find some trending GIFs that are really cool to include in your copy on Giphy.
Laugh Without Crossing the Line (Humor with no harm!)
It’s best to leave controversial topics to professional comedians, as attempting to make light of such issues could lead to negative consequences, including a damaged brand reputation. Controversial humor often results in disapproval and goes against the norm, which isn’t always beneficial. It’s crucial to avoid making jokes about sensitive topics such as identity and race, which can be divisive.
ATTENTION!!
To avoid overwhelming your audience with too much humor, it’s important to use these tips in moderation. Just like meeting your uncle who makes too many jokes can become tiring, too much humor in your copy can also be off-putting. The goal is to strike the right balance for your brand and audience. Understanding your audience’s concerns and being relatable can help you leave a lasting impact without overdoing it.
Copywriting isn’t just about making sales, it’s also about creating a memorable and emotional experience for your readers. Humor is a powerful tool for achieving this, as it can help to establish a sense of rapport between you and your audience. By using humor in your copy, you can build a positive association with your brand and keep your customers coming back for more.
Wright Agency is a growing leading company for Copywriting and Translation!Check out our website https://wright-me.com/ for more details about our services! If you find this content useful, you’ll love our Instagram account @wright.agency, where we share tips, advice, and much more!
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