In my experience, humor is easily one of the most overlooked marketing strategies. It’s no secret that humor works.
According to a study by Clutch.co:
“Consumers prefer advertisements that make them laugh; more than half (53%) say they remember and enjoy an advertisement if it is humorous.”
So, if humor works in marketing, what are some ways that you can utilize it as part of your marketing strategy?
Well, before becoming a writer, I spent nearly a decade in the landscaping industry. And in my opinion, no industry is better at utilizing humor in marketing than lawn care professionals.
Today, I wanted to look at four marketing strategies involving humor, with effective examples that lawn care companies have used.
Two involve humor in an online setting, and two involve using humor in branding. All four of these strategies can be used in any industry.
Humor in Online Marketing
One way that any business can incorporate humor in their marketing strategy is to use it as a tool online, in blog posts, and social media.
Strategy #1- Humor in Blog Posts
Humor in blog posts is one of the easiest ways to add a bit of humor to your marketing strategy.
There are a few ways to do this, while still covering a serious topic, or writing an informative article:
- A pun here or there,
- A quick poke at Nickelback,
- And of course: Memes!
In my opinion, the easiest way to add humor to any article is with memes.
Memes are great because they are free to use, abundantly available, and easily generated.
Even if a meme you want to add doesn’t exist. You can simply go to a meme generator site and make one! It only takes a few minutes.
If you want to go one step further, you can dedicate an entire article to meme reviews! This company dedicated an entire post to reviewing lawn care and lawn mower memes.
But, memes aren’t only highly effective at adding humor to blogs.
Strategy #2- Social Media
One of the most common places where humor in marketing is utilized is in social media. And memes make GREAT social media content!
It may seem kind of lazy, but you have enough to handle already! If you want a steady outflow of great social media content, get some memes on the schedule.
Don’t forget that you can get creative and make your own as well.
One lawn mowing company in Georgia: Grantlanta Lawn Care, specializes in memeable content and advertising. Check out their instagram if you need some inspiration!
Here is an example of their unique and humorous marketing:
If you need some social proof, Grant, from Grantlanta even scored an NPR interview using his unique marketing strategies!
How’s that for Humor That Works?!
Humor in Branding
One of the strongest ways to use humor for marketing is to stick it right into your branding.
This takes a dedication to the art of humor, but there are some solid examples that prove it works. As you will soon see, often times, humor in branding in the real world will actually break onto the internet.
Strategy #3: Humorous Company Names:
This one is not for the faint of heart. But for those that want to go all in on the humor marketing strategy, having a humorous company name can’t be out done!
Many fear that having a humorous brand name will lead to their business not being taken seriously. But one great example that this is far from true is the dental company, Fidler on the Tooth. Their website offers a clear example of a very serious company, with a humorous brand name.
But, like I said, lawn care companies do humor best and this next example proves it!
One of the most infamous lawn mowing company names is Lawn & Order. Now the following example is not the only Lawn & Order. Surprisingly, there are many Lawn & Order companies, nearly one in each state. But one in particular stands out from the rest.
This photo has been shared 1000’s of times online!
But it’s not even the only photo of this company that is making rounds.
How is this for social proof?
That’s right, this one photo of the same trailer garnered nearly 25,000 upvotes on Reddit!
There are countless other examples of humorous company names. And because humor is so infectious you will find them all over the internet, often with 1000’s of shares. Which is a lot of free advertising!
Strategy #4: Humorous Slogans
For those that don’t want to commit their entire brand name to a bit of humor. Using a humorous slogan allows you to add humor to your company and have a serious company name. If you so choose.
As you can see the example above from Lawn In Order utilizes both a humorous name and slogan!
“You get A-rest while we lay down the Lawn”
Now, it doesn’t get better than that!
Of course there are endless slogans that you can use in your marketing strategy. But the best part is, you can always change your slogan down the road if you no longer like the way it fits your brand.
Humor in Marketing Bottom Line?
Humor is a GREAT marketing strategy!
Humor is a universal feeling that allows companies to connect directly with their clients and engage with them easily. Best of all when done right, it costs very little and can place your business in front of a huge audience.
The internet has made it possible for businesses with a very low budget to market to a large group of people quickly! All you need is a great product or service, and a bit of humor!
Author Bio: Douglas Dedrick is a marketer and freelance writer. You can find him at ThisAmericanLawn.com or email him directly at [email protected].
