Marketing for the lulz – InstantFollowerz

People are often surprised to find out how funny creating comedy can be. I worked with this week’s Marketing Master a few years ago from The Onion HQ, so we’ve both been behind the scenes. Business is still business, and marketing is still marketing.

Which doesn’t mean it can’t be a lot of fun.

I talked to you Hassan S. Alicreative director of the brand at Hootsuitewhere he describes his job as “leading a team of creatives to ruffle B2B marketing feathers for a product that equals feathers.”

Case in point: his team recently created a (mostly) SFW ad that promises to “uncover SOCIAL MEDIA insights” by turning a local green space into a nudist park.

Lesson 1: Comedy begins with empathy.

Since I last saw him, Ali’s been the Brand Creative Director for Potbelly’s and now Hootsuite. In both places, he brought his sometimes ironic, sometimes absurdist humor to the game.

I am asking him to reveal his secrets. What can I tell our readers that will make them more fun traders?

His answer is no joke: If you want to successfully use humor in marketing, start by building trust and practicing empathy. He gives me this example:

Let’s say you have an idea for a hilarious new ad campaign, but you keep hearing that stakeholders “don’t want to be entertained.” (Cyndi Lauper cries.)

But he asks, “Is that it, or are they kind of worried that they’re going to spend money on this,” and if it fails, they’ll be reprimanded—or worse?

“It’s a very human emotion. So if we go into these conversations with, ‘Listen, I hear this might be a little outside of your norm,’ you immediately show empathy, even if the person hasn’t expressed their fears.

Lesson 2: Dating can make you more fun.

“Data helps inform, persuade and build that trust,” says Ali. He “definitely got a CEO who squirmed in his chair a little bit” during the pitch, so he knows a thing or two about convincing the risk-averse.

When you ask stakeholders to work outside their comfort zones, “you often need data to show them that this is actually what respondents want.” But he shows with them Hootsuite’s SOCIAL MEDIA Consumer Report 2024: 55% of 6000+ respondents enjoy brand content that “makes me smile”.

SOCIAL MEDIA Consumer Report.”/>

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A practical tip ties this all together: But sometimes they’ll record a funny version and a simpler version of the ad and test both. Building trust means showing “that you are able to communicate the needs of the business in a way that your audience cares about.”

Lesson 3: Use the Peanut Butter Method.

“Everyone hates advertising, but it’s okay to be sold to,” says Ali.

It’s like using peanut butter to sneak a pill into your dog. “If people are willing to be sold to them, put a pill in something tasty. People will watch it.” (Let’s ignore for a moment that we’re all the unfortunate dogs in this analogy.)

“I often think the best ads are ours I can’t measure, as they are shared in a group chat with friends.” I sincerely hope no one is working on a pixel that can track my group chats, but the truth is that if someone shares an ad, it’s because it’s both funny and emotionally resonant.

Maybe you see a funny ad for diapers. Your sister just had a baby and you share an ad in a family group chat. “All of a sudden there’s a connection through this advertising.” And it goes beyond “here, buy this thing,” says Ali.

Without that (hopefully imaginary) group chat tracking pixel, traditional marketing metrics won’t necessarily be of much use.

“But what did you solve for the customer?” Ali asks. “Those are real results.” The more we can focus on that, “the better we will be as marketers.”

Lingering questions

Every person we interview asks us a question for our next Master of Marketing. last week, asked Wistia CEO Chris Savage:

What do you do so well, that you are afraid to tell others about it?

But: I have to say that the creative brand team at Hootsuite works so well it’s like a secret. Just to watch the collaboration and teamwork that happens here — it’s something I’ve never experienced before.

And Ali’s question for our next Marketing Master:

What advice would you give yourself when you first started out?

Come back next Monday for the answer!