How a Punch Line Can Help Your Business Shine

It really frustrates me sometimes. When I do tons of research, studying, summarizing, having selected possibly the best article of the day, feeling thrilled about the value and significance this post will bring to my audience, then at the end of the month, this meme gets the most shares and likes:

But who doesn’t like a good laugh?

It was the day when the second largest Mega Millions winners were revealed: one in California, one in Georgia. On a day like this, the entire nation was focused on finding out who the winners were and whether or not it was them to claim the prize, a relevant meme could speak volumes. The numbers of reach and likes may not seem high, but when compared to the other posts during the same week, they tripled in quantity. In other words, this lottery meme was a minor triumphant. There was another post that came the closest to this milestone:

Nothing works miraculously like humor. Humor can break up a fight; humor can make someone’s day; humor transcends marketing messages and gets you more likes and shares.

Normally, the bigger the corporation, the less adventurous they are; the more serious the profession, the less humorous they are. However, when you are willing to break the stereotypes and be ballsy, proper humor will give you the cutting edge, which will win the competition for you. If you are a social media expert for a large company, great! Affordable cartoonists and artists are at your disposal to come up with original animated videos, GIFs, and memes with funny captions to attract eyeballs. If you are working for a start-up or an entrepreneur, even better! You have fewer legal counselors who are after every word you put out.

The same principle applies to my law firm’s Facebook page as well. Looking at the bigger picture, while daily news articles are irreplaceable, inspirational quotes and memes yield an unbelievable higher number in shares.

Because my law firm’s page does have a lot more followers and a more serious tone of voice than Enchanting Lawyer, you can see the memes and quotes are less quirky, more acceptance-guaranteed.

Before you start creating massive memes, analyze your audience’s demographic and their preferences. Be gentle at first. Post something mild and unbiased that is less intrusive or offensive. See if a meme or a quote can be tied back to your service or product that can best resonate with your followers. Otherwise, go for something that is current affair related, a moment from last night’s football game, or a line from last night’s hot TV show.

As time goes by and you master the flow, you can start a new social media approach, such as “Friday Meme” or “Daily Inspiration”:

Speaking of big corporations, it’s understandable that they want to stay on the safe side. But when a well-known brand decides to bold it up with a sassy sense of humor, it’s just enchanting, like Old Spice. Who would have thought deodorants could be so entertaining, lively, and addicting?

Old Spice combines the favorite sport of their target demographic, their brand’s core message, their product, and a punch line together effortlessly and brilliantly. What a charming, irresistible, and rare personality.

Social media is never merely bottom-line-oriented. Humor not only gives your followers a good laugh, makes your brand likable, it also can make you go viral – which is what everyone is dying to achieve nowadays. The marketing expert Brian Carter says in How Stand-Up Comedy Can Help Your Company, “Being interesting is critical to marketing and staying alive as a business. Being funny gives you an edge over your competitors.”

Doesn’t everything sound better with a punch line?