Don't try to be funny. Be funny.

Welcome to Social Studies.

Today:

• Brought to you by…

• Don’t try to be funny. Be funny

• Something I’m digging

Brought to you by…

Something is coming…

Nothing is changing about these emails.

But we’re adding something new.

What’s the difference between social accounts that exponentially scale their audience and the ones that never gain traction?

9 times out of 10 the difference lies in the strategy.

Which got me thinking…

What if we could provide access to a constantly growing bank of case studies from brands and creators who have seen massive success.

A database that had a cumulative billions of followers, engagements, and dollars earned.

How a higher ed social media director grow a following of 750K?

How did a local cat cafe get 65% of the entire city to follow their Facebook page?

How did a mid-century modern furniture restorer grow his brand to 100K followers?

We’ll be adding case studies until we have the undisputed best database of social media growth resources.

Would love to have you:

Don’t try to be funny. Be funny.

I posted a tweet thread last week, but wanted to double click and dive deeper.

Hope it helps!

What if your marketing content could make people laugh… aaaaaaand get them to come back again and again?

Humor is the not-so-secret secret weapon for brands.

Before you @ me... Not all of these are a good fit for every brand, but hopefully one or two of these jump out for you and your brand.

1. Relatable Humor

Use inside humor that your audience can relate to.

What's something only your audience would get?

My most popular LinkedIn post of all time (1.9 million views) has the hook “I’m a social media manager and my personal Instagram has 109 followers.”

Heck… the odds are good that you stumbled upon my account because of that post.

I post that sucker every 90 days like clockwork.

Why?

It works.

2. Memes

There... I said it. Memes. Be smart. Don't get sued.

Jack Appleby is always talking about how brand shouldn't take unnecessary risks with memes, and I agree.

But look at McDonald’s and Oreo.

INCREDIBLE use of memes using entirely original content.

3. Puns

I don't care what you say... puns are punny.

Want to play a game? Guess which of one of these puns was made by me vs made by AI.

• My social media presence is me posting about posting…. that’s meta.

• I haven’t gone viral, but I sure am sick of the algo changes.

4. Satire

Use exaggeration and irony to make a point... and entertain.

In the words of John Mulaney:

"If we start seeing the irony in our daily lives - it actually makes everything more enjoyable.”

Mulaney says it’s much easier to exaggerate the ridiculousness of situations than it is to find them genuinely funny.

Do social media managers actually make pennies? No.

Are they typically underpaid? Yes.

But it’s funnier to exaggerate to emphasize the problem.

5. Pop Culture References

Again... be smart.

Don't get sued.

6. Stories

People like stories. So... use stories.

People like to laugh. So... use funny stories.

What’s funnier?

Saying, “Marketers are asked to do things outside their job description.”

Or, me telling you the story of the time I filmed a man getting his bladder removed for a marketing video?

7. Visual Humor

A picture is worth.... you get the idea.

When I was in college I worked with a buddy to make some spec ads for Bounty paper towels.

The ads were just images of Bounty ruining things because of how absorbent it was.

An empty pool with an roll of Bounty laying at the bottom.

Someone set their grapes on a paper towel, but it turned into raisins.

I still think this is a solid idea and will gladly entertain offers if this ever makes it to a marketer at Bounty.

8. Self-Deprecating Humor

Be careful with this one, but can be a banger when played out correctly.

VW did this back in the 50s.

Worked then. Works now.

—

Side note:

I had coffee with the great Jon Stephen Stansel last week and we talked about this in depth.

He made a phenomenal point that social media professionals are already tasked with a lot.

Being funny shouldn't be thrown on their plate if that's not their gifting.

But if it is your gifting, and if it fits your brand... Do it.

Some things I’ve been digging:

1/

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…

Vista Social is my favorite social media management platform.

Features per dollar is unmatched.

First month free below:

In case I haven’t told you lately…

Thank you for letting me hang out in your inbox every Wednesday.

Hope these emails help!