HOW TO LEVERAGE HUMOR IN YOUR NONPROFIT MARKETING
Humor in nonprofit communications can be a tricky thing. While consumer-facing businesses often employ it as a marketing slant, it can feel difficult—and sometimes, inappropriate—to use it as a nonprofit. After all, your work tends to be pretty serious.
With the right strategy, however, humor can not only fit into your marketing strategy, it can be a powerful tool to engage your audience and draw them into your mission.
Making space for levity can be a great way to show your audience the human side of your organization. Cracking a playful joke or poking fun at yourself can go a long way with your supporters. They can associate those feelings of laughter and joy with your organization.
Beyond making an impact on your existing supporters, humor can also attract new supporters in a different demographic you’re trying to reach. Once you have their attention, you can introduce the depth and importance of your work, how it changes lives, and opportunities to get involved in your cause.
Humor also can be the key to transform “unsexy” elements of your organization or work into something a little more relatable or interesting.
The real question is - how can you leverage humor in a way that will resonate with your supporters? Here are a few tips:
Consider your audience. Think through and map out their characteristics and interests. Consider the same for any new demographics you’d like to attract. Then you can make specific decisions about what kind of levity to add to your marketing that will attract those groups.
Be strategic. Plan out how often and in what ways you will inject more levity into your marketing. We are big fans of A/B testing, so we suggest testing more humorous marketing on social channels like TikTok or Twitter. See how it is received and go from there. If you decide to move forward, write out specific guidelines into your style or brand guide so that everyone on your team is empowered to make good marketing decisions.
Stay on brand. Stick with a style of humor that fits with the general tone and purpose of your organization.
Laugh with your audience. Be honest. Think about your favorite comedians. They’re often the ones who are most honest and can poke fun at themselves. Take a lesson from them and be transparent, knowing how to poke fun at yourself and a situation. You’ll not only win a few laughs, but you’ll seem more human, approachable, and relatable.
Humor is a powerful tool. Start testing it and implementing it into your marketing to connect with your community authentically.
Does that seem intimidating? Then let us take the humor reins for your team! We’ll work with you to create a strategy that sticks. Get in touch HERE.
