Fill in the blank, B2B marketing can sometimes be __________.
If boring, dry, and safe come to mind, you’re not alone. There is no right or wrong answer, but some would compare it to bland banquet chicken. And by some, we mean Mark P. Jung, VP of Marketing at Dooly.
In episode 17 of The Customer Engagement Lab, our hosts Patrick and Travis chatted with Mark about being funny in B2B marketing and the SaaS industry.
Mark’s marketing philosophy is simple.
During our interview, Mark said:
“I remind myself every morning when I get up, like, don’t fall prey to, hey, let’s make something safe enough that 1000 people be like, yeah, it’s okay, make something just so freakin great that 100 people will be like the rallying cry for your brand. And if you can do that, honestly, like virality, and word of mouth is really how you kind of scale early days.”
He continues with, “I’m a big fan of just like pushing boundaries, and finding that line and being different because you know, so many people are in the same playbook, all the content blends in, it’s not memorable. Like, find a different path, and people will remember you.”
According to the Sprout Social Index, consumers value creative, memorable, impactful, entertaining, and unique content. The study also found that transparency and engagement with the audience are key factors that make a brand’s social best in class.
If you want to make memorable content, it’s time to step away from the traditional playbook. Check out these tips to help you think outside the box and add a little life and humor to your next marketing campaign.
1. Know your audience.
A big takeaway from our interview with Mark. P. Jung is to “know your audience.” Before you start rolling with the punches, you need to understand the type of content your audience likes to consume (e.g., memes, videos, short stories, etc.) and their preferred platform.
If video content isn’t already a part of your game plan, you may want to reconsider. Cisco predicts that “by 2022, 82% of all online content will be video content.” Both short and long-form video content is growing in popularity (i.e., Tik Tok, Instagram Stories, YouTube).
2. Test content through employee activation and scale-up.
Humour comes with a risk, but it can pay off. A long-term investment in funny and outlandish content can result in increased engagement and brand visibility. If you’re afraid to take a chance on your company’s platforms, Mark suggests test-driving the content through employee activation.
“Try to take something if you’re worried about it, test it on your personal channel, have some teams test it, see what the feedback is like. And then if you start to see success, roll more and more of that out at the company level.”~ Mark P. Jung
3. Strike a balance between entertainment and value.
A recent study from The New York Times Customer Insight Group found that the top reason people share content online is to bring valuable and entertaining content to others. Repurposing existing content and using comedic devices can help you strike a balance between entertainment and value.
Remember, people buy from people. If you truly want to make your humor stick, you need to “trigger an emotional response that prompts your audience to act.” For more tips, check out You’re not that funny, pal. Trust me. You’re not that funny, available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, and Stitcher.