Key Takeaways:
- Humor increases audience engagement with the information shared
- Humor improves audience retention of the information shared
- Humor humanizes a brand
What’s the goal of your video? That’s one of the first questions we discuss with our clients. Typically, a marketing video aims to increase brand awareness, generate X number of leads, or promote this event. But, in order to accomplish those goals, you have to create a message that resonates with your audience. And, we know that video is the best way to promote engagement.
Video is attention grabbing. Consider what catches your eye when you’re scrolling your streaming platform of choice: Complex animation. Beautiful people and places and things. Dramatic edits. Explosive graphics. The ways we can invite a viewer to watch are endless.
So, how do you create a video that stands out?
By choosing a visual strategy that can capture AND maintain your audience’s attention: humor.
Think about it. When you meet someone new, what makes for a truly memorable interaction?
Is it the information you learn during the conversation?
Is it the person’s physical characteristics?
Or is it the way they made you feel? Did they make you feel comfortable? Did they say something or do something to make you smile or laugh?
The same logic applies to video.
1. Humor increases audience engagement with the information shared.
Of course, you need to have something to say – a video is a conduit for sharing information.
And, beautiful visuals certainly never hurt- good lighting, clever edits, and a cohesive narrative.
But most importantly, you need to make the audience feel something. You need something to grab your viewer long enough to make them pause and laugh, smirk, or smile. And, it doesn’t have to be over the top.
This encourages viewers to react, comment, and share the video content they enjoy. In fact, videos are twice as likely to be shared than any other type of content.
2. Humor improves audience retention of the information shared.
Using visual humor is an excellent way to engage viewers and grab their attention long enough to improve information retention and ultimately encourage action.
When information is presented in a comedic fashion, we can more easily understand and remember what we’ve learned. This is because it activates our brain’s reward system.
3. Humor humanizes a brand.
Humor is a visual strategy that can work for everyone. You don’t have to be a “cool” company or work in a creative agency to embrace the fun. You could be an insurance company or a government agency.
It’s all about using humor as a tool to enable your audience to better relate to your message.
Want to learn more about visual humor techniques?
Check out our project post on BRAC’s BR Works Campaign Videos
