His passion for entertainment comes across loud and clear from the title of his book, “Welcome to the Funnel: Proven Tactics to Turn Your Social and Content Marketing up to 11,” ever so slightly influenced by his nightly adventures in rock ‘n’ roll and a Gun’s and Roses album in particular.

Jason believes B2B marketing doesn’t have to be boring. “Adding humor and some of your own passions to your content marketing strategy is a great way to help break through the noise and differentiate your brand from the millions of other companies who are bombarding their social channels with nothing but self-promotion,” he says.

Here he shares five tactics you can apply immediately to “sexy up” (this is now an expression it seems) B2B content and messaging:

1. Ask yourself WWJD? (What Would Jerry Do?): When creating a piece of content or writing the messaging to support, take a cue from master comedian Jerry Seinfeld. His simple formula for comedy is to take everyday situations and ask himself, “What’s funny about this?” A good content marketer can apply this type of thinking to a brand, product, or company.

2. Inject some personality into your content: The best advice Jason ever received in his marketing career came from fellow content marketer Ann Handley a few years back. She told him that if he could figure out a way to inject his personality and love for heavy metal into his content (especially during a time when B2B content was sort of stale and boring) that he might be onto something. It appears she was right.

3. Wittiness is terribly underrated: When creating content at the top of the funnel a little bit of wit can go a long way when it comes to both conversion and sharing. People gravitate toward witty people because they are clever, amusing, and likeable. As a content marketer your job should be to apply those same attributes to the content you create. Done right, your brand will likely be viewed as much more approachable and ultimately human. Making sure you’re using your wit across all platforms will be easier to manage and implement with some great community tools. If you’re interested in learning more check out this website.

4. Take Some Time for Spitballing: Urban Dictionary defines spitballing as tossing ideas around with no expectation of them coming to pass. While that’s a pretty solid definition, Jason swears from experience that some of the most creative and hilarious ideas for marketing campaigns and content ideas are born from embracing this technique. Once a week he pulls his team together for at least 20-30 minutes of spitballing and riffing on content ideas that are captured on a whiteboard. Jason preface’s the meeting with an anything goes, there are no bad ideas type of scenario and lets the brainstorming take on a life of its own. He documents everything because even if an idea sounds terrible at the time it might spark something genius later on. He then takes a photo of the whiteboard activity and shares it with others for even more ideas from outside the immediate team.

5. Take Nostalgia, Please: Using nostalgia as part of your content marketing strategy is a great way to invoke warm and fuzzy feelings of the “good old days”. For instance, evoking nostalgic imagery can work particularly well for marketing books. Book bloggers and BookTubers (YouTubers that feature books on their channel) often use nostalgic imagery and references in their blogs and social media content to appeal to their intended audience. You can learn more about how to market a book by taking a look at some of the resources on the Reedsy website. It also presents a fun opportunity to mashup the old view with the new view to grab attention and ultimately inspire action. Still need convincing? Jason encourages you to take a look at the incredible traction that throw back Thursday has achieved on social media. #TBT. There is a huge opportunity he says to have some fun with your brand by simply looking to the past, thinking retro, and sharing your brands history with a new audience. I hear that SEO services in Canberra can help you brainstorm how to invoke that nostalgia in your targetted demographic.

Nowadays companies when hiring often ask to see your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles. They want to know the professional you and the fun you. Just because you have a job doesn’t meant the fun you should steer clear of the office.

On the surface B2B marketing, rock “n” roll and humor seem to go together like Gary Vaynerchuk, Led Zeppelin and Eddie Murphy. However in modern times, where you are faced with expressions like “sexy up”, maybe they should. At least in Marketing.

Originally published in Inc. here

The post How To Inject Personality Into Content Marketing appeared first on FunnyBizz | Where Business Meets Humor.

And they are not alone. Big companies are using GIFs in their external communications. Instead of saying “just following up”, “sorry about that”, or “I’ve been swamped” express yourself with a GIF. For every time a meeting gets cancelled the last minute, every time you can’t get a response to a beautifully crafted email, every time someone says regards instead of kind regards, we’ve got you covered.Here are 20 tried and tested favorites that you can send straight away to deliver some inbox happiness.It takes less than 15 seconds with Giphy’s nifty Google Chrome extension.Instructions: Right click and save to your desktop.

Happy GIFs

"I'm very excited you signed up!" 

"I'm thrilled you're a new customer!"

Apology GIFs

“I slipped on getting back to you."

"Next time, you can count on better support."

“I dropped the ball on this one.” 

“I've been swamped."

"I forgot to press send. Doh!" 

"We got the rug pulled from underneath us." 

Funny Follow-up

"Just checking in." (Don't write anything, just send the GIF.)

"Just following up."

 

"Just checking in to follow-up...again..."

"Are you still alive?"

 Instructions: Right click, save to your desktop, embed in e-mail and spread the happiness.

The post Inbox Happiness: 12 Proven GIFs You Can Use Now! appeared first on FunnyBizz | Where Business Meets Humor.

After eight minutes of watching Matt Ellsworth’s standup routine, I knew what we were in for.

Before Ellsworth stepped down from the stage to rejoin us at our table, his comedy coach, David Nihill, turned to me and smiled. “We have a lot of work to do,” he said.

Let me back up. Nihill had sworn that he’d used open-mic nights like these to become a better public speaker within weeks.

Doing standup comedy to overhaul your presentation skills is not a terribly new idea. But Nihill so believes in the idea that he’s built a company, FunnyBizz, around training businesspeople to be more entertaining.

Getting better at presenting in front of groups is one thing. But how much can comedy training–and a crash course in standup–help you become a truly entertaining speaker? I was putting Ellsworth to the test.

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The post Can Standup Comedy Make You a Better Public Speaker? An Inc. Investigation appeared first on FunnyBizz | Where Business Meets Humor.

A week passes, and you still haven’t heard back—that first email has gone AWOL and it’s looking like all that time you spent schmoozing was for nothing.

Does this scenario sound frustratingly familiar to you?

If you’re like most professionals these days, wearing multiple hats and meeting countless people means that you’ve probably experienced your share of head-banging-into-the-wall moments where an important email goes unheeded.

While one of the best ways to ensure a prompt reply is to treat others’ emails as you would want them to treat yours, sometimes setting a good example isn’t enough. Recently we sat down with Digital Media Guru Earle Richards, Business Operations Manager for custom men’s apparel company uSuit, and he shared some out-of-the-box ideas for clever and effective email follow-up.

 Follow the 3 P’s: Persistent, Polite, and Positive

As a general rule to email correspondence, don’t dally too long with following up. While it’s smart to keep on your toes, respect the fact that whoever you’re emailing is just as busy as you are, so use common sense and don’t come off as pushy. Time kills all deals, but so does desperation. In a situation like this, do what Earle does: keep calm and follow up about how you can help someone, not just about how they can help you.

Keep calm and follow up
Click To Tweet

Make sure it sounds like you, not a robot.

One of the problems with email is that it’s too easy to end up sounding mechanical and unemotional. Barring the unfortunate possibility that you’re literally an office cyborg, if you get in touch with someone via email, sound like yourself, not a robot. Says Earle: “I think the more fun you have and the more humor you show, no matter what type of communication it is, the more people want to work with you.” This doesn’t mean you have to use humor—if you both happen to be huge fans of Game of Thrones or some other popular TV show, it could be just as effective to throw in a blurb about how you’re really looking forward to seeing if so-and-so finally gets what’s coming to them in the next episode.

Don’t be afraid to use GIFS!

Whether you know someone well or not, a well-placed funny GIF such as the ones below from Giphy.com can only put a smile on the face of whomever you’re trying to reach.  We’re talking about sharing a GIF here, not mixing hazardous chemicals. As long as it’s not a super obscure reference or a joke that pushes good taste it probably won’t explode in your face–you don’t need to overthink it.

via giphy.com

via giphy.com

A well-placed funny GIF can only put a smile on their face.
Click To Tweet

In fact, it can’t hurt to keep a GIF library handy for the next time you’re sending out a follow-up email. According to Earle, a self-confessed “Google ninja,” finding the perfect GIF is as easy as doing a Google Images search, and Giphy.com is a great alternative as well. We’ve moved past relying on mere words to get the point across in casual conversation, so why stick exclusively to them when writing emails?

via giphy.com

via giphy.com

via giphy.com

You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how many people simply missed your e-mail and appreciate the light-hearted follow-up. Humor won’t necessarily seal a deal, but it will make you more likeable, and that will lead to positive results. As Earle says, people like to do business with other people that they like. So don’t be afraid to incorporate a little humor in your emails. It will ease the awkwardness of communication, get you a faster reply, and maybe even be the je nais se quoi that gets a new client to commit to you instead of the competition.

If you’ve never tried sending a GIF in an email follow-up before, why not try it out? What other tried-and-true email follow-up tactics do you use? Leave a comment and let us know!

The post The Pursuit of Polite Persistence | GIF Me a Follow-up! appeared first on FunnyBizz | Where Business Meets Humor.

But I am not a speaker nor do I want to be in show business

You will be. More and more people are finding financial success outside traditional companies. Sooner or later you need to self-market. To do this you need to tell your story and how you tell it makes all the difference. You could take some Presence and Impact Training to aid your public speaking skills. This will help to build your confidence. However, you also need to include some humor.

Today’s generation has been socialized to receive info via humor. They want infotainment, not information. Clients don’t watch “20/20? or “Nightline” for news; they watch Colbert and Jon Stewart. They want and expect information delivered with a punch line. Deliver raw information, devoid of humor and an engaging story and your message will be lost among the ringtones, vibrations, and swipe-rights of modern life.

Keynotes are becoming a thing of the past

Who has the time or focus to listen to one person intently for an hour? Very few it seems. Talks are becoming TED talks; short, funny and information packed. Studies by noted educator Wilbert McKeachie demonstrate that “typically, attention increases from the beginning of the lecture to 10 minutes into the lecture and decreases after that point.” The lesson? Keep it short.

Carmine Gallo is a news anchor turned author, columnist, and keynote speaker. In short, he’s a guy people actually want to listen to. He says humor is one of the nine key items in successful TED talks: “Humor is proven to increase the likelihood that your pitch or presentation will be successful, whether you’re pitching to one person or speaking to thousands.” It also “lowers defenses, making your audience more receptive to your message.”

On a laughs per minute basis, (a metric often used by comedians to gauge their performance) there are several TED talks that produce more laughs than the classic comedy, The Hangover. Needless to say they are also a lot more informative. At the time of writing, every one of the ten most popular TED talks moves the humor needle.

Why are leading speakers using humor to stand out?

Because science says so. “The brain doesn’t pay attention to boring things,” notes John Medina, a biologist and author of the best-selling book Brain Rules. “Laughter triggers a dopamine release, which aids memory and information processing. It’s like a mental post-it note that tells your brain, remember this.”

Modern day presenters are expected to be entertainers. Those who do, do much better. Those who grab attention are more likely to hold it.

But adding humor is risky….

To the untrained it often is. Murphy’s Law states that what can go wrong will go wrong. Murphy’s Law of Public Speaking states that what can go wrong will be 10x worse and go viral.

The good news is that you don’t need to be naturally funny to get laughs

This five-step formula helps anyone come up with an easily scripted joke and greatly reduces the chances of unwanted YouTube stardom. It is based on the belief that the world needs more stories and fewer opinions.

Think back through your life experiences and make a list of funny stories you like to tell. Great stories often come from seemingly mundane topics. Find a personal story that relates to the topic you’re presenting and use it to connect to the audience. Remember a good story is about how the listener can image himself or herself in the story. Once you find that story, you’ll need to:

1- Set up the story in a relatable way. You ideally want everyone in the room to be like, ‘yeah, that happened to me,’

2- Get specific and make it about it you. Start telling them about your own funny experience.

3- Deliver the unexpected. At this point, the audience assumes that they know where you’re going with this. But you’re most likely to get a laugh if you can surprise them.

For example: Say you have a funny story about a time you are in China. Many people will not have been to China so to start the story and grab maximum attention make it more relatable. Eg. “Sometimes being in a new place can be challenging”(relatable to many). “I was in China last year” (specific to you). Many people will never have travelled overseas, many will never have been to China but all will have been in a new place at some stage in their lives. Now you can get to the funny part. This is always in the details of what actually happened to you.

4- Remember brevity is levity: Once you identify the funny part of your story use joke structure to get there as quickly and effectively as possible. Joke Structure is Set Up (Opening statement), Punchline (the funny part or twist in the story), Taglines (additional laugh/joke lines). Using joke structure forces you to cut out the unnecessary.

5- Keep testing it – Permanent Beta: To get a story to its most effective, funniest form is a process of continuous testing and refinement. Tell it, record it, and review it to see what worked.

People love a funny story. As our good friend Science tells us, we are wired to appreciate it. We are also wired to love laughter. Our brains make this so by releasing dopamine. Dopamine feels awesome, so by making your audience laugh during your presentation or speaking event, you can actually make your audience feel good, giving your speech a natural endorphin-fueled evolutionary advantage over those who opted for a typical, boring business presentation.

The world is awaiting your funny and only you are qualified to bring it.

Taken from the new book, Do You Talk Funny, 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better and Funnier Speaker

http://www.amazon.com/Do-You-Talk-Funny-Funnier-ebook/dp/B00S4F493C/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1421101556

The post Show Me The Funny! 5 Steps To Quickly Becoming A Funnier Speaker appeared first on FunnyBizz | Where Business Meets Humor.

photo: flickr / brett jordan

Ever since I can remember I’ve been obsessed with efficiency, so much so that I’ve even brought new furniture (off a site like https://www.officemonster.co.uk/) to help improve my efficiency recently. It’s not just now though, even from before I can remember being obsessed with efficiency because I was born 3 weeks early. Apparently even in the womb I wanted to get things done faster.

I later put that efficiency obsession to good use: I became an engineer. I graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Computer Science & Engineering and started working as an IT project manager at Procter & Gamble right out of school.

And now, years later, I teach businesses about the value of using humor in the workplace. For many, it seems like a big jump, the polar opposite of what I was doing before, a 180 degree turn. The truth is, it’s closer to a 360 degree turn (yes a full circle).

The Need for Humor

Being as efficient as possible is great for things like managing projects, running a factory, and getting your milkshake from the airport McDonald’s two minutes before your flight.

The problem is that being efficient isn’t good for humans. People have emotions, personalities, and a weird paranoia about what other people might think of them. Efficiency doesn’t work.

How do we know? Consider that:

1. 83% of Americans are stressed out at work.[1]
2. 55% of Americans are unsatisfied with their jobs.[2]
3. 47% of Americans struggle to stay happy.[3]

Of course it’s even worse in Disney World where, statistically, only 1 out of 7 Dwarfs is Happy.[4]

These challenges lead to 70% of the workforce being disengaged, costing US companies up to $500 billion in lost productivity every year. Improving the employee experience has of course therefore been a top priority for many businesses looking for ways to make the workplace a more positive one.[5]

We can’t be efficient with people; humans require us to be effective. Luckily we have something that can help.

The Benefits of Humor

People who use humor at work are more productive,[6] less stressed,[7] and happier.[8] In fact there are at least 30 benefits of humor that apply to the workplace.

Humor improves communication skills, builds relationships, and enhances problem solving. It increases productivity, strengthens leadership, and boosts health. It makes work less boring, more fun, and makes it something you actually want to do.[9]

I wrote earlier that what I do now, consulting organizations on how to use humor to be more effective, is full circle from when I was a computer engineer. Why? Because humor works. And I deploy what works.

As an IT project manager, I helped organizations implement projects that made people more effective using technology. As a humor engineer, I help organizations implement projects that make people more effective using humor.

It could be as simple as a humor keynote to introduce the value of humor (like in my TEDx talk) or as in depth as teaching teams the steps to effectively implementing humor into their work (like in my humor course).

Either way, it’s all helping do their work better while enjoying their job more.

How to Get Started

If you’re ready to get started using humor, great. Do it! Sure, you could hire me to help your company use humor (please do) but you can also get started right away.

When we talk about humor in the workplace, we aren’t talking just about comedy. Using humor in the office isn’t about making work funny, it’s about making work fun. It’s about doing things a little differently that causes people to smile.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Know your MAP.

The Humor MAP stands for your Medium, Audience, and Purpose. Knowing how you are going to execute your humor (medium), who’s going to receive it (audience), and why you’re using humor to begin with (purpose), can help make sure you pick the right type of humor to use.

2. Be inclusive.

The best type of office humor is inclusive-it is about bringing everyone together as opposed to singling anyone out. Working on projects as a team, learning improv together, and telling stories can be ways of using humor without excluding people around you. It’s important to root out inappropriate, sexual humor that is designed to degrade certain members of your workforce and that could make them feel severely uncomfortable. This is often classed as abuse and could sometimes go further than mere jokes; perhaps so far as to require legal assistance from a sexual harassment lawyer to help the victim seek justice against their tormentors and harassers.

3. Stay positive.

Sarcasm and satire are common types of humor but they aren’t necessarily well-suited for the workplace. Positive humor maintains the right mindset (a focus on opportunities instead of problems), while still bringing fun into the workplace.

Ultimately, it all starts with making a choice. Making the choice to do something to be more productive, less stressed, and happier. Making the choice to enjoy your job and do it better. Making the choice to use humor at work.

Andrew Tarvin has worked with 100+ organizations such as Procter & Gamble, ESPN, and Nationwide on topics including humor in the workplace and mastering communication skills. He is the best-selling author of the app+book 501 Ways to Use Humor at Work and former FunnyBizz speaker. Learn more at www.HumorThatWorks.com.

[1] Stressed Out at Work? Susan Adams. Forbes.com, April 2013.

[2] The Science of Workplace Happiness. US News, 2010.

[3] US Happiness. Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 2008.

[4] Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs. Disney, 1938.

[5] State of American Workplace. Gallup. 2013.

[6] All Work and No Play Isn’t Even Good for Work, David Abramis. Psychology Today, March 1989.

[7] Anticipating a Laugh Reduces Our Stress Hormones, American Physiological Study. Science Daily, April 2008.

[8] Laughing All the Way to the Bank. Fabio Sala. Harvard Business Review, F0309A.

[9] 30 Benefits of Humor at Work. Andrew Tarvin. Humor That Works. November 2014.

The post The Intersection of Humor and Business by Andrew Tarvin appeared first on FunnyBizz | Where Business Meets Humor.

– What type of posts typically receive a lot of shares? (lists? infographics?)

– Did readers love to share short form or long form content? What’s the ideal length?

– Does trust play a major role on whether someone will share an article?

– What’s the effect of having just one image in a post vs no images?

– What’s the effect of having just one influencer sharing your article vs 0?

– How do we make people share our post days and even weeks after it’s been published?

– What’s the best day of the week to publish an article?

Find out here

The post “Invoke awe, laughter, or amusement”. Key finding in why content goes viral via Noah Kagan appeared first on FunnyBizz | Where Business Meets Humor.

That’s why some of the most powerful companies in the world — GE, Google, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Nestlé, among them — are hiring increasing numbers of stand-up comedians, improv masters and comedy troupes to produce and star in their advertising.

Read more here

The post Why Every Brand is Hilarious Lately By T.L. Stanley via Mashable appeared first on FunnyBizz | Where Business Meets Humor.

This was one of the most enjoyable conferences I have attended this year. Forget florescent lighting, weak, watery coffee, theatre-style seating, or worse yet, long rows of tables with chairs, or boring speakers–you won’t find any of that at FunnyBizz. In fact, prepare yourself to be entertained, engaged, and enlightened as one humorous speaker after another takes the stage.

5 Reasons Every Content Marketer Should Attend the FunnyBizz Conference

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The post 5 Reasons Every Content Marketer Should Attend the FunnyBizz Conference: By Shannon Hernandez appeared first on FunnyBizz | Where Business Meets Humor.

People thought it was raw, engaging and funny so they opened it. Good content marketing is essential for anyone trying to deliver a message. Whether they are your prospects, clients or friends, nobody wants boring crap in their lives. This idea seems simple, yet we are filled with useless and boring content. Think of the last email you got. It probably sucked.

It is with this in mind that AlleyNYC has partnered with an amazing company that is having a conference later this week in New York to teach anyone who is interested how to make your content better. It’s mostly for businesses and it’s funny — hence the name, The FunnyBizz Conference.

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The post Content Is Boring, So FunnyBizz Was Born appeared first on FunnyBizz | Where Business Meets Humor.