Humor’s Role in Video Marketing
Video marketing doesn’t always have to push a certain product or service. In fact, the beauty of video marketing lies in its ability to enhance a website or blog or social media profile with a talking human face – something that we still respond to as human beings. Even funny, viral videos that don’t actually advertise anything can cultivate a brand loyalty among fans and followers, simply because the video shows a company’s willingness to engage with the outside world.
Consumers tend to also lower their ‘anti-sales’ guards when confronted with something education or humorous. Take a video released by Bodyform, a feminine product company based in the United Kingdom. A man named Richard Neill posted a humorous, dramatic rant about the misleading nature of feminine product advertising, saying that the commercials had led him to believe that menstruation was a time of gymnastics, skipping in flowery fields, and yoga on the beach. His mock outrage stemmed from the fact that his girlfriend engaged in none of these activities, and instead made his life difficult.
Bodyform responded with a witheringly sarcastic video in which an actress played the company’s fictitious CEO, Caroline Williams. In 9 months, the video garnered over 4 million views on YouTube. The original article on Mashable was shared almost 600 times, and Bodyform’s number of likes on Facebook doubled. Comments below the video on Jezebel.com applauded the company’s sense of humor, and one commentor said “I don’t like maxipads. But I want to buy them now, from Bodyform.”
Whether or not Bodyform’s earnings went up later that year, this blogger was unable to uncover. But the interaction did illustrate a point about the ever-expanding channels of dialogue between consumers and brands, which Forbes contributor Scott Goodson voiced in his article on the topic: “Today, things have turned upside down. Brands lie at the mercy of their customers and must be transparent, open and prepared to listen to their needs. The digital landscape might seem a little exposed to some, but it actually presents a great opportunity to connect with customers like never before.” Use videos to connect through humor, education, and storytelling. V3 Media Marketing can help.
