Humor in PR: Can You Hear Me Now?
Humor works. But, sadly, there's a dearth of humor in public relations efforts, especially from technology companies. There's a reason Dilbert skyrocketed to fame—it's rife with truth!
High-tech suffers from terminal seriousness. It's an insidious problem, and it means that most tech companies fail to take advantage of opportunities to stand out. Over 80% of everything we hear daily is filtered, and humor helps you to be heard in a crowded market.
It's time to think differently about marketing. "Me-too" strategies just won't cut it—unless you aspire to mediocrity. Companies spend millions on technology but can't spend a few creative brain cycles to do justice to their PR? It's like spending a ton on collateral, without having an effective 30-second pitch! Great PR doesn't have to be expensive—just creative.
A lack of great PR can be deadly. Many great products and services go under the radar not for lack of quality but because they have failed to attract attention in a noisy world. The king of the market does not necessarily have the best offering. You must not merely have great quality—your marketing must take a strategically different approach to stand out. Humor can help!
Humor is not a four-letter word. Yes, it's a five-letter word. But the point is, If done right, humor can help with the most important aspect of PR—garnering visibility. Most of the editorial press corps read far fewer than half of all releases sent to them. Why? Because companies don't think about content from a perspective that matters to their audiences.
Most releases end up in the "circular" file unread—because they stink! They are painfully dull, uncreative, self-promotional and without value to readers. They also lack news, and if your press release floats—it's got more "foam" (read: lack of substance) than a Styrofoam cup.
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Kathy Klotz-Guest MA, MBA is founder of Powerfully Funny (www.powerfullyfunny.com). Contact her at kathy@powerfullyfunny.com.
