The great 19th Century Irish playwright and humorist Oscar Wilde uttered these last words: “Either this wallpaper goes, or I do.” Why some adventurous wallpaper company hasn’t used this is beyond me, but it does go to underscore the reality that humor sells. Humor effectively disarms people, often by getting them to see your point in a way they hadn’t thought of before, and initiates rapport that you may have had a hard time creating some using your latest PowerPoint filed with facts. Art Linkletter told us that laughter is the best medicine, and he was spot on. It might be the cure for what ails your company as well! Let’s check out 4 ways to use humor in your small business marketing.

4 easy ways to use humor in your small business marketing!

Take advantage of pop culture – This is a generation that has largely left the evening news in favor of the likes of Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert and the other late night mavens that have built careers around the daily misfortunes of celebrities, sports stars and politicians. It’s all fair game, so don’t be afraid to use your share if you can find a way to make it humorous. Getting the audience smiling and in a good spirits right from the start can go quite some distance toward helping build rapport with them.

Make humorous videos – It will only take a few moments on YouTube for ample evidence to persuade anybody that a funny video gets lots of eyeballs! Even the lamest concept, shown in a quirky way will get views and get shared widely. It doesn’t take a degree in cinema to make it happen either. Many simply shoot them with their phone, o if you want to go whole hog, use an app like GoAnimate or Xtranormal to make quick and visually interesting animated videos.

Create funny memes – Who hasn’t encountered these on Facebook and other social sites? Incorporating this concept with the millions of users on sites like Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr is a recipe for outrageous traffic numbers.

Use humor in your content – Don’t be bashful with respect to getting a little edgy with your content. The payoff will likely be that folks will see you as more like them, and not simply some stodgy firm bent on selling them something. The more you connect on a shared (and funny!) level, the better people will like you and share your site.