Laugh Your Way to Savings: How Comedy Can Slash Your 2024 Social Media Marketing Bill
By Mel Ohlinger
So, picture this: You’re diving headfirst into the lukewarm (and strangely fishy) waters of social media marketing for your carwash business.
You know you’ve got to do it because everyone says so, but you find yourself spending more time in your carwash’s equipment room than you ever thought possible. You start inventing reasons to stay away from your computer, like pretending to inspect chemical lines and nodding knowingly as if you’re conducting top-secret experiments. And guess what? I’m not just imagining this. I’ve actually witnessed your escapades through your computer’s webcam. Yep, I’ve also tapped into your CCTV system, and I’ve caught you pacing back and forth outside your building. You’re so engrossed that you haven’t even noticed the dastardly villain in the self-serve bay trying to clean an enigmatic, gooey substance from his pickup truck. Stressful, right?
But hold on, it doesn’t have to be this way! Instead of agonizing over a blank Canva canvas and pondering how to make your “first month free” promotion for the unlimited plan shine brighter than the carwash down the street – stop! Take a deep breath. Recognize that you’ll never create graphics as impressive as the owner’s 12-year-old kid at the carwash nearby. Pivot slightly. Remember that hilarious joke your friend told you last week (the one you can’t repeat out loud)? Well, clean it up a bit and use it! Remember how funny it was? I do.
As the internet ages, and the social media landscape evolves and/or de-evolves, and entire well-established social media platforms kill their existing, iconic brand in favor of a single letter, it’s hard to stay in the know.
Most of us hate being bombarded with sales pitches, but guess what? We’re bombarded all day long. We can spot a salesy pitch from a mile away, and so can your current (and future) social media followers. Yet, many businesses still stick to the same old stuffy, overly formal, and pushy tone that you’d expect from a late-night furniture store commercial. But here’s the thing: Brands that put entertainment first are winning on social media. And considering that every aspect of the interface is screaming for your fleeting attention (which usually lasts mere seconds), humour is the secret sauce. It disarms, it engages, and it makes your carwash business seem approachable. Most importantly, it removes that “I’m being sold to” feeling – well, at least to a certain extent.
Directly engaging with customers through online channels is still kind of new. Back when businesses first dipped their toes into the social media pool in the early 2010s, their posts were dripping with corporate stiffness and simplicity, or they were basically copies of their print and TV ads. But there was one trailblazer – Denny’s, the American breakfast behemoth.
Denny’s did something different; they didn’t try to sanitize or ignore the internet’s wild weirdness and “culture.” They embraced it. Their Tumblr page was an explosion of bacon jokes and neon depictions of massive breakfasts, all riding the lightning-fast trends and memes erupting from the internet’s weirdest corners. Other brands followed suit, turning Facebook and Twitter into platforms of entertainment, competing for your attention in ways that felt relatable. You were being advertised to, but it was…fun?
How does this relate to your quest to build a social media following for your carwash? By understanding that the rules beyond the platform’s hard and fast rules (think terms and conditions) can be bent and stretched. You don’t have to create polished Canva animations to promote your carwash business. You do, however, have an obligation to use that wacky idea you had last week that made you chuckle.
Social media users are sharp cookies. The moment they sniff out an ad, they put up their shields. Fortunately, humour is the universal language that breezes through those defenses, making messages easier to swallow and understand. Humour also leaves a warm, fuzzy feeling in its wake. By focusing on entertaining your social media audience first, you ensure they won’t ignore you and are more likely to think of your carwash when they’re ready for a scrub.
Social media remains the most cost-effective advertising tool currently available. Moreover, humour in social media marketing actually reduces advertising costs. As each organic view, share, or like accumulates, the cost to advertise decreases. As behavioral scientist Jennifer Aaker highlights in her Ted Talk: “Humor sells. If you add a touch of light humor to a sales pitch, people are willing to pay up to 20 per cent more.” In the carwash world, this translates to repeat customers and membership purchases.
Peter McGraw, the head honcho at the Humor Research Lab and author of the Humor Code, says humour lives in the sweet spot between harmlessness and violation. If something is completely harmless, it’s probably not funny. And if it violates social norms or sensibilities, it’s definitely not funny. For the carwash industry, which often gets labeled as mundane despite innovations like LED lighting and aromatic trifoam, humour is the key to livening things up.
So, if you’re promoting your vacuums, you can absolutely talk about how they “suck.” But you can also use this as an opportunity to create a new word. Perhaps your carwash vacuums are ‘suck’-cessful? Or maybe your carwash membership has free vacuums so your member’s suck in all the savings? True, not funny, but the cheese factor will get stuck in your customers head and be easier to recall the next time they think they need to vacuum their car.
Remember, things that are a little funny might get noticed, but truly hilarious content gets etched into our brains forever. Think about those funny quotes from TV shows, movies, TikToks, and ads that we still reference decades later. If you can create that kind of super funny content, your brand name, image, and message will stick in the minds of social media users for eternity. This is the essence of using comedy in content marketing, and it pays dividends without needing a massive marketing department or a colossal mailing list. Funny content also generates organic reach, which is a godsend for small businesses that can’t splurge on Facebook’s paid post promotions. When you post something funny, your followers are more likely to engage by liking, commenting, or sharing. They essentially become your unpaid brand ambassadors, spreading your message far and wide without costing you a fortune. But, whatever you do, steer clear of harmful stereotypes and culturally insensitive jokes. Avoid poking fun at race, religion, creed, or gender—unless your goal is to go viral with a worldwide apology. Stick to the kindness lane. Instead, tackle universally relatable topics, like the skyrocketing cost of living. Suggest that instead of an extravagant vacation, people could visit your carwash for an affordable alternative to Disneyland.
Humour humanizes your social media presence and makes your business feel safer in real life. The digital bond creates a real bond and helps you build relationships, foster brand loyalty, and handle customer service issues with a friendly touch. When customers have questions or complaints, they want to interact with real people, not automated responses or canned messages. Using light-hearted humour in your social media responses shows users that you care about their concerns and that you’re not just a faceless corporate entity.
Now, humour may not be a miracle cure, but it’s a potent tool in your social media toolbox that can help you bring in the right kind of customer. While a joke won’t help a customer chill out from their swirl marks claim, a baseline of humour might prevent a cruel customer from even coming into your wash in the first place. When used wisely, humour will captivate your audience, spur action, and save you big bucks on marketing. So, go ahead, embrace your quirks as comedic gold, and have fun poking fun.
Mel Ohlinger serves as the CEO of OhmCo, a carwash marketing agency based in Neenah, Wisconsin, USA. Her background includes a specialization in communications and cryptology during her tenure in the United States Navy, where she excelled as a CTR/Morse Code specialist. She is not only the CEO but also the founder of OhmCo, previously known as Rule of Design, Inc. Her expertise in design spans from the era before desktop publishing to the modern digital landscape. Website: https://www.carwash-marketing.com/
