You can still have fun in a “boring” industryBy Becky

Juxtaposition is your superpower

It comes as no surprise when a brand like Magic Spoon has fun content. I mean, it’s a colourful cereal brand for adults!

But you probably wouldn’t expect Citizens Advice—yes, that Citizens Advice—to be fun. Everything they put out on TikTok is the perfect blend of educational and entertaining. And this strategy has paid off. They have over 147K followers and almost a million likes across their content.

Things are somehow funnier when they come from someone or somewhere unexpected. It’s like that time the queen “jumped out of a helicopter” with James Bond at the London Olympics.

If you’re in a “boring” industry, you almost have the upper hand.

Being fun ≠ unprofessional

Typically, businesses in “boring” sectors are B2B, or exist in very traditional industries that still wear this mask of a stiff, corporate culture.

But behind the mask of even the biggest conglomerates are people. People with personalities who are great at their jobs.

These people don’t just exist in your business, they’re also your target customers. And if they can acknowledge that they, as a person, can be both professional and fun, then surely they could think the same of your business?

Dive deeper 🤿

Further reading:

꩜ The science of selling with humour

꩜ Sao Paolo’s rail network’s video content is *chef’s kiss*

꩜ Fun sells (here’s a study that proves it)

꩜ The ultimate guide to TikTok marketing for B2B

꩜ Need to convince your boss that fun is the future? Try this approach

꩜ What Citizens Advice learned from their first year of posting on TikTok

Insights from the team

Watch the video to hear our thoughts on: Why it pays for brands to make people laugh.

Interview

In the pool with…Eleanor Sutherland from Citizens Advice

Meet Eleanor Sutherland. Based in Sheffield, she’s the Senior Digital Marketing Strategist at Citizens Advice and one of the brains behind their award-winning TikTok.

What’s one thing you’ve learned about creating content for a charity like Citizens Advice on TikTok?

Probably how to make more traditionally dry or boring content somewhat entertaining. Or that people like to engage with videos they feel passionate about, which then generates comments and more views. So if I was starting an account from scratch I’d think about what people would really care about seeing.

How do you come up with fun content ideas?

Me and my colleague Cara just watch a lot of videos and share trends we like or think will work well. We try to understand what the real point is of the trend, and why people are interacting with it. Then we go through possible topic ideas that could work. Sometimes these go well, sometimes not.

What advice would you give to a social media manager who has to handle sensitive topics (e.g. the cost of living crisis), but still wants to incorporate some lighthearted humour?

There are a few things. Firstly, I think you’ve got to really know the platform well and what kind of videos trends are being used for so you can feel confident with your choice. Secondly,  you’ve got to know what your limits are, and whose side of a story you are on. For example, we knew that as long as we were giving people helpful information, we could stretch our tone of voice. But we would never make the people we help the but of the joke, but we could say make a joke out of the person creating the problem, like their employer or landlord.

Which piece of content did you have the most fun making?

This is quite an old video but I liked making this video because it is completely silly and wouldn’t make sense unless you’d seen the trend a few times. It also didn’t involve me speaking!

How can someone convince more people in the office to get involved with TikTok content?

Sometimes I’ve had success by making the process seem a lot less scary, so showing them example videos. I also try to pull on their heart strings by telling them it is good for the organisation. To be honest I think people already know if they are open to the idea of it or not, so just give people lots of opportunities to volunteer. They may just be a little shy in the beginning.

Content Idea of the Week 💡

We loved this “big ick” post from Magic Spoon. Why don't you try and create something like this?

Use this prompt: What are your team’s biggest icks related to industry?

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Content Idea from Magic Spoon: 'Big Ick'