This presentation was delivered by Bill Connolly, iCrossing's Content Marketing Manager and resident comedian at the Content Marketing Conference in Las Vegas, May 2015.

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Using the principles of comedy to improve your content efforts
Bill Connolly, iCrossing, @billconnolly
Content Marketing Conference, May 14th, 2015, Las Vegas, NV
Improv Your Content
with Comedy

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Examples of Comedic Content

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“Eddie the Terrible” – Humane Society
“While Eddie has never actually attacked another dog, he’s made it
abundantly clear that he hasn’t ruled out the possibility.”
@billconnolly
http://hssvacc.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-full-disclosure-blog-three-reasons.html

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“Tough Season” – Onion Labs, Lenovo
@billconnolly
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/landingpage/nfl/

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“Oh Snap! Series” - OtterBox
@billconnolly

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“Don’t Stop A-Meme-In’” - Marketo
@billconnolly

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“Share the Love” - Cisco
@billconnolly

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Even “Big Data” Can Be Fun!
@billconnolly

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“Digital Predictions” - iCrossing
@billconnolly

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Basic Improv Principles

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Yes, and…
pic: dhhl.hawaii.gov@billconnolly
• In improv comedy, actors must say “yes” to their
reality “and” build something together
• In content development, say “yes” to new ideas
• Small ideas can lead to big performance
• Start with a basic point of view and grow it into a
series of useful, high-quality content for your
consumers

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Let it Breathe
pic: commons.wikimedia.org
@billconnolly
• In improv comedy, most scenes begin in very simple
ways and slowly grow to something hilarious
• The same can be true of content
• Just because an idea isn’t game-changing at first, don’t
kill it and prevent it from turning into something
• Remember, small ideas can lead to big performance
• Let your ideas breathe, come back to them, you’ll be
surprised at what might happen

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Road to Crazy Town
pic: blog.primalpastures.com@billconnolly
• According to Amy Poehler, the key to good improv
comedy is to “live life on stage”
• Good comedy comes from everyday life
• Good content comes from seemingly ordinary ideas
• Key questions from your clients
• Nuanced ways to use software
• How you structure a meeting
• Not all great content has to be newsworthy
• Don’t take your intelligence for granted, there is an
infinite well of great content in your day-to-day

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Know Your Audience
pic: www.paperhi.com@billconnolly
• For comedians, understanding the audience is
imperative to success
• The same is true for marketers
• Create content your audience wants to consume, not
that you want them to consume
• Spend time learning the interests and pain points of
your various audiences, and defining those segments
• That way, you’ll be much more able to address their
needs with your content development efforts

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Listen
pic: ww.thedailybeast.com@billconnolly
• In improv comedy, actors must truly listen and be
present in order to understand what is happening
• Marketers have difficulty listening to others instead of
pushing their own agenda
• Listen, to your colleagues, your customers, and your
competition, to gain insight and content inspiration
• To uncover original ideas you must be truly present in
conversations with others
• It’s a difficult skill, but one that can be practiced and
learned

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Everyone Fails
pic: offbeat.topix.com
@billconnolly
• In improv comedy, failure is a virtual certainty
• Comedians fail over and over again, and as a result
become immune to its impact
• Content marketers must develop a similarly thick skin
• Take risks, develop content you aren’t 100% sure will
succeed, and measure your performance to learn
• Sometimes you won’t succeed, but you’ll be much
more likely to hit a home run than if you play it safe