Should I Have Something Funny in My Linked in Bio

My friend, content marketing smarty, Chris Marr, said hilariously to me many months ago on a post I wrote about humor in marketing that when it comes to this platform, "LinkedIn is where humor goes to die." I laughed out loud. This was true for a long time. And I've used humor to poke fun at how ridiculous LinkedIn invites are (when your invite sounds like a bad business pickup line, don't use it). Every time I'd get a LinkedIn notification from a salesperson I didn't know who promised not to spam me, I thought about how my older brother would say to the 10 year-old me, "I totally promise if you come here it won't be a wedgie." We know how it ends.

LinkedIn a few years ago was like Mayo (baking soda, if you prefer that analogy) - a little bland, colorless, and used like a staple for the business sandwich, rather than for flavor. It certainly wasn't fun. It was "serious networking." The two aren't mutually exclusive. Then it got worse - it was from benign to holy crap. The spam, the "social selling" with every solicitation. I call BS. It was "social shilling" on steroids. LinkedIn was like the worst HR of social platforms: it put the "FU" in fun.

Yet, wasn't LinkedIn supposed to be about relationships? Hell, if you are going to be a carnival barker, and we all are to a degree, shouldn't it at least be fun, memorable and delivered with personality? Humor IS human.

It was a different time.

Today, things are changing in part because the rise of Millennial voices is hard to ignore. And the soft "rules" - what rules, really? - are changing. A more conversational, storied and personal tone is a great change. And I, along with my of my big-personality colleagues, think it's about time. It's about connecting, right?!

So move over boring. There are so many ways to add a little real fun into your profile, your invites, your updates, and your articles (and videos) and deepen your engagement and relationships, too. Surveys show that 92.3% of LinkedIn users are people with personalities and 84.7% of numbers are just made up!

Look, people like to smile and laugh. And you don't have to be laugh-out -loud funny. Sure, for some of us who have that ability - great. I think just aiming for fun is a great place to start. While this article was written for individuals; I do think much of it also applies to brands. Even conservative brands can deliver great content in non-boring ways. And, yes, brands known for fun have more leeway - but saying "we're conservative, we can't use humor" is a "dog ate my homework" excuse that really no longer works. (Here's a post I wrote about conservative financial brands and humor...).

Even conservative brands and people can present information in an engaging way.

A Few Easy Tips

I asked some of my fun and funny friends who deal with LinkedIn all the time for their best advice on how to add some levity to their uses of the platform. Here's what they said. And these people know...

Sarah Cooper (Author, Comedian, Founder of Cooperreview.com)

"The best stuff that's worked for me is a parody of what people are already seeing on LinkedIn - so making fun of the morning routine, or quick tips for success at work. What works the best though is stuff that is both funny and insightful, where people feel like they've learned something in addition to laughing."

Rebecca Stockley (Improviser, Applied Improviser, Founding Member of BATS)

"I like posting a fun reminder message that reads: "You may not remember me, but you and I first met 1) during the zombie uprising of 2013, 2) when we served together on the change management committee, 3) growing up together in the first Mars Colony. Select one. Or in your profile, incorporate one outlandish (non-true-thing) like: "Rebecca Stockley, made entirely of wood, has been facilitating training in Silicon Valley since the 80s." Or use metaphors or word play to describe projects, like: "Rebecca pretended to be a chair for The Applied Improv Network World Conference in 2012." Rebecca says, "The more extreme but innocuous you are, the better."

Brian Wallace (Infographic expert)

"People enjoy coming to LinkedIn as it's a breath of fresh air as compared to Facebook. People come to LinkedIn as a place of business and it's a great source of inspiration! Be uplifting." (Kathy's interpretation - giving people a laugh or smile is definitely inspiring!)

Roberto Blake (YouTuber and video expert extraordinaire)

"Most people don't realize that they could make their LinkedIn a little sexier instead of just having a bland wall of text. It cleans up nicely with a few fun photos and fun videos." Make it appealing!

Kathy Klotz-Guest (Improviser and Comedian, Story Strategist)

"Satirical posts, wordplay and fun images work well. Humor is all about the truth. So I like to start with the little things that everyone knows to be true - the pain in the butt conference call, the overbearing boss, the LinkedIn solicitations that you know are like bad business pickup lines (linked to at the beginning of this post). This works great for videos - take the premise and heighten. You can have fun presenting information that has high utility. Fun is how you package and deliver that useful info. Great info doesn't have to be boring!" (see below for my equation. What do you think?)

Source: image from my book, "Stop Boring Me!"

J.S. Gilbert (author and speaker)

"Go for smiles. Usually self-deprecating humor (not too overboard) fits well when delivered anecdotally on LinkedIn." Try stories that are fun and don't forget humor in your invites. Stop with the genericized robotic invites!

Summary

Well-said, all. Keep it fun, insightful, appropriate - and most of all, don't be afraid to try. Your customer expectations are changing. Just ask Millennials.

And you?

How do you add a little levity to your LinkedIn updates, invites and profile? What has worked best for you? Let us know in the comments.

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Kathy Klotz-Guest, MA, MBA, is a speaker, author, story strategist, and has 20 years in comedy and business. Founder of Keeping it Human , she helps organizations innovate new, creative ideas - idea orgasms! - for content marketing, products, and branding and culture. A comic improviser, Kathy has a weekly comedy show in Silicon Valley called "Laugh Tracks." @kathyklotzguest on Twitter and @klotzguest on instagram. Sign up for my newsletter: keepingithuman.com. My book,"Stop Boring Me! How to Create Kick-Ass Marketing Content, Products, and Ideas Through the Power of Improv" is on Amazon.

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Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-where-humor-goes-die-kathy-klotz-guest-