By Eleni Young. Using social media when you’re posting to your friends and family is easy, you already have an audience who’s interested in you and you don’t have to think too much about what or when you post. But when you’re posting for an audience who doesn’t know who you are, social media can be a bit more tricky, just because Auntie Sue and Dave think your hilarious on your personal account doesn’t mean you’re going to get the same reaction on your Facebook or Instagram comedy accounts.

Identifying your audience

That’s easy isn’t it, it’s people who like comedy, d’uh! Yes, but there are billions of people out there who like comedy and there are hundreds of different types of comedy, so we have to be more specific. You know what you like, but do you really know what your audience likes? Targeting your audience to get those all important likes and follows isn’t just about throwing your content out there and hoping for the best, you need to be specific about who you want to reach and who is going to keep coming back for more. Here’s a few questions to get you started:

● Who are they? Is your comedy aimed at more men or women or both? How old are they? Where do they live? Peep Show is a great comedy, but dry humour tends to work better in the UK than it is in the US.

● What types/style of comedy does your audience like? If your comedy is similar to or has the same traits as other comedians or shows, target those audiences. If you ever do advertising on Facebook, it will ask you about audience likes and interests.

● Which comedy/TV personalities do they follow? Have a look at those pages/profiles to see what type of content they’re putting out. Are they always just posting their own content or are they doing live videos (Facebook Live or IGTV)? What hashtags are they using that could also tie in with your content? You don’t have to use everything they are doing (be smart with your content and ensure yours is still original) but you’ll be able to see from the level of engagement how their audience (your target audience) is reacting and if it’s something you could incorporate in your content.

● When is your audience online? This is a key question to ask yourself. There’s no point marketing yourself at 8am on Saturday if your audience don’t bother logging on until 1pm on Monday. If you have a Facebook page or business Instagram account, check your analytics and look for times and days for when your audience is interacting or viewing your content.

One of the best things about identifying your audience is that unless you diversify your content drastically you don’t have to do it again. Having said that, put 10 mins aside once a week to go through your analytics to check you’re still getting the right audience and getting the engagement you want.

If you decide to advertise online, you’ll be asked all these questions and more and it’s easier to work this out now than when you want to post an ad and have a ton of questions screaming at you on your screen.

Now don’t worry, it may seem like a mammoth task, but it’s really not. Grab a pen and paper and start scribbling who your ideal audience is, you’ll find that you already know these answers, it’s just that you’ve never had to write it down before. So, what are you waiting for?

If you want to find out a bit more about Digital Marketing I’m hosting ‘An Introduction to Digital Marketing’ on Thursday 22 October at 10:30am (BST) online, tickets are normally £15 but for Comedy Crowders use code IntroFr33 to get yours for free!

OK comedy creators. We know building an audience sounds like a bloody daunting nightmare. One of those where the cold sweat makes the bed all clammy with Facebook likes.

But now it’s time for a totally fresh start.

Forget making a website, a mailing list, all that stuff. Now you have a brand new page for your comedy show on Punkanary, alongside other exciting comedy creators, where you and your fans can always come back to. No matter what happens out there in the crazy world.

In these next three posts we are going to explain how to bring fans to your Punkanary page, and how to get the party started when they arrive.

But here’s two quick things to remember before we get started.

1. Forget 500 fans. In fact forget 100 fans. Just focus on 10.

10 fans who don’t know you yet but will love this comedy you are making. 10 is all you need to get started. If you get 10 real fans, they will help you get more and spread the word. If you can’t get 10 real fans behind your idea, you need to start asking some questions.

2. This should be fun. If sharing your funny content with people you think would love it feels like a chore, it will look like spam to them. We’ll help make this as easy and fun as possible. So sharing content with fans gives you the same buzz as making it.

Let’s do this comedy creators. Here’s the first step – who the heck are your fans?

Understanding your show and your fans

What’s the big idea?

You know your comedy idea is damn good. But to find out who your true fans are, you need to think about your show in a different way.

Who are the people, places, and groups that will give you a try when they’ve never heard of you? What makes your show unique? Who does it make fun of and who does it support?

Click here for a detailed example of how you could think about this as a creator of The Simpsons.

One of the most unique aspects of The Simpsons is that it’s a cartoon, made when adult cartoons weren’t really a thing. So instead of saying everyone will like and relate to this, Matt Groening and co could focus on comic book fans, adults who appreciate old cartoons like the Flintstones.

Also consider This Country – Modern UK sitcom set in the Cotswolds. There has never been a sitcom about life in the Cotswolds! So that’s a unique feature with a prime target audience waiting to see something funny about their world.

Who are your fans?

OK so you’ve got one or two groups of possible fans in mind for your show. Now think about where they live, where they hang out, what they care about.

Let’s take the Simpsons again.

We’ve chosen fans of adult animated cartoons, which was very niche back in 1990. These people are likely to be predominantly male, maybe read printed animation such as comic books, and are part of fan groups for other animated shows, even nostalgic kids cartoons.

They like things that are quirky and rare, maybe attend nostalgic events, also like sci-fi cult movies. This gives Matt Groening and co a great starting point to reach those fans in online groups, printed magazines, and organised conventions.

And This Country

This is a real life example. The creators embraced The Cotswolds locals as potential big fans of the show and invited local residents to live recordings and screenings. They then helped share the show and make it a hit.

The takeaway is this – don’t target everyone. Focus on the characteristics of your show that a group of fans will love and will give you a try even though they don’t know you. This is where you will find your first 10 fans.

Now onto making the funny stuff

Now you understand your fans, it’s time to go where they hang out and share your show.

And before we enter this murky world don’t forget the most important thing, make this fun for you and your team!

Stay in the moment and do what feels natural. This is rule number 1.

OK enough pep talk.

The social channels

Let’s start with social media (if that word gives you goosebumps and makes your hair stand on end, don’t worry. You’ve always got your Punkanary page that you control and this is a fresh start for everyone. Breathe and carry on).

There are lots of different social media platforms, but the one you care about is the one your fans use most.

We all know about the biggest social media channels :

Don’t try to do everything and overwhelm yourself. You want to go with the main platform where you can reach your fans.

Get to know how that platform works, what type of content does well on there, and who are the influencers for your true fans.

Influencers are people with a big following who fit the bill of your true fans on this platform.

You should also choose a platform where you are comfortable posting the type of content required. It’s no good getting stuck into Instagram if you’ve got no visual pictures to show off your comedy!

Making content

When you’ve chosen your platform, it’s time to post content on there. Think about:

– What will excite your fans and get across the humour of your show?

– How frequently will you share content and why?

– What content can you share from other people that will be relevant to your show?

Let’s throw in a few examples.

If you’ve decided to focus on football fans for your show, you could create a character persona on Twitter and post in the voice of that character. E.g. https://twitter.com/BoringMilner. Then be sure to post during an important moment that would be relevant to your characters or show e.g. during a World Cup match.

For a show like People Just Do Nothing appealing to Garage music fans, make short videos of the characters doing their thing and include garage music bands with a following in the videos. They will share it on their YouTube channel, or you can share it with their Facebook groups or pages.

Calling your fans to Punkanary

Sharing this content is all well and good, but the most important thing is that if someone sees and likes what you are doing, they know to come and follow you on Punkanary to build up your fan base.

It’s no good having hundreds of people see your thing and then never connect with you again.

You should have a clear shout out, saying that they can see more of this and get involved in the show on Punkanary TV, with a link to find your page there. You can also make this funny and consistent with the voice of your content.

When you’ve started bringing your first fans to Punkanary, the next step is to make sure they have an awesome experience there.

Get the party started by clicking right here.

Once your first fans have found out about you and come to your Punkanary page, it’s vital to provide them with a good volume of content (not necessarily videos) and interact with them, inviting and responding to comments or questions.

Your Punkanary page is the home of your show. This means you don’t need a website or mailing list or any of that painful stuff. You have a home page in the place where new comedy comes to life. It’s up to you to make yours as good as it can be.

E.g. there could be regular posts in the voice of the characters, creators answering questions from fans, telling fans about plans for making the show and how the fans can help.

Keeping your page fresh and interacting with fans is hugely important. Remember these are the people who cared enough to give you a try on a new platform. They want to hear more from you!

Don’t be afraid to also message all your fans with more info than is possible on the updates board. Email messages are personal, come to their inbox, and can be sent in one click from Punkanary.

If you love a comedy show, how would you feel about getting a funny email in the voice of one of the characters, or being invited to give your thoughts on what they should do next?

Behind the scenes footage is also great because it shows you and your personality. People love to get an insight into how something was made, so let them have it.

Basically this is your page to do what you want with, but the more you engage your fans and entertain, the more they will help you to make and share your show.

Just as with the social channels, the most important thing is to have fun with it. If you enjoy it and find it funny your fans will too.

OK reading over. Time to get cracking on your comedy show!