029: What Can Canned Laughter Teach Us About Copy?

The Psychology of Copywriting

We know social proof works and can be a powerful tool when used in marketing, but did you know that it’s not always enough? Today’s episode dives into an article that focuses on the self-categorization theory, how we as individuals categorize ourselves, and what groups we identify with.

To understand whether laughter was a response to social proof or the self-categorization theory, the researchers recruited university students to conduct experiments. The experiments found that participants laughed three times more when they believed laughter was coming from their in-group (other students from their university). These findings revealed that the response to laughter was not necessarily a thoughtless response. Instead, who was laughing was more important than the laughter itself.

What does laughing and self-categorization have to do with copywriting? Listen in to hear my top three takeaways for you as a copywriter or marketer: 1. Research is important, so be thorough and know your audience well. 2. Social proof is not always enough. 3. Niche down as much as possible.

What To Look For In This Episode:

• [00:01:02] "I Love Lucy" reference.
• [00:18:00] The importance of thorough research.
• [00:21:00] Is social proof enough?
• [00:23:20] Niche down and build your tribe.

Journal Article:

It’s not funny if they’re laughing”: Self-categorization, social influence, and responses to canned laughter.

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.615.7853&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Platow, M., Haslam, A., Both, A., Chew, I., Cuddon, M., Goharpey, N., Maurer, J., Rosini, S., Tsekouras, A., & Grace, D. (2005). It’s not funny if they’re laughing”: Self-categorization, social influence, and responses to canned laughter. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41(5), 542-550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2004.09.005

Resources:

• "I Love Lucy" episode (S02E01) – youtu.be/NkQ58I53mjk
• Brand Voice Template – brandvoicetemplate.com

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