5 Content Marketing Lessons From SNL in the Age of Trump

Whatever you think of his politics, President Donald Trump has been great for comedy. Saturday Night Live is having a revival of popularity as its hard-hitting satire and perfectly casted actors -- like Melissa McCarthy’s hilarious portrayal of White House spokesman Sean Spicer and Alec Baldwin as Trump -- speaks to the country’s latest concerns about the various chaos and insanity emerging from Trump’s administration.

What can other content creators and marketers learn from SNL’s recent resurgence of Trump-related success?

Seize upon key issues and crucial conversations.

Trump's presidency is the biggest story in recent political history, so this is an easy one for SNL. Everyone in the national media is talking about Trump all the time. But what about your business or your industry? What are the key issues that your customers are worried about and focusing on? Don’t assume that you know the answer. Use Twitter as a listening tool to see which keywords and topics are trending for your industry and your key audiences. Then you can create content that speaks directly to those areas of concern.

Slay sacred cows.

SNL is not afraid to be irreverent, even offensive, toward the most powerful people in Washington. What is the biggest controversial topic/issue in your industry? What are the things that people in your industry should be saying? What stands should they be taking that they are not? What is the elephant in the room or the emperor with no clothes? Find these opportunities and create content that speaks to those issues. Build a reputation as a truth teller.

Rally your base.

SNL is probably not going to win many fans among Trump’s supporters, but they’re focusing instead on getting a bigger share of fans from the large percentage of Americans who are opposed to Trump. Don't be afraid to be controversial or even polarizing. Sometimes it's better to speak passionately to the people who are most enamored with your brand, even at the risk of not appealing to lots of other people. SNL is rallying a big audience of people who are not Trump supporters -- and SNL’s ratings are up! In content marketing on TV, it's often better to have a passionate and lucrative niche following than to fail to appeal to a mainstream mass audience that no longer really exists.

Make unconventional choices.

McCarthy was cast as White House spokesman Sean Spicer -- and her performance was brilliant -- but the choice of a woman to play Spicer was also oddly inspired and unexpected. Don't be afraid to be unconventional. Keep trying new things and elevating new voices within your company. Your content strategy doesn't have to look like the usual suspects.

But stay focused on quality.

SNL is having a resurgence of popularity as people tune in to try to get some laughs out of our latest national political news, but even Trump's biggest opponents won't want to watch if the show's not funny. SNL can't become just a strident platform for anti-Trump statements; it still needs to be a comedy show first and foremost that makes people laugh. In the same way, content marketing can't be just a stunt or a gimmick or push an agenda. You need to have a foundation of insight and quality that keeps people coming back.

Who knows what will happen during Trump’s presidency, but SNL is leading the way for a vibrant, engaging, no-holds-barred national conversation about politics. This fearless spirit is something that all content creators and content marketers can try to emulate in our own work.

6 Tips to Using Emojis in Your Marketing Campaigns

Grab your phone and look at the last few text messages you sent and received. I’m willing to bet there were some emojis used.

They are quickly entering the world of marketing -- email subject lines are now full of emojis, and you can even order from Domino’s by simply texting them the pizza emoji.

Soon, it won’t just be trendy to use emojis in your marketing -- it will be essential. While I’ve used them with some success in email marketing campaigns, I wanted to see what tips other business owners had regarding how to effectively use emojis.


I sent out a request via Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and connected with six other business owners to discuss this new marketing tool. Below are six tips to help you use emojis effectively in your marketing campaigns. (Side note: If you aren’t using HARO, you are missing out -- as I’ve mentioned in the past, it’s a great free tool to use to help your business score media coverage.)

1. Know which emojis connect with your target audience.

With so many different emojis available, it makes it important that you understand the meaning behind any you plan to use. You don’t want to start randomly throwing out emojis without a strategy -- you need to make sure they are aligned with your audience.

“The approach we use is going to be much different than a company targeting millennials in terms of what emojis we use. While we might use a simple smiley face in an email subject line, a business looking to really grab the attention of a younger target market might use more edgy emojis,” explains Buzz Burgett of Northwest Mechanical.

2. Use emojis to encourage real-time engagement.

Peter Gregory, owner of Sound Tattoo Removal, uses emojis to trigger real-time engagement. “When we are marketing to those looking into the options available for removing a tattoo, we want to encourage an immediate engagement. Using emojis in a clever way helps to quickly draw attention to a call-to-action, amplify that emotional trigger and begin a conversation.”

I have found that using emojis in email subject lines drastically increases open rates. More people opening your emails means more people coming into contact with your call-to-action. If they don’t open it and click-through right away, the chances of them coming back to it at a later time is slim to none.

3. Avoid creating confusing messages.

“Because emojis are a somewhat new marketing tool, some brands go overboard and flood social media posts and email copy with them. Too many emojis, or the wrong type, can create a confusing message and push back prospective customers rather than pull them in. It’s important to use emojis that align with your message,” advises Rob Richardson, CEO of Newcastle Training.

This is something I see firsthand almost daily. I subscribe to a large number of email newsletters in multiple industries, and using a couple emojis that make sense within the email copy is fine, but going overboard can really be awkward. I cringe when I see emails with an obnoxious number of winky-face emojis.

4. Use emojis to add a personal element to your marketing.

Emojis can help a brand add a personal element to its marketing, but remember that every situation is different. What works for one brand isn’t going to necessarily work for another, even within the same industry. The emojis you use must match your brand -- a natural extension of your voice.

John Morgan, Co-CEO of Stillwater Dwellings, has some advice for those wanting to add a little personalization “Before you start to use emojis in an effort to be more personal, you need the answer to these five questions:

"What emojis are relevant to our brand?
"Do we fully understand the meaning of the emojis we plan on using?
"How often should we use emojis?
"How does our target audience interact online?
"Will using emojis improve the message we are attempting to convey?”

5. Encourage two-way communication.

Social media is the first stop when a consumer has a customer service need. Using emojis can help communication -- something as simple as a smiley-face emoji can help to break the ice and encourage conversation.

“Whether they have a simple pre-sale question or want to talk about a previous purchase, social media is where consumers turn. Why? Because it’s convenient. Social media is easy to access using a mobile phone, without having to make a phone call. Incorporating emojis in your social media communication can help cold prospects warm up faster. Emojis are a new universal language that you need to learn how to use, as they can really help communication,” explains Melissa Blake of Les Saisons.

6. Understand the correct time and place to use emojis.

Sean Flynn of Flynn & Associates stresses that it’s important to understand there is a time and place to use emojis. “A business, such as a restaurant, can freely use emojis to market, because the experience they are promoting is fun and carefree. A business such as ours is dealing with a more serious service, and emojis aren’t going to be appropriate in some situations. Use them correctly, and know when to leave them out of your marketing.”

I’d also add that it’s important to pay attention to your split-test data. Compare email open rates with emoji-filled subject lines and emoji-free versions. Look at your social media engagement on posts using emojis and those that don’t have them. Every audience is different, so dive into all available data to see how your audience responds to their use.