This website is the virtual presentation of a research project conducted to study the effect of humor in branded Twitter content. There are several components within the site that are related to the research, including an extensive review of current and past research, an in depth description of the methodology and results of the study itself, as well as an application component for social media marketing professionals to utilize in their own occupations. Within each of these sections lies a wealth of information.

While there is little research about the use of humor by brands specifically on Twitter, there is much to be understood about humor as a marketing tool within other platforms or mediums. This review of literature includes sections that not only pertain to humor as a marketing tool, but also about how and where to reach your audience, the different reactions humor can cause, and the persuasive effect of humor when combined with marketing messaging.

Along with past research, this site also serves to present an original study that pertains to the use of humor on Twitter. Participants of the study were asked to take a survey pertaining to humor and Twitter, which included screenshots of eight different humorous tweets from consumer product brands. For each example, respondents were asked to rate how likely they were to engage in certain digital behaviors, as well as what their reactions were to the tweet, and how it made them feel about the brand.

Based on the results of the original study, and the information gained from the literature review, a social media marketing humor toolkit was put together. This toolkit gives working definitions of the varying types and formats of humor. It was designed to assist social media marketing or brand marketing professionals in their quest to integrate humor in their social media strategy.

To gain a better understanding of this topic, start by reading a review of previous research on the subject.