What can we learn from humorous parks & rec social media?
Arguably, the best social media content of the moment has come from the National Park Service’s Instagram and X/Twitter accounts. NPS has accounts on other channels as well, though not all are the same flavor, which is based on humorous, often topical, but never political memes, photos, and text.
While, for the most part, the specific park accounts within NPS are straightforward, informative spaces where followers can plan trips, learn about advisories or closures, or obtain other detailed, park-related information, the overall department account prefers to make people laugh.
Why Humor Works
Humor brings people together. When people laugh, they share. Therefore, humor is a great social media and marketing strategy. Creating memorable content comes down to understanding why humor works and how NPS harnesses it.
NPS has strict guidelines regarding its social media and the types of captions it allows. The organization also seems to have a code of ethics concerning its posts. “We’re not looking to be too edgy or off the wall. Dry humor goes a long way, as well as a wink and nod in engaging in a trend, while still maintaining that friendly vibe combined with the general national park aesthetic,” says Matthew Turner, who runs the NPS accounts.
In stand-up comedy terms, NPS always “punches up.” “Punching up” is the idea that it’s okay to make fun of someone in a position of power, but never someone from a marginalized community or inferior position. Jokes about individuals, groups, or situations in which someone is in a position of weakness are generally considered “punching down” and are frowned upon since they can function as a form of bullying or othering.
How NPS punches up is by lovingly making fun of its parkgoers, letting the audience laugh at how silly and stupid some people can behave in nature. One such thread starts, “There’s nothing wrong with following your heart, but it doesn't hurt to check the map.” In the next tweet, it states, “Three hours later…Your heart is saying ‘I could hike up these boulders for hours!’ (You know, the ones pioneers used to ride for miles?) However, your feet are saying, ‘You wore flip flops … no.’” The comedy makes lighthearted fun of visitors’ bad hiking decisions. After this jab, however, NPS softens the blow with a link to its trip-planning guide.
In another post, the agency plays on many people’s fear of spiders: “Whoever said ‘out of sight, out of mind’ never had a spider disappear inside their tent.” After this statement, it provides info about camping in national parks. The “punch” is at people who fear spiders, something NPS gently says is silly while still validating the feeling.
The same post about spiders in tents uses another strategy that, surprisingly, works very well: puns. Sometimes referred to as “dad jokes,” puns are wordplay, often deployed in a “cheesy” fashion. Before giving info about camping, the post says: “Camping: it can be ‘in tents.’” By using a silly pun, NPS calls attention, even playfully negative attention, to its informational post.
NPS also uses humor by comparing flora and fauna to people, a form of anthropomorphism. One such tweet shows a bird with feathers sticking up all over the place, its expression sour, with the caption, “When you come back after a long weekend, and someone has the nerve to say good morning.” Imagine how many people can send that post to coworkers or friends and find common ground. Under the humorous caption, however, are fun facts about the pictured egret, so it’s still an informative post.
Another features a tree with a twisty trunk with the caption, “Tree! Stop that. No. I must dance!” Making it seem as if the tree is a person, delighting in movement, is wholesome, yet surprising enough to be funny. NPS also makes fun of wild creatures, like a post about bears getting embarrassed while hunting if they slip on the falls or get hit in the face with a fish. The bear is compared to humans, who are capable of embarrassment, but here, the bear is a predator; therefore, NPS is punching up while anthropomorphizing.
Additionally, NPS uses somewhat culturally ubiquitous references to engage a wide range of people. One post quotes the TLC song, “Waterfalls,” before giving information about, you guessed it, waterfalls. The song was hugely popular in the mid-‘90s, so millennials and older followers will have heard the song at some point. Another ‘90s reference is a post with a pretty landscape that says, “Serenity now!” —a line from Seinfeld, one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, which can be found on streaming services or in syndication. Combining an allusion with a pun/“dad joke,” yet another post with a picture of a bear says, “I came in like a wrecking bear,” a reference to the Miley Cyrus song, “Wrecking Ball” and a play on words. Cultural references like these are good options because they don’t target anyone.
Why Humor Works For The Organization
If you need to send information out, you can do it in a straightforward way, especially when it’s urgent. As Turner says, “infusing humor isn’t for everybody,” but “if it makes sense to dip a toe into something more lighthearted (definitely not thermal features), then there are opportunities to latch onto trending topics or insert some personality into a feed. Like everything, there is a time and place. Depending on the topic, subject, place, history, etc., humor might not be the best option.”
Using humor to disseminate information can be successful because people are more likely to have seen, processed, and remembered it. In most cases, these humorous posts contain a joke first, a photo, and then a link or statement with useful information. While a casual scroller might not need the trip-planning guide, the person might still appreciate the joke, which boosts impressions. It also makes it easier to find the important info later because the person might remember the joke and search for it to get to the information.
“We have a broad audience, so connecting with multiple generations keeps us on our pop culture toes, but no matter the reference, we still want to provide within a post a message that everyone can benefit from,” says Turner.
In addition to strict guidelines about being kind and respectful, NPS successfully avoids being political. “As a government agency, we aim to be non-political and true to the agency’s mission,” says Turner. While a lot of humor is based on the news of the day, in almost all cases, NPS employs evergreen jokes that can work at any time.
How Other Departments Can Enact A Similar Strategy
While a department might not have a team member with Turner’s social media savvy, it can still find ways to work humor into its strategy. Successful methods include the following:
- Dad jokes or puns
- Pictures of cute things
- Cultural references
- Anthropomorphism (giving human characteristics to non-humans)
- Punching up
- Evergreen material (not topical or political).
Punching up is the hardest line to walk, but making fun of a system or a leader might work if it’s all in good fun. Safer bets involve showcasing the department’s strengths paired with puns or cultural references. Turner advises, “Understanding your audience and what they respond to is always a good guide to follow.” If you receive any backlash, he says not to panic. “Listening to the audience is key. Any feedback is good and helps you improve or adjust.”
Being authentic is one of the hardest parts of a humor-based social media marketing strategy. Turner says, “One major pitfall to avoid is to look like you’re trying too hard, or your messaging is branded ‘cringe.’ A good way to avoid this is to not post just to post. You don’t have to connect to every national donut day or every trending topic. Look for those meaningful connections and ways to add value to your feed instead.”
In many ways, American culture embraces the “cheesiness” or “cringe” of this type of humor. Imagine a teenager reading the NPS posts, rolling the eyes, and laughing anyway. There will be people who find this style of humor traditionally funny, but leaning into silliness can also work in a department’s favor to reach jaded youth and Gen X users. Attempting to make a human seem “cool” or in touch with youth culture is more likely to backfire, but NPS more often pokes fun at trendiness.
In the end, embedding important information in a post gets the info out to the public. Just make sure the joke, whatever type it is, is relevant to the topic under discussion, and make the important info easy to find.