Adding memes to your online marketing strategy is a great way to shake things up. They are everywhere online. Memes are easily digestible and offer a funny, sometimes biting, and entertaining take on the human experience. It’s a very easy marketing trend that many use.
But seriously, who doesn’t like a good meme? Social media can get heavy sometimes. Memes offer a lighthearted and comedic break that we all could use. They are so commonplace and relatable. Many memes trend depending on what is going on in the news, what’s trending and some just make fun of the regular life stuff we go through. The nice part is, they are an inexpensive form of online content to share.
It’s easy just to grab a meme and share; however, there are ways to market with them and there are ways you shouldn’t. Marketers walk a fine line when sharing and creating memes. Like all things creative online, trust your instincts on humour. If you don’t think a meme you’ve created is funny, interesting, easily understood, or insightful, your customers might not either. Use your best judgment and know that the more memes you look at, the better you’ll be at creating them. If you are still not sure, test it out with friends before you post it.
There are three good rules to follow when sharing memes online:
- Avoid politics, religion, fault-finding and personal attacks while avoiding swearing and other controversial subjects.
- Avoid the hard sell or asking your audience to subscribe to something.
- Always use recognizable images or templates that your audience will immediately recognize and want to share.
Memes should always match your branding voice and business philosophies. Best practice: stay positive and always focus on humour. Try setting up a meme folder and repurpose one that you have already used. If you are looking for new ideas, create your own. Many sites help you do this such as Mematic.net. But don’t stop there, google it and you’ll see there are many options to help you create your own. Still not sure? If you have kids, they can help point you in the right direction since it is pretty much their visual online language.
Here are what memes can do for you:
- It can create a sense of community.
- You can create shareable content that helps build your brand.
- Memes appeal to a contemporary online culture that your viewers know about, which feels authentic, down-to-earth, and fresh.
It’s easy to create your own or you can share funny ones you find. The key to a good meme is to not be too conservative. It’s okay to be edgy since that says you are up with the times, and the trends while showing your company’s personality. When defining the tone of your memes, start by clearly defining your target audience.
- What content do your customers consume or share?
- What music, TV shows, or celebrities do they follow?
- How can you delight and entertain them?
- What issues do they face that are common to their community?
- What holidays are coming up?
- What is the average age of your followers?
The great part about adding memes to your social media is that they are fun to make and fun to share. Since social media platforms like Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter make sharing these easy, it’s not a big challenge to add them to your posts. Memes will continue to grow in popularity so using them is an effective vehicle for your marketing strategy.