You already know them and probably use them. They continue to grow in popularity: while some disappear in a few weeks, others last for many years, but their fashion continues to grow. They are the same.
If they belong to the private sector more than the professional at first, brands have caught on to these memes nonetheless. This is how “meme marketing” was born. But what is it exactly? This article lists everything you need to know about meme marketing in a few steps:
Marketing Meme: What Is It?
marketing meme Allow marketing to use the meme format to promote a brand or product. It is all about creating humorous pictures, GIFs or videos related to a brand and the possibility to tickle the humor of the target audience.
Sometimes it may be appropriate to surf the news with a meme of “the” moment. However, the latter should be compatible with your brand image, your goals or the message you want to convey.
Marketing memes are very effective. At a time when many consumers ignore ads the very first time, comic marketing Allows for a familiar format that may appeal to the toughest consumers.
There is no magic formula for using memes for marketing purposes. You just have to know the pop culture references, meme mechanics, and of course get creative!
What are the benefits of meme marketing?
For digital marketers, entrepreneurs, artists and creative professionals, meme marketing Can be a godsend: It’s a really cheap way to create engaging content that unites a large audience. That’s why meme marketing is a great way to promote your brand, without giving the impression of being too “oppressive” in the process.
in fact, here 4 benefits of meme marketing ,
1. Strong potential for virility
Memes are great for marketing: they’re fresh, easy to understand, and in short, have great potential for virality.
When a user encounters humorous content, they are more likely to share it. This is almost the definition of memes: they become memes because they are shared widely. So content is often reposted or reworked to reach a wider audience or deliver a different and original message.
From a marketing perspective, when your meme is shared, it likewise promotes your brand.
2. Low production cost
Memes have the advantage of being cheap content: they are inspired by the content other people create. They allow small businesses and digital marketers to save the time needed to produce original content. Instead, you can take inspiration from existing media by adding a new caption or twist.
Furthermore, memes are appreciated even when the content seems tinker and low resolution. That’s their charm! So don’t worry if your graphic design skills are limited. You can use the design tool to add your brand name, slogan or product to popular memes. Specialized sites allow you to create a meme in just a few minutes.
3. Memes promote a sense of community
Memes are funny and help build community among your followers. They create a sense of belonging because your audience can relate to the situation you are referring to and everyone is participating in the same joke.
If you manage to make your audience laugh, you’ll attract additional followers by helping them identify with your brand.
4. Memes create and maintain brand relevance
Since memes are often associated with a trend or current event, they give your brand a modern, human image in real life.
Additionally, memes call on contemporary or cultural events that your audience is already familiar with, giving a sense of authenticity and spontaneity.
When using memes, you need to strike the right balance between promotion and engagement. Now let’s take a look at the ingredients you need to make your memes a success!
1. Know Your Audience
Like any other social media marketing strategy, the first thing you need to know about your audience is to create great memes. This allows you to better understand their expectations, and therefore, to create memes on topics that interest them.
2. Add Originality to Popular Memes
meme marketing Primarily intended to increase your brand awareness, that’s why it’s a good idea to re-share already popular memes. But here it is: Everyone on the Internet is already sharing these memes. To stand out, you have to make some effort!
Get creative with the most popular memes: change their meaning, add phrases that serve your purpose, and more. With a little creativity, you’ll be able to customize many memes that at first glance don’t seem to fit your brand.
Understand what the meme includes and try to find ways to align it with your brand or one of your products or services. You can also include your brand slogan, name, mission or logo in the meme. When you add a funny caption, you turn familiar media to speak directly to your community and give your followers a moment of humor.
Here’s an example of a cleverly used meme: By being widely diverted and shared, it contributed to Lipton’s notoriety.
3. “Trending Memes”
Opportunity is an important factor when marketing with memes. You need to keep an eye on social media trends (Twitter and Facebook are great for this) so you know what people are talking about and what are the hottest memes right now.
If you manage to create a meme based on this trend and at the right time, your meme has every chance of going viral! So you will need to set up a daily or weekly clock on memes.
Currently, the Netflix series “Squid Game” offers a plethora of memes that are easy enough for a brand to reuse.
4. Repost relevant user-generated memes
This is where it gets interesting! Because memes are by definition meant to be shared, meme creators admit to reposting their content, even encouraging others.
For example, marketers can “regram” memes on Instagram, re-share them on Facebook, or retweet memes on Twitter, taking care not to leave the source. This will be seen well by the author, but also by your audience, who will see a trail of conversation and may be inspired to propose a meme in return.
If you’re lucky enough to have a large enough community to create memes that can be reused instantly, or even made for you, use them! But do not forget that they should always be relevant and match the image you want to convey.
5. Take part in meme challenges
Many brands have changed the Facebook #10YearChallenge to their advantage by comparing their new logo to the old one.
The Durex condom brand has been even more original, offering:
conclusion
The popularity of memes continues to grow: meme-related content appears on all visual content platforms such as Tumblr, Pinterest, IGTV, Facebook, Twitter, and even LinkedIn. Many brands are already using this medium as an effective tool in their marketing strategy.
Would you like to integrate this type of content into your editorial line? Do you want to create memes to animate your community? Find Freelancers on Codeur.com who will be able to do them for you!
