A Memes was simply “an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture”, usually visual.
Memes in marketing have become relatively common nowadays in a lot of marketing strategies. It is impossible to go a complete day without watching a meme.
Wherever you look on any social media platforms, you find those interesting combinations of graphics and text sending short, sharp, and funny messages.
Marketing with memes can breathe new life into your social media strategy. Memes are highly visual, making them a great tool to create social media fodder.
The use of meme for marketing brought a new terminology known as meme-jacking.
This means that marketers hijacking popular memes means for fun and entertainment and using them to promote and market their product.
Five major categories listed below for Memes:
Trending Memes: These digital marketing memes emerge out of nowhere, and become hugely popular.
Their lifespan is relatively short. They are usually relevant for no longer than a couple of months before replacement with a different one.
Pun Memes: As their name states, these memes usually pair up a familiar image with some catchy words.
The Evergreens: These are probably the earliest examples of using memes in advertising.
They suit almost anything, and they will probably outlast any other meme.
Serial Memes: These usually make sense if presented using several different images.
However, they can also create the other way around. They can found on websites like 9GAG.
One Hit Wonders: These memes aren’t necessarily a result of a particular trend.
They are usually funny and creative, but the more times you see them, the less effective they become.
Tips for Marketing with Memes
Know your audience
Just like any other social media marketing strategy, the first step to creating good memes is to understand your audience.
So, for example, if your brand is targeting millennials, you could create memes around things that they are interested in.
While marketing with memes, brands need to find a balance between promotion and engagement. BarkBox’s marketing campaign got the combination just right.
Add Originality to Popular Memes
You want to engage your audience by giving them a few good laughs. At the same time, don’t forget that you are marketing with memes.
Keep Up with What’s Trending
Timeliness is a crucial factor when you’re marketing with memes.
Watch out for Twitter and Facebook’s current trends to find out what people are talking about.
If you can manage to create a meme based on the most popular trends at the right time, your meme is more likely to go viral.
The final element you need for meme success is social sharing. Share your meme everywhere: on the social media profiles and within groups.
Don’t be afraid to share a meme more than once. The only exception is LinkedIn, where people generally expect more serious, business-related content.