Leveling Up Your Business With Meme Marketing
August 19th, 2021
If you ask us, memes should be an integral part of every content marketing strategy, and if you feel otherwise, we suggest making an appointment to get your head checked. #SorryNotSorry
Memes are undoubtedly one of the greatest art forms ever to exist – that’s right. We called memes an artform. They’re funny. They’re edgy. They’re witty AF, super easy to retweet, and every single week, a new one pops up. If that’s not art, we don’t know what is.
While they may not seem as tactical as an informative blog post or as fancy-schmancy as a video, memes can and should be used as part of your brand marketing strategy – if you think you’re clever enough to use them.
Interested in learning more? Nowadays can break it down. Read on to learn how to level up your business with memes that pack a punch.
Level up like Mario with bad @$$ memes
It doesn’t matter if you’re a Pinterest addict, an avid tweeter, obsessed with TikTok, or a Reddit junkie–there’s one thing none of us can avoid on the internet: memes.
Memes are everywhere these days, and just about anyone or anything can quickly turn into one. Alex from Target, Success Kid, Overly Attached Girlfriend — yeah, all of these guys started out as ordinary people but somehow skyrocketed into the internet limelight seemingly overnight.
So, what exactly is a meme, anyway?
Memes are viral by nature – they’re designed to elicit strong emotional responses. A meme is an image embellished with text, usually sharing pointed commentary on social ideas, current events, or cultural symbols. The best memes go viral and are retweeted and shared hundreds of millions of times. In a way, memes are cultural “breadcrumbs,” leading audiences to unique and meaningful content.
Memes are typically meant to be funny and can apply to many different cultural topics. That being said, there’s no way to predict when a meme becomes a meme. In many cases, something spontaneous will happen, and the internet will quickly seize the moment and make it famous — sometimes overnight.
Why brands should use memes for marketing
People can skip ads whenever they want, and marketing with humor and familiar media can do wonders to engage hard-to-reach consumers. They allow you to spread your brand’s ethos and evoke an emotional connection with your target audience. And the best part? No matter what social media platform people use, there’s no way in hell they can escape the number of memes posted online daily.
Here are a few more great reasons why you should start using memes to grow your brand:
Reason #1: No need to reinvent the wheel ‘cuz they’re already viral
Whatever it is that you’re trying to market, you want people talking about it. Since memes are already everywhere you look, latching on to such content can be an excellent way to get your brand noticed online.
Reason #2: Don’t worry, dummy—they’re super easy to make
Anyone can make and upload a meme in just a few minutes. Whether you’re piggybacking off an existing meme or creating your own from scratch — it really doesn’t matter. The end result will always be an inexpensive and super simple way to increase your brand’s chances of going viral. What’s not to love?
Reason #3: They live long and prosper
Today, the average lifespan of a meme is very long. In fact, if a meme is humorous, clever, creative, and relatable, there’s a pretty good chance it’ll stay on the minds of consumers for many years to come. Remember the “It’s a Trap!” meme? Yeah, well, that was made sometime in the early 2000s, yet here we are 20-plus years later, and it’s still circulating the web.
Reason #4: Memes bring all the likes to the yard
People love to share entertaining memes, and when yours go viral, you’ll for sure get a bunch of new likes, followers, and fans. Funny and emotional memes with unique content can help boost your brand’s awareness tenfold.
Reason #5: Sharing is caring
Since most memes are images, they’re perfect for sharing on social media. Every major social network from Instagram to Pinterest and everything in between supports image files, so using memes can immensely increase the chance that your awesome content will be shared across many, many platforms and many, many channels. And the more shares your memes receive, the more people will hear about your brand.
Be careful not to f*#k yourself
Memes are the tits. However, if you’re going to start marketing with them, you need to be super f*#%ing careful not to get embroiled in a legal battle over licensing rights. Although there’s no surefire way to use memes, there are a few ways in which you can protect yourself from having your killer meme backfire on your brand:
- First things first, check the rights on the image. It’s essential to be aware of the risks you’re taking—even if the chance of ending up on the wrong side of the law is minuscule. Do your research and know the risks!
- Put together a clear policy. Set aside some time to figure out your brand’s tolerable level of risk and put together clear guidelines that everyone on your team understands and follows. These guidelines need to be crystal clear.
- Whatever you do, make sure you’re not implying an endorsement. Unless, of course, you get permission. Misappropriating an image can cost you a pretty penny.
If you want to use a particular image but are a little nervous that there could be implications, explore alternative paths. Or, simply hire our bad @$$ team of marketing geniuses here at Nowadays to ensure your memes won’t send your brand to the dog house. Woof!
Ready To Level Up?
Memes can take your business from drab to fab — and sometimes instantly. If you’re ready to level up your business with the best of the best memes, our expert team of marketing gurus can get you there.
Kicking A$$ and taking names for our clients since 2015, here at Nowadays, we play on the emotions necessary to inspire people to take action and spread content by word of mouth. We sell lightning by the bottle with our Social Scripting™, our proprietary process for making content contagious. Your brand will get the best orchestration of emotion, timing, and attention — guaranteed.
No clickbait. No bullshit. No incentives. Just word-of-mouth momentum and insane results. Are you ready to level up? Let’s do this.
Sources:
A Better Way to Map Brand Strategy | Harvard Business Review
Memes Are Everywhere | VLAA.org
Everything’s Still Quite Bad, So Here Are the Best Memes of 2021 | Esquire.com