You’ve probably seen a meme before, even if you didn’t know what it was called. Before we dive into why it could be useful for marketing purposes, lets gain a basic understanding of this internet phenomenon.
There are two types of memes
Photo memes are pictures in which a person is imitating a famous pose or action. You may recall the practice of “planking”—where an individual lays flat on their stomach for an inappropriately long amount of time for no discernable reason at all, thus imitating a plank. A picture of a person doing this would be considered a photo meme due to the viral nature and cult-following that planking accumulated. But please remember, there is absolutely no reason to ever participate in planking, ever.
Image memes are slightly different. The formula is simple: add a caption to an already existing viral image to suit your purposes. The beauty of image memes is the universal understanding of the images you can select from. For example, Bad Luck Brian is an image meme. It is meant to inspire captions regarding misfortune. The recognition of the image will help the audience understand your purpose.
Now that we have some context, let’s examine the benefits that memes can have in your marketing efforts.
Memes are Clean
Image memes (remember our friend Bad Luck Brian) are visually simple. A clean, easy to read typeface combined with a brief caption helps draw the attention of your audience. People appreciate simplicity.
Tip: Keep your captions short. Covering the entire picture with a caption defeats the purpose.
Memes are Pictures
I realize that this is a painfully obvious observation, so let me explain why it’s important. Rich media (pictures/videos) tend to captivate audiences more intensely. In fact, Facebook photos generate 39% more interaction than other types of posts. Interaction includes likes, comments and shares—all of which are essential metrics in measuring the success of a post. To put it simply, memes are advantageous because viewers are more likely to interact with them.
Memes are Usually Funny
Most memes are funny—or at least they should be. Combining the right caption with the right image, or posting a timely photo meme, is a great way to make your viewers laugh. Additionally, people love to share humor. Shared content increases total reach and earned media—in other words, more people view your content.
Memes Are Quick
There are websites that allow even the most technically challenged people to construct memes. Very few companies have the luxury of producing a new blog post every single day, but we know that frequency of content created needs to be high; this is where memes come in. Memes are a great way to produce content quickly and easily, keeping your company relevant and noticeable to the audience.
Memes are a good example of “scaleable” content. Basically what this means is that they are easy to produce, but lend themselves to huge return potential. Unlike blog posts or eBooks, memes can be created almost instantaneously. The amount of time that you invest to produce a meme is incredibly low; however, given the shareable properties of a meme, the return on investment can be huge. Your content can potentially reach countless viewers. Not bad for content that you can create in a matter of seconds, right?
Memes Are Linkable
Link your memes to your website to drive traffic from your social media pages. Increasing the amount of referral traffic to your website is a staple of inbound marketing. Who knows, maybe driving a social media viewer to your website could be the first step in converting them into a buying customer.
Including memes in your social media strategy is a low-risk, low-investment way to engage and nurture your audience. They can be easily produced, virally shared, and universally understood by your viewers—keeping your brand relevant and top-of-mind.
Do you think that posting memes would be beneficial for your business?
