Companies constantly do their best to create campaigns that are not just on-brand, but that are in line with the latest trends and customer preferences. In recent years, the meme has taken over the internet.
This might not be the most dazzling, grandiose marketing format, but it’s definitely one that can make an impression and get people talking on any topic you choose.
Memes, the simple visuals accompanied by short, yet sweet bits of text can be humorous, intriguing, thought-provoking, and they can definitely give much more traction for your digital marketing campaigns. Younger generations especially, such as millennials and gen Z, appreciate memes in all their glory. Here, we’ll list a few of the most creative, versatile ways you can incorporate them into your own digital strategies.
Look for trending memes
Your culture, era, and your social norms all dictate what kind of memes are currently “hot”. You’ll find that the most priceless memes are generated completely naturally and by accident, whether during a sports event, or by cutting out a scene from a popular movie.
Depending on the messaging your brand is trying to send out into the world, you can use trending memes to promote your new collection, but also to make your audiences laugh and share your content, thus getting more people to learn about your business.
There are, of course, some memes that are universal, as more cat or puppy memes tend to be. So, you can choose something current and time-bound, which might have a lifespan for your audience, or you can go for an image that is general and universally relatable to turn it into something brand-specific.
Get creative with the copy
The image alone doesn’t make a meme a true meme. You need the accompanying copy to send the right message and to give the image that unexpected twist that your audience isn’t anticipating. The beauty and mischievous nature of memes lies precisely in that balance of using careful wording to give an image a brand-new spin.
Consider using puns as another universally beloved way to get quirky with your ordinary image. Then again, you can find a famous quote and attach it to a completely unexpected image, and lo and behold, you have a funny meme.
Customize existing templates
For busy marketers, getting access to a library of existing images that are meme-worthy combined with different ways to edit them is the dream. It’s always a good idea to start using a meme generator free of charge that will help speed up the process while giving you plenty of creative material to play with.
With templates, you can add stickers, your own copy, or attach different imagery to add another layer of meaning to your new memes. Generating them more quickly helps you publish more of them, so that your social feed is more engaging and your social stories more vibrant for your audience.
Add them to blogs, social, and email
Most brands use memes on social networks, for which they are, indeed, perfect. You can attach them to your new product launch, or even as a teaser to get your followers more excited about a potential new product. Not to mention that stories on social media have that FOMO effect, making memes in stories a perfect engagement-generating tool.
However, you shouldn’t limit your meme use to just social media. Start using them as visuals in your blogs and articles, to give your copy a more engaging, youthful note. Plus, you can use memes to drive an important message home in your writing. Add them to your newsletters, too, and you’ll increase the chances of people actually clicking on your content in their emails.
Combine memes and hashtags
Like so many popular elements in digital marketing, memes work well with other trending details, hashtags included. So, you can easily spruce up an “old” meme by giving it a brand-new tagline or a hashtag that is currently very popular among your followers.
On the other hand, new memes can gain more traction if you attach them to already famous hashtags, provided that they do go well together. That way, you can keep your meme content fresh and engaging across different channels.
Although memes might be just a passing fad, although history indicates otherwise, it’s important to use them to the best of your ability in order to attract your target audience, and even more so, engage them in relevant ways.
Memes are brilliant for conveying important opinions in concise, yet impactful ways, and they lend a creative angle to otherwise dull topics. Perfect for every industry, memes are a great addition to your digital output, so use them as much as you can to reach more people and make your brand all the more relatable.
