Memes are everywhere. You can’t scroll online very long without seeing several memes, but are these items good for marketing efforts?
What are memes and what is their purpose? These are humorous images that often have universally understood humorous messages. While capturing some people, animals, or situations in some of the most embarrassing poses, many people have added their own bit of humor to these images, creating memes. They have become popular enough to become part of marketing efforts for many companies, thus creating meme marketing.
What is the definition of meme marketing?
This is a digital marketing strategy that uses internet memes in brand promotion and advertising campaigns. This seems pretty self-explanatory, but it can be important to advertise using memes without offending segments of the population. These memes are a great way to engage audiences on social media platforms, and they rely on viewers passively sharing them with each other, even if it’s only for a few giggles. When used for marketing, these images encourage active participation and community involvement.
Meme marketing isn’t new. It’s been widely adopted and used since the 2010s and has only grown exponentially as social media platforms have developed and become more robust. Many companies understand that meme-based content can be an effective method of communication with a target audience.
What is a meme?
Most of us can easily recognize a meme when we see one, but the term was coined much earlier than you might expect. This term was coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 work The Selfish Gene. “He defined memes as discrete pieces of information, ideas, or behaviors that propagate between people through cultural learning processes.”
The modern definition shows a shift toward describing viral online content. Most memes contain humorous or relatable media elements such as images with clear, concise, and understandable captions.
Why does meme marketing work?
Memes can do much more than provide some laughs; they can also be used for marketing success. If a popular brand utilizes memes to grab your attention, you are more likely to remember the meme and associate it with the brand. Even before the term was coined in 1976, companies would find ways to create memorable ads. Memes have made that much easier.
Its built for engagement
There’s a good chance you engage with memes more than any other type of online content. Most people don’t simply like memes; they engage with them through comments, sharing, friend tagging, and adding them to their stories. They do this because memes trigger emotional responses instantly, which creates greater engagement with the content.
Culturally relevant
Whether it’s a cultural inside joke or shared experiences with people of various backgrounds, memes speak to these experiences and often feel personal and timely. These items can make you feel like you’re being heard and seen, which brings value to many lives. Using memes and being unafraid of the funny side of culture is a great way to stop being just another brand and begin to build connections.
Affordable marketing
You won’t need an expensive video shoot to reach your audience quickly and memorably. Meme marketing makes it possible to reach a large audience quickly, affordably, and at scale. It doesn’t take more than ten minutes to create a meme and send it to millions of potential customers. The power of memes is impressive and could be a much better approach than some low-performing ads.
The statistical approach
Memes work and they can truly boost your brand’s recognition and relevance in the space where most of your customers spend at least some of their free time: social media. Research by M Booth shows that 41% of US consumers want brands to be active in meme culture and trend-driven social content. Additionally, 94% of marketers report a good or high ROI from meme campaigns, and that these campaigns drive 10x more reach and 60% organic engagement on Facebook and Instagram.
If you want your posts to be shared, ensuring you can reach a larger audience, meme content is shared 70% more than standard branded posts. Using memes is a great way to boost recall and sentiment among users, who will remember the feeling they had the first time they saw the meme.
Best meme marketing campaigns
BarkBox’s Post
Taking the image from the movie Titanic, BarkBox created a meme with two dogs on the door, which meant there really isn’t room for Jack. The message reads “I’m sorry, Jack, there’s not enough room,” signaling that Rose is choosing the dogs over Jack. This is an inside joke understood by dog lovers and people who have seen the movie.
Balenciaga Trash Bag
The most expensive trash bag in the world is actually a designer handbag from Balenciaga designed to look like a garbage bag. This bag sells for $1,790 and instantly became a meme during the product release. The New York Post shared the meme that contains the message” Balenciaga selling ‘most expensive trash bag in the world’ for $1,790,” which went viral.
Distracted Boyfriend
Many companies have latched onto the “Distracted Boyfriend” image and used it as a meme. This image shows a man walking hand-in-hand with his girlfriend, but he’s turned around and looking at the backside of a woman who faces the viewer while his girlfriend gives him a scornful look. This viral image has been used many times in meme marketing and for some good fun.
