Memes are so entertaining. Those images and videos, used to convey shared ideas and which evolve over time to form trends, are a great way to keep people engaged on social media. And this is one of the reasons why marketing with memes is gaining popularity. Because memes are creative and thrive within communities, however, they are not as easy to use in marketing as it seems. As with every other aspect of your content marketing strategy, it is important that you use memes the right way to gain the needed traction. This article offers insight by examining how to use memes in your content marketing.
Tips on how to use memes in content marketing
Making memes might be easy but getting your audience to identify with it, engage, and even share it requires some measure of planning and good meme marketing techniques. So, before you jump on the train of marketers who use memes as part of their strategy, first consider these seven (7) tips:
Know who your audience is
Use popular memes, but give them your brand's touch
Create your own memes
Participate in challenges with memes
Avoid being tone-deaf
Do not be afraid to share memes from other users
Maintain brand consistency in your use of memes
Now, we’d talk about these.
1.) Know who your audience is
Memes have to be relatable. If your audience cannot understand and identify with your meme, it would be as ineffective as when a comedian tells a joke his audience does not understand. It simply does not produce the intended results. So, know your target audience and ensure that the message in your meme matches the age, demographics, and culture of those who make up your audience.
2.) Use popular memes, but give them your brand's touch
Posting popular memes is one of the easiest meme marketing strategies to employ since it takes away the time and efforts needed to come up with entirely new memes. However, it also makes it very easy for your brand to become lost in the crowd of other brands who make use of the said meme. But one aim of content marketing is to stand out. So, to achieve this, revamp popular memes with elements of your brand identity.
You might add your brand's picture, name, slogan, or mission to a popular meme. Whichever you decide to do, stay creative and ensure that you do not lose the point of the meme and that your audience would understand it enough to relate to it.
3.) Create your own memes
Even better than using popular memes is creating your original memes. This is because original content that is relevant has the potential of going viral and a higher chance of being shared than a meme that is already popular and in circulation.
This is understandably more challenging than sprucing up already existing memes. After all, you have to begin from the scratch – formulating an idea, sourcing for the image or video content to use, and coming up with a creative yet relevant text to complement it. However, the process is worth it since original share-worthy content attracts higher engagement and organic growth.
4.) Participate in challenges with memes
Every once-in-a-while, meme-style challenges go viral on the internet. If one that is generic or relevant to your niche comes around, consider joining in.
For example, many brands joined the recent Facebook #10YearChallenge by showcasing their brand growth through changes in logos, product evolution, among others. This meme-style challenge soon went viral across other social media platforms and was a great way for brands to connect with new and existing customers.
Again, one must be careful not to jump in on challenges or trends that have nothing to do with the brand as this inconsistency could risk losing the interest of the audience.
5.) Avoid being tone-deaf
While you strive to be entertaining as you pass your message to your audience, do not be tacky. If you make a joke out of serious topics or topics that are inappropriate, your brand comes off as tone-deaf and gets the wrong kind of attention. Researching your topics and the origin of your memes would help you avoid coming off as insensitive.
6.) Do not be afraid to share memes from other users
It is completely okay to share memes. In fact, that is what they are meant for. So, you can make it a part of your content marketing strategy to share memes from smaller publishers in similar niches like yours. However, remember to attribute ownership rights as you repost.
With user-generated memes that are relevant to your brand's niche, your brand can have more content while giving smaller brands exposure. These smaller publishers may show appreciation on their own platforms and, as a result, expand your reach. Care should be taken, however, not to rely solely on other people's content as this could take away your brand identity and do more harm than good.
7.) Maintain brand consistency in your use of memes
As you make use of memes, resist the urge to create confusion as to what your brand stands for. Brands who successfully use memes in their content marketing are those who create and maintain a brand persona that is consistent. To avoid confusing – and even losing – your audience, only use relevant memes and stay on brand.
Final Thoughts
No doubt, memes are a fun and inexpensive way to develop your brand's personality and boost your audience engagement. Also, they are a great source of constant content ideas and since memes are meant to be shared, plagiarism is one less thing to worry about. These, among others, are the reasons why you should consider using memes in the content marketing strategy of your brand.
As seen in this article, to effectively use memes in content marketing, one must put careful thought into planning and strategizing. There are several ways to incorporate memes in your content marketing, including using original content, popular, and user-generated memes, as well as participating in meme-style challenges while maintaining brand consistency. As you use one or more of these methods, do not forget to be creative and have fun. That way, your customers are more likely to be entertained too and interact or share with others, giving you the desired results.