Using Memes to Promote Your Business on Social Media (December 2021)

The internet is a large place. There are countless websites to visit and social media sites for you to communicate with others far and wide. There are all types of content available on the web, but there is one kind which is growing in popularity every day: memes.

A meme is defined as a “unit of cultural information spread by imitation” (from the Greek mimema, meaning “imitated”). There’s no doubt you’ve spent just a minute on the internet and found a meme, whether you wanted to or not. They’re often humorous or ironic, and they’re a brief form of entertainment, just like Vine or TikTok. They don’t require effort (or money) to create; most memes were created out of an already existing image. This could be a frame from a film with a caption applied to it. It’s only a case of you applying a new caption for your own take on that meme.

Here is a list of five tips on how to use memes to promote your business.

Memes can help you boost your social media presence!

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Know Your Memes

There are too many memes in existence to count; the internet is that vast. However, if you do wish to use some, you’ll need to know precisely how they work. Sure, memes are meant to be humorous, but the joke will still need to land correctly to work.

Another factor is knowing where the meme came from. This is essential as the internet is a vast place, and not all of its areas are safe for the fainthearted. The origins of memes vary, but many of them have beginnings in materials that are not safe for work (NSFW). While they may be popular, a NSFW meme should by no means be used by your business to help promote it. You won’t be wanting your brand tarnished by inappropriate and unprofessional content, so never use these.

Additionally, you should be wary of how some memes are used. Many are used to push political ideologies – often in negative ways – so avoid these as well.

For a full list of memes, their origins, and how they work, visit the website Know Your Meme. Their articles are highly detailed and explain what you need to know, but be warned – some of the pages do discuss (and may even depict) NSFW content.

Know Your Audience

As with any other social media strategy, you’ll be needing a strong understanding of who your audience is. This will factor in details such as age, profession and gender to come up with a buyer persona. Once you know who your buyer persona is, you can research the types of memes that this audience enjoys the most. The memes you post can provide your target audience with an awareness of your business and what it specialises in. You never know – they might be looking for the exact thing your business provides!

Remember – you’ll need the right balance between engagement and promotion when using memes. After all, you want new customers or clients at the end of the day, not followers for your meme posts.

Read Now: 6 Ways to Increase Website Engagement

Follow Trends

There are too many memes in existence to count. You may find yourself coming across memes from earlier in the year or even decades ago, but they’re likely no longer relevant. Everything has a lifespan, and memes are no exception to this; an estimation on how long they last are an average of 6 weeks. It’s true that some memes can make a resurgence, but it’s more ideal to focus on the newer ones.

When it comes to knowing your audience, you should be looking at the memes that your audience are engaging in and sharing with each other to have an understanding on what the latest trend is.

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Match Memes With Your Brand Voice

The posts that you create for your social media pages will have a distinct personality. This is known as your brand voice. When you know exactly what type of brand voice you have, it’s vital that the memes you use appropriately match it. Again, think about your audience and consider the following:

The content your audience likes to consume.
The music, TV shows, and celebrities they like.
The problems they and their community commonly face.
How you can entertain and delight them considering the above.

As soon as these have been considered, you can then use appropriate memes and trends to catch their interest.

You should have a consistent brand voice across all social media platforms!

Read Now: The Basics of Brand Identity: Making the Most of Graphics

Be Wary of Copyright

Just as not everything is completely free to use, not everything is in the public domain and can be used without legal hassle. As mentioned, you need to be aware of where certain memes come from. Origins vary from one meme to another. While a meme may simply be a picture, gif or video with a caption slapped onto it, it came to exist because someone decided to exploit a particular idea.

Many memes have roots in films, TV programmes, and video games, among other forms of media. While they may be widely shared, and the copyright holder’s attempts at taking them down is no different than fighting a hydra, you could still be violating copyright law. Not even stock images are safe.

In Conclusion

Memes are practically essential to your marketing strategy in this digital age that we live in. However, you must be aware of how they work and whether they are safe to create and share before you even consider using certain ones.

Use memes that’ll match your brand voice, know your audience and make sure you have an understanding of copyright law! This is a failsafe in case a meme you shared leads to more trouble than intended.

Many other platforms are available to use that offer extremely helpful way to promote your business.

Below are are some related articles that can help you decide which platforms are best to advertise on:

This was just a small number of ways you can use memes to help promote your business. If you’d like more help with your online marketing, contact us at Floodmaker today.