Are you looking to align your brand with current trends relevant to your audience? If so, it’s time to start creating memes!
Memes are a great way to generate an immediate reaction and make your brand a viral sensation. So, here’s how to use memes to enhance your marketing campaigns…
How to Use Memes for Your Marketing Campaigns
1. Select the Right Image
When you use memes for your marketing campaigns, selecting the correct image is critical. Essentially, you want to select an image that evokes a number of emotions–humor in particular. The image should also be aligned closely with your brand.
If you don’t have your own images, please consider copyright law when selecting images. Try finding some under the Creative Commons license.
Here’s an example of user-generated-memes after a great performance by team USA’s goalkeeper Tim Howard…
Notice how the images selected all reference the same thing–preventing disaster.
Next up, adding text…
2. Add the Accompanying Copy
The second step when you use memes for your marketing campaigns is to add copy.
Try using these to enhance your meme:
- Puns
- Animals saying human things
- Lines from popular culture
- Popular quotes
- [group of people] be like [some common occurrance]
Here’s an example:
3. Promote Your Meme
The life of a meme is short and it has maximum impact during a specific period. Remember, using the right image at the right time is the most important part of your meme promotion. You can expect your meme to go through various stages such as the introduction, the peak, and conclusion.
Here’s a breakdown:
The introduction. During this phase, your audience has probably never seen or heard about your meme. If this is the case, your audience will want to be the first to post it on their social networks. (Think about the novelty of being the first to start a cool trend. Your customers will love it.)
The peak. You know your meme has reached its peak when people start to rephrase or recycle it by adding their own words. Here’s a hilarious Lipton Ice Tea example:
The conclusion. This is when your meme has become out-of-date and stale. Here’s a good example:
I swear if I see another Willy Wonka meme, I’ll go crazy!
Conclusion
The name of the game is to leverage popular trends and events–especially an event that naturally generates heavy social buzz. Check out this meme created right after a BCS Bowl Game between the University of Oregon and Florida State University:
This would have been a great advertisement for an upcoming WWE Super Slam. Right?
In closing, use this as an example of how brands can leverage popular events to enhance their marketing campaigns.
If you’re looking for easier ways to use memes for your marketing campaigns, try these:
Have you come across great examples of any other memes? Post them below…
