Top 6 ways of Using Memes for Promoting your Business on Social Media

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Ever seen the cat macro picture with a cheeky slogan? Well, then you need no introduction to the world of memes. With the right quips and the right editing, memes have quickly taken over the world of the internet in a storm. 

To the uninitiated, if you have come across a funny jibe or a quirky picture with a cheeky comment, then – behold Memes! Jokes apart, memes are jokes and humorous or satirical images. 

Despite having distinct permutations and combinations of images and captions, memes are generally funny and humorously effective. Maybe you did know all of this, but did you know memes could be effective marketing tools for your business?

Why Do Businesses Use Memes?

If you happen to chance upon a smart Drake meme with a witty catchline such as this here, how does that make you feel? Needless to mention, the reaction that you express or revisit is precisely why memes are exceptionally effective marketing tools. If used correctly, they can immediately propel your brand recall factor. Regarding the various usage of the memes, there are primarily three reasons why they are so apt for your business –

1. Short and Sweet –

Memes cater to the short attention span of the general masses on social media. In contemporary times nobody has enough time to sort through long content. The average attention span of a scrolling feed is barely 2 minutes! In such a short time, memes not only catch the eye but also invoke a reaction, usually positive, about you and your brand.

2. Engaging –

Today social media marketing skills rely on engaging content. The ultimate aim is to drive an interested user to your website by generating interest. This is called traffic. Naturally, memes are an exceptional way to invoke a reaction and engage your audience. While they are hooked, they want to follow you to know more!

3. Reputation Building Tool –

Today most brands don’t wish to identify themselves with their sales turnover figures. As brands are shedding the traditional image, they are swapping it for trendy. Not only do memes make you sound trendy, but they also help in establishing a greater connection with a younger age bracket of prospective consumers.

What Are The Possible Ways To Use Memes Effectively?

The following six ways are perfect pointers if you wish to embark upon your own meme journey to propel your brand organization to “dank levels”–

1. Being Punny

Puns are amongst the smartest memes that you can create. A pun is a clever wordplay that usually conveys dual meaning. A pun may appear on its face to say something but carry an entirely different meaning latently between the lines. The subtle part of the Pun is that it is a smart joke and often invokes an appreciative reaction and humor.

2. Slapstick

Slapstick is quite the opposite of pun humor in that it is dumb and hence funny. Slapstick gives its name from the joke’s comedic reaction, which usually ends with a backslapping laugh. Slapstick humor is funny when the apparent reason is not toyed with but dumbed down. A Slapstick meme is usually very funny but can quickly spiral out of control if your slapstick humor corresponds to offensive memes.

3. Rage

Rage comics are all the rage these days – why? Because these memes are a collection of rage or cartoon faces. The humorous lines or clever wordplay is more often than not minimalistic or nil. The objective is to utilize the meme to drive home the humor through images. Usually, rage faces highlight a particular reaction that is intrinsic to the humor.

4. Images

Images are the oldest and yet the most popular memes. An image macro is instantly able to capture your attention and is, therefore, is better equipped to relay messages and convey meaning to some satirical humor. Thanks to some online sites today, these memes are rich in their color palette and create a vibrant impact on the viewer.

5. Trending

When a certain type of meme gains popularity and becomes a talking point for everyone’s conversation, it is trending. The fact is, this trending trend is only restricted to a few weeks or months, after which their existence becomes forgotten. These “fads” are often tied to some recent happenings, news, popular cultural reference, and so all of these become trends at some or the other.

6. Single/Multi Pane

Also known as exploitable, these come in various distinct patterns or forms. Single or multi-pane memes are amongst the most popular because their humor is in the picture and the text together. These permutations exist in an easily modifiable template where multiple layers convey a satirical and funny joke.

What To Remember?

Memes can quickly escalate from being funny to being offensive. The entire point is to casually joke and highlight a particular issue, event, or conversation. However, sensitivity and discretion must walk hand-in-hand during meme-making.

For this, it is important the jokes aimed at a particular section of society or which have certain cultural or ethnic references be avoided. It is important to keep the jokes more generic and, at the same time, situational that can be funny. While at the same time, the jokes must not end up degrading or culturally humiliating some person or community.

It is equally important to use more pop-cultural references and less personal ones. And yet memes can be exceedingly overused and therefore lose their overall quality and vibe. It is also important to use memes sparingly and employ them selectively to make the jokes crisp, on point, and funny!

Conclusion

Ultimately, what people tend to forget is that memes can quite easily backfire and have a completely negative impact despite the best of intentions. 

This is because sarcasm and irony are not usually well complimented or conveyed via textual references. This may cause confusion and lead to a backlash amongst your audience and cause serious issues. 

Thus, members must always remain thoughtful and mindful of their content to put this situation behind them and enjoy making memes.

Faheem Haydar
Faheem Haydar
Faheem is the lead editor for The Tiger News. Faheem Haydar is a serial entrepreneur, investor, author, and digital marketing expert who has founded multiple successful businesses in the fields of digital marketing, software development, e-commerce, content marketing, and more.

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