It is well known in marketing that “content is king”, and that memes have justly earned the title of “the kings of content”, since it is estimated that 55% of internet users between 13 and 35 years old is dedicated at least once a week to create, search or share memes; 29% of them post them in forums or their profile, while 15% do so through messaging apps, which shows their presence throughout the digital space.
In particular, memes have left behind their “fashion” status to become an indispensable element of the internet, and everything indicates that they will continue to be the favorites of users for many years to come. Leaving them out of your digital strategy could be a serious mistake, according to HubSpot’s 2021 social media trends report, this type of content optimizes the social media strategy of brands, thanks to these five advantages:
They authentically connect with the community
Originating from pop culture, memes are easy to interpret, create, or share, allowing them to build communities and connect brands with people like no other tool. They have also been shown to be an easy way for consumers to react to company news; this can be beneficial in times of high media exposure.
They denote validity and currency
Like any trend on the internet, memes also have a specific life cycle. In this sense, using them at the right time (when they are not yet overexploited by people or have not gone out of style), can help brands to stay current among the top trends, and join the most relevant conversation topics for users of the network. Many brands have used memes in order to introduce new memes and generate lots of hype on multiple social media platforms.
Diversify digital content
Like podcasts, memes are also a great resource to give variety to a content strategy, since they are not only reduced to images with text, since they can be gifs, sounds, stickers and even short videos (the challenges of TikTok are a good example). They also do not require significant expenses or involve great editing skills: in fact, they can be easily generated through free apps such as imgflip, Canva or Adobe Spark.
Increase brand exposure
Some memes tend to emerge from a viral trend or a major media event, so using them at the right time can be beneficial for exposure or brand recognition. In addition, they are usually shared among millions of users through various channels, which generates a huge amount of awareness among new prospects or audiences.
Memes are a part of everyday conversations
Not only are memes great for social media campaigns but popular memes also become a part of personal chats that users have with their loved ones.
Reflect the brand values
Since it is content that immediately generates emotions and authentic interactions, memes are an excellent means to reflect the values or opinions of companies in the face of current issues with which consumers identify, without falling into opportunism. In turn, this can help highlight the unique advantages that brands offer, in a different and original way.
It is very difficult to know which will be the next meme to set the trend on the internet, however, it is important that brands continue to go to this type of content and stay abreast of social media trends, if they seek to develop deeper and more authentic connections with your audiences in the digital space.