If you surf the net or use your social media accounts regularly, there is every possibility that you would have encountered memes. Even if you do not know what they are, you will know one when it hits you in the face with irreverent and usually sarcastic humor that will have you chuckling till long after. The main reason why memes are wildly popular with online creatures is that they make people smile and laugh with their takes on topical events. That they are in a visual form with simple accompanying texts to underline their meanings makes them a good weapon in the hand of marketers for engaging their target audiences. A quick look at some of the main benefits of memes for brands:
Enables Tapping into Emotional Responses of the Audience
The Complex Contagion Theory suggests that people are motivated to share content online primarily because of their need for emotional validation. According to behavioral experts at Meme Scout, when people see a meme that they can understand, appreciate, and identify with, they want to share the feeling with others. Savvy marketers deliberately create memes that not only are relevant to their brand but also craft the content in a manner that provokes their audience to share it profusely. Marketers love the fact the despite the lifespan of memes being variable and unpredictable, they can go viral quickly. However, since memes are known to have a significantly bigger impact than conventional marketing techniques, the shorter lifespan is not much of a worry. To increase the chances of your memes striking the right emotional chords of your target audience, you need to design your memes by thoroughly understanding the demographics of your audience, their behavioral patterns, and their motivations.
Enables Better Brand Building
To anyone who is not involved with a brand, it can be faceless and even robotic. It can be pretty difficult for the average user to imagine the kind of work needed to create a brand and establish it in the minds of the target audience. Bereft of emotions, a brand can be lifeless and uninspiring. According to Entrepreneur.com, using memes is a good way of creating a deeper connection with your target audience. You can usually cut through the clutter with the use of striking or familiar visuals laced with acid wit, sarcasm, or just plain old humor that brings smiles to the faces of the users. When people find something hilarious, it creates a personal bond with the brand, brings it to life, and humanizes it in their eyes. Memes are liable to achieve more success for marketers because users perceive them to be less promotional or salesy than conventional advertising.
Conclusion
Among the main benefits of using memes for marketing is that brands get an opportunity to show that they need not be stuffy or formal all the time, and can use humor to show their human aspect. It gives brands a good chance to get their marketing message across in a subtler fashion that can get through to even hardboiled customers with their cheeky humor.