Mankind has been wearing the armor of humor for far too long. A joke, a funny anecdote, a quip, or even a witty retort, it’s all in good humor. From dark satire to the tongue in cheek Brit Wit – there are many façades to the cheeky humor. 

Laughter, they say, is the best medicine and literally so. To this old family of medics comes the recent arrival of a new entrant. Masking subtlety in its truest form, memes are the new funnies in town. 

Yes, it’s cheeky, but you can’t help a giggle or two every time you see one of these. The internet has exploded since the advent of memes, and all the trends indicate – it’s here to stay. However, the question is whether memes are the occasional “wry humor” or is it more than meets the eye?

If you have been online, you’d inadvertently get acquainted with the millennial culture of memes. With the popularity of social media, meme popularity too has soared. Initially, anybody would create memes for a bit of fun, but now they have evolved to a more cultural connotation. Memes can be used for various purposes, from poking fun and entertainment to bringing awareness about trending topics.

An Overview of Meme Culture

The internet meme culture has its origin in a 1976 book by Richard Dawkins wherein the word was colloquialized. Etymologically, meme originates from the Greek word “mimema,”  which refers to a form of imitation.

After that, the world’s first meme was the smiley expression back in 1982. Back at the time, smiley expressions were made from creative usage of punctuation marks to express an emotion. Over time, the meme smileys, and its aftermath assumed a lot of significance and evolved through popular usage.

The meme culture has come a long way since then, from punctuation marks to picture video maker. The contemporary meme culture dabbles in multiple forms across various platforms on the internet. Memes today are being used as a popular cultural reference to sensitize people and attract their attention towards events and circumstances.

Usage in Social Media Marketing

Memes are more than a social media entertainment form today and serve a functional and important role in the social media marketing genre. The internet meme culture is in vogue today, largely as a linguistic medium of the millennial crowd. 

This has made memes a vital lifestyle part and popular trade promotional medium. People who are still unable to appreciate the practical utility of memes in common business are oblivious to the following reasons –

Humor Sells Best! 

When it comes to selling your product, being too serious can be detrimental. It is important to understand that everyone loves a good laugh once in a while. While immersing yourself in the internet meme culture, you must notice the impact a meme has. A meme is able to further the interests of your prospective consumers. 

It is an extremely engaging medium for the advancement of business promotional purposes. They can heighten the interest of your customer and facilitate brand equity on social media. This is because memes are great tools to increase brand recall and raise awareness. 

This, therefore, has a direct impact on the click-through rate of your advertisement. Additionally, memes have a certain relatability factor about them. This means that they can be easily utilized to influence an impressionable audience.

Visually Appealing

Memes are visually attractive and are able to relay a lot of information to any user on the social media platform. Memes convey a lot of information to the end-user simply and straightforwardly. The recall factor of a meme is far greater than any other medium. 

This is because a good meme evokes the emotional response in the easiest and simplest of ways. Therefore, we are always retaining a portion of the impression a meme creates. 

Memes are extremely eye-catching and an engaging medium for businesses to relay their messages to the audience. Entertainment is the most appealing form of information, and memes are the most appealing form of entertainment.

Minimum Effort and Maximum Gain

You can create memes in a matter of few minutes and yet create a powerful impact on your audience via social media. Multiple meme generators have sprung up on the scene, and the best part is that they are completely free and user-friendly. 

All you have to do is select the template, layout, and visuals and type your text. That is the minimalistic requirement for creating a meme. Furthermore, if you do not want to use a meme generator, a simplistic photo or video editor can suffice.

Additionally, most of these platforms have in-built sharing features to facilitate easy sharing on social media platforms. Memes are cost-effective and engaging apart from providing comical relief. When used appropriately, they can effectively deliver essential information about your brand professionally.

The internet meme culture is extremely dynamic, but the essential question is whether it is worthwhile or not?

Like any other marketing gimmick, if you decide to adopt a meme strategy for business promotion, you must tread cautiously. You do not want to overuse memes to come off as completely juvenile. 

At the same time, you also want people to take you seriously enough to consider your proposals. It is important to remember that the purpose of the meme is an essential factor for consideration. 

Professional members and internet folk use it for comic relief. But, as a marketer, you want to use it to create a good first impression, albeit through minor doses of humor.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, you have to acknowledge the fine line of distinction between comedy and marketing. You must always ensure that you are guided by the target audience, product, and impact always. 

The desired effect of memes along the same direction of your objectives is bound to fructify your purpose. The caveat, though, is that everyone does not always appreciate this kind of humor, and therefore you must keep a combination of strategies as an essential backup plan.