Pop Culture in Marketing

‘Ole Reliable is back and better than ever!

      Sometimes we find ourselves discouraged when our content isn’t performing as well as it should. It happens to everyone! Here at TJ Creative Agency we know that social media experiences the typical ebbs and flows, but it can still feel frustrating when views and engagement drop below our comfortable threshold.

     So what do we do? EMBRACE IT! We encourage ourselves as often as our clients to stay the course. It is important to stay consistent in your posting, but perhaps your strategy could use a tweak…

What kind of tweak?

We’re so glad you asked!

Enter: The meme.

     We’ve noticed that memes are some of our highest performing pieces of content: They have the highest saves and highest shares, and I’m sure you’ve seen company memes being shared on instagram stories. So why do memes work so well as a marketing tactic?

• They are engaging

  • When most people get online they are looking to escape or at least distract themselves from their busy lives, so they want something entertaining or inspiring. Memes are a great way to entertain the audience.

    • When your audience finds your meme entertaining, you’ll get higher engagement which usually means new eyes on your content.

• They make your brand reliable

  • We talk all the time about building trust with your audience and this is a great way to do it! Memes help to humanize your brand and help it feel a little less robotic and out of reach.

• They can go viral

  • All of this engagement is essentially helping to increase your reach and brand awareness. Like we said, new eyes!

Should I make my own memes? Where do I start?

     Now that we’ve talked about why they are so important here’s how to get started:

1. Make sure you know your brand’s sense of humor

   • Before you start making memes it’s important to know your brand mission and ethics so you can find your brand’s sense of humor. Is it dark? Friendly? Crude? How does your audience perceive your content? Is it lighthearted? Relatable?

2. Look for areas of high engagement and attention and build a home in that applause. By accessing your audience’s feelings and desires, you can cater to them in a way a friend would.

3. Be on the lookout for new memes

   • Like ships passing in the night, memes come and go pretty quick. Just like trending sounds, be on the lookout for what formats are trending.

     • Example: american girl doll trend, she’s a 10 but trend, red flags trend

4. Know. Your. Target. Audience.

   • Sometimes this feels as though it goes without saying, but nothing can be done until you know who you’re doing it for.

   • Who is your audience? What would they find relatable?

   • Before you can make them laugh, you have to meet them. Get comfortable with your audience first and then your engagement can take off! 

Now that’s hot… It’s like chicken soup for the digital soul!