Meme Marketing
According to Google, memes are images, videos, pieces of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that are copied and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations.
We all have seen memes and we all like them. Most of us share memes daily. On Instagram and other social media apps, every few days we saw memes related to a new web series or a movie. There are not only a few memes related to the show, but the whole of social media is flooded with the memes of that particular show. But why and how does that exactly happen?
It can’t be just that all the meme makers of the world suddenly realize that they should be making their next content on a Mirzapur or Squid Games.
It is easier to understand that a small video clip or an image becomes viral in just a few hours but how come a whole web series containing several episodes gain popularity in the meme world? Or is it just that this is done on purpose?
It definitely seems that the flooding of memes related to a specific show is done on purpose, I believe the spark is lighted purposefully and then it spreads on its own.
As memes are, without a doubt, the fastest traveling content pieces in today’s world. They are funny, entertaining, easy to consume and so effective that people share them and laugh at them. They can easily influence a person. And hence they can be the most powerful weapon for promotion if used cleverly enough.
What if, there is a new show containing several episodes and the makers of the show have already translated the show in many languages of the world, then how can they promote the same in other countries? It is easy to promote and share the show in the native country but for a different region, you have to cater the marketing as per the local popularity.
All this must require a lot of brainstorming, hiring consultants, and analyst people who will provide you with the best marketing strategy to target a particular set of audiences. The process seems long and definitely high on the cost spectrum.
So, instead of following this old approach, what if the makers/people in charge of the marketing just hire some meme-makers and ask them to make memes on the show and share them as much as possible. The meme makers start making the memes and start sharing them on social media on say some of the popular pages with a decent amount of audience reach and within no time the memes are everywhere. More and more memers start to make and share memes on the show and as more memes are made, more are shared, the more are shared, the more becomes the popularity of the show. Just to make sure that one doesn’t miss out on other memes of the show, people start watching the series, and bang it’s a bull’s eye.
The most beneficial thing for the producers is that the consumers also act as the promoters and marketers and that too without charging a single penny for all the promotion they are doing. Memes can act as free catalysts and make the process of getting a show/movie viral exponentially fast. The best example that I can think of is how Squid Games was made popular.
For a quick statistic, about 85% of the content shared on social media today comprises memes. Meme-marketing makes people laugh, but with a reference to the brand/show/product, which makes meme-marketing a very important method to connect with the audience.
So, if you want to promote your brand or just promote your firm, meme marketing is something you can consider especially when some of the world’s biggest companies like Netflix and Gucci are using meme marketing.
