5 Tips for Using Memes in Your Marketing

Memes—you’ve laughed at them, you’ve shared them and now you can use them in your company’s marketing efforts. When used correctly, memes are an excellent way to connect with customers through humor and make your company more authentic and relatable. We share five tips on using meme marketing effectively. To see it in action, check out these examples of companies using meme marketing in effective and fun ways from HubSpot. 

1. Stick to your brand. If a meme’s message doesn’t line up with your brand or other marketing or advertising messages you would share, don’t use it. Any off-brand marketing messages detract from what you’re trying to share with your audience and can cause confusion about your mission and purpose. 
2. Stay polite. Don’t risk jeopardizing your image and message by trying to be too funny with an inappropriate meme. Consider if that meme singles out a certain group, community or culture in a negative way or includes insensitive phrasing or words. Be sure it is age appropriate for your audience and doesn’t contain offensive or suggestive images or language. 
3. Keep it simple. Use short phrases and clean copy that is large and easy to read. If you make edits, be sure that the meaning of the meme doesn’t change. Memes are meant to entertain, so keep any calls-to-action out of them. 
4. Share at the right time. Create and share memes when they are trending. Sharing a meme after it has hit its peak can make your company look behind the times. There is value in resurrecting older memes and using them in a new way, but generally a year or more after they first circulate the internet. 
5. Create your own meme library. As you see memes on your social pages, save them to use for the future. You can also create your own from scratch with meme generators like Imgur.