Is a Memes Generator Necessary For Business? No.

Chances are you have seen plenty of memes by now, especially if you spend any time on social media. Grumpy Cat rules the Internet in much the same way cats rule their humans’ houses. Most people enjoy memes, and for a good reason. Typical memes, by design, appeal to the 12-year-old in all of us – they are either funny, cute, raunchy…or all of the above. Better still? Memes are free and easily transferred between people online, thus giving them a lot of visibility. Even better? People can create their own memes with a memes generator. Is it any wonder that businesses want to get in on this action? What marketer or business owner would turn down an opportunity to use a technique which is already so popular and inexpensive? One does not have to search very hard to find a website with a memes generator. They are often free and very easy to use. As well, a memes generator allows people to create unlimited numbers of memes. The possibilities are endless…and the results may either be considered works of art - or objects of annoyance.

Why would an organization consider using a memes generator to create their memes in the first place? Perhaps they want to keep up with the current trends. A memes generator may appeal to marketers who want to customize the most popular meme images on the Internet with their own words. But when it comes down to it, do memes really help businesses? Sure, people like memes and share them – a lot. Organizations wanting to increase their online presence may find memes are effective in spreading their names and messages. With a memes generator a business can “say” pretty much anything it wants. On the other hand, this could also backfire. Brands may want to consider the possible negative ramifications of possibly offending their audiences or appearing too trendy. What may seem like a good idea at the time could result in problematic consequences when not completely thought out. Serious businesses rarely succeed by building their foundations on trendy topics; if you want your business to be taken seriously, you need to consider whether your audience and target market would do so before trying out the memes generator.

The lure of viral content…

In a recent post for KISSMetrics, Carter Bowles said the following about the temptations of using memes as a marketing strategy: “It can be frustrating to pour hours of work and hundreds or thousands of dollars into content, only to watch the next Trollface or Nyan Cat pull more traffic.” This may be the case, but keep in mind that viral marketing only goes so far. Within this same post, Bowles describes results from an email analysis performed by Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Two interesting characteristics Berger and his team discovered about highly-shared content: (1) The messages are positive, and (2) The content is useful. Still thinking about trying out that memes generator for your marketing strategy? You may want to keep Berger’s findings in mind instead.

How do B2B organizations really feel about memes and memes generators?

I invited Brooke Ballard, Chief Strategist and Founder of B Squared Media, to provide her thoughts on using Internet memes for business. Ballard’s primary focus is helping B2Bs with social media strategies. She understands content marketing and publishes bi-monthly articles about content creation and curation for Social Solutions Collective.

Ballard suggests the following insights and solutions for using Internet memes and memes generators for business:

Ballard: I’ve been known to spout off both personally and professionally when it comes to memes – especially when B2B brands seem to litter their entire social “strategy” with posting memes.

Yes, they do a good job of garnering engagement. No, that still doesn’t mean you should use this tacky tactic.

Let’s break down the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY when it comes to using memes as a part of your social strategy:

THE GOOD

As mentioned, they can really spark some engagement on your pages, especially shares. And we all know shares are the coveted “end all, be all” for the pesky variable called “weight” in the Facebook EdgeRank algorithm.

THE BAD

Continuing on EdgeRank, your weight rank is actually affected by a large number of shares. In laymen’s terms? It means that the more people share a meme, the less “weight” the post holds. So if you’re last in a long line of shares for a Grumpy Cat meme, your reach will probably suffer.

THE UGLY

The ugly can get REALLY ugly.

1) Your brand won’t be seen as original if all you’re doing is sharing the same tired meme.

[Solution: Create your own!]

2) You could actually end up with a copyright infringement or plagiarism claim if you’re not careful about where you share memes.

[Solution: Check the ToS and copyright rules behind each and every meme you share – do not, I repeat DO NOT just grab pictures off of Google Images.]

3) What’s the goal of sharing the meme? If it’s just to score a laugh, GREAT! If you’re looking for sales and leads (which I bet you are), memes usually aren’t a good source of valuable content. Try instead posting evergreen content that has tons of value.

[Solution: Use memes sparingly as a way to boost engagement – but not as your main strategy!]

 

So there you have it. Still thinking about using memes as part of your social media strategy? Ballard has given us some really good reasons why you may want to pass on using the memes generator, especially if you want your target market to take you seriously.

 

What are your thoughts about using memes for business? Good, bad…or grumpy? Have you used a memes generator yet? Either way, I would be glad to hear your thoughts. Email me at [email protected] or tweet me @jennghanford

 

Sources:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme

B Squared Media: http://www.b2socialmedia.com/#home

Social Solutions Collective: http://socialsolutionscollective.com/

KISSmetrics: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/science-of-virality/

Image courtesy of Gualberto107 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

This article was originally created for Social Media Club and is being re-published with permission. You can read the post as it originally appeared here: http://socialmediaclub.org/blogs/from-the-clubhouse/internet-memes-business-good-bad%E2%80%A6and-grumpy