Meme Marketing Platform
When we wrote about our vision, mission and way forward, we said we wanted to become a Meme Marketing Platform. But no such thing exists today and the opportunity responsibility of creating such a category falls upon us.In this post, I will outline the need for a meme marketing platform and how we see ourselves becoming one.
Meme marketing has gained popularity…
Meme marketing has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its ability to captivate audiences and drive engagement. Memes are often humorous or relatable which gives them an edge over traditional marketing tactics. Memes can be used to tap into popular culture, start conversations, and create a shared experience between brands and their target audience.
…but meme creation is still painful
But creating a meme today is a multi step and a multi tool process.
Starting with finding the right template to editing it to collaborating on it and publishing it is honestly a pain. Why? Because none of them approach memes from a marketing angle, so no one's really solved for this.
A meme creator's workflow
Create
In the creation stage, a meme creator is sourcing meme templates from various places like Twitter or Reddit. Sometimes, they create their own templates by directly taking a meme-able screenshot from the source material. Once a template is sourced, the meme creator then attempts to write an appropriate caption to create a meme based on whatever story they want to communicate.Today, this process is entirely manual. While there are tools like ImgFlip which lets you discover meme templates, you're most likely stuck with popular or trending templates. Unless you know exactly which template you're looking for, they're not very helpful.
Edit
Once the meme is created, it's most likely not directly usable. A meme creator spends time (mostly on tools like Canva or Kapwing) to appropriate the meme to their target destination (Twitter, Instagram, Presentation). While the editing work itself is straightforward, it's not enjoyable work as no one enjoys picking the right font or color and resizing the image to fit the target aspect ration
Collaboration
Now, this step might might sound like a misfit but I'll tell you why this is important. If you're creating a meme to promote a business, then you cannot just create and publish. It needs to go through at least one level of approval before the meme gets published.
Today, this happens offline over Slack or comments on Google Docs. If there are edits, the meme creator then repeats the entire workflow to recreate the meme from scratch.
Distribution
Once the final meme is ready for approval, the meme creator then distributes it on various platforms. While social media is a core use case for meme marketing, there are other underrated use cases like paid ad campaigns, blog post creatives, presentations and outbound emails.
A meme creator usually exports the meme and manually plugs it into their marketing workflow, like any other image.
What is a meme marketing platform?
The boring definition would go something like this -
- A meme marketing platform is an all in one tool where meme creators can create, edit, collaborate on and distribute memes
In a nutshell, a meme marketing platform exists to ensure that a meme creator does not need to use any other tool for their purpose.
It helps because a meme creator does not have to jump between multiple tools to execute their workflow. A meme marketing platform will give them everything they need right within a single tool
A Meme Marketing Platform leverages the universal appeal and viral nature of memes to boost brand awareness and reach. These platforms offer unique opportunities for various groups and individuals to effectively engage with their audience through relatable and entertaining content. Here's how different sets of people can utilize a meme marketing platform
Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
- Localized and Relatable Content Entrepreneurs can use meme marketing to create content that resonates with their local community or specific customer base.
- Cost-Effective Engagement Memes are a cost-effective way for small businesses to engage with customers, especially on social media.
Digital Marketers
- Viral Campaigns Marketers can harness the viral potential of memes to amplify their campaigns, reaching a broader audience quickly.
- Brand Personality Memes allow marketers to showcase a brand's personality, making it more approachable and relatable to the target audience.
Social Media Influencers and Content Creators
- Audience Engagement Influencers can use memes to maintain high engagement levels with their followers, keeping their content fresh and relevant.
- Collaborative Promotions By collaborating with brands on meme content, influencers can offer a more organic and entertaining form of promotion.
Large Corporations
- Brand Humanization Large corporations can use memes to humanize their brand, breaking down the corporate image and connecting with customers on a personal level.
- Internal Communications Memes can be used internally to boost employee engagement and create a more relaxed and communicative company culture.
Non-Profit Organizations
- Awareness Campaigns Non-profits can use memes to spread awareness about their causes in a way that's easy to understand and share.
- Community Building Memes help in building a community of supporters by engaging them with content that resonates on a personal and emotional level.
Educational Institutions
- Student Engagement Schools and universities can use meme marketing to engage with students in a language they understand and appreciate.
- Alumni Relations Memes can be a fun way to stay connected with alumni, keeping them involved in the institution's community and events.
Event Organizers
- Event Promotion Memes can be used to create buzz around events, making promotional content more shareable and appealing.
- Audience Interaction During events, memes can facilitate audience interaction and enhance the overall experience.
Creative Agencies
- Innovative Client Solutions Agencies can offer meme marketing as a part of their creative solutions, providing clients with trendy and engaging content strategies.
- Portfolio Diversification Incorporating meme marketing into their portfolio allows agencies to showcase their versatility and understanding of current digital trends.
Retailers and E-commerce Platforms
- Product Promotion Retailers can use memes to promote products in a humorous and less sales-driven manner.
- Customer Engagement Memes are a great way to keep customers engaged with the brand, encouraging repeat visits and loyalty.