The Meme-ing of Life

Since the dawn of man we have asked the same existential questions: Why are we here? What is out purpose? What is the meaning of life? Over generations we have sought to explain or answer these questions in hundreds of ways. From religion to science, philosophy and fiction, these thoughts have become apparent in every facet of life. A driving force within the marketing world, these ponderings are used to attract or reject ideas that help to sell products and services. From beer commercials to jewelry adverts, brands often supply “answers” to these questions that point directly to their products or services. On social media however we have seen another trend – memes.

Taking a funny expression or action, adding a caption that represents an everyday struggle or thought, memes have taken over the internet. Once thought to be irrelevant, another fad of the online world, they are now being used in university courses and marketing seminars to better explain the ins and outs of social media, and it’s users thought patterns. You could say they attempt to answer the question: “What is the meme-ing of life?”.

Something of a marketing phenomenon, memes started on image and blog sites like Reddit, 4chan and 9gag. Taking well known people or relevant facial expressions, memes have be known to make a situation or information relatable to the viewers. Using pop culture references like these allow any user to feel like they understand the “inside joke”. Whether Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, chances are if you spend an hour online you will run into a meme.

What started out as a way for users to communicate a common experience, memes have now become a common sight in online brand marketing. Using the relatable element, allowing brands to maintain their on-trend appearance, businesses often use the meme style of images to market content or holiday specials to a younger audience. Representing everything from humour to daily frustration, sadness, excitement and a contradictory society, memes have become the common denominator in online communication. A versatile way of getting a point across, just don’t get the meanings confused. Committing a meme faux pa can be detrimental to a brand, demonstrating a lack of understanding of this younger generation it shows the brand as “trying to be relevant” rather than actually being relevant. A good meme is like a fine whiskey, smooth in smell, taste and texture, a subtle burn but an over-all enjoyable, smoky flavor. A good meme doesn’t need to try, or force a reaction, a good meme is attention grabbing because it makes sense without any effort. Everyday thoughts for the everyday individual.

The meme-ing of life is simple, do what comes naturally, because trying too hard can have adverse effects within the online world. However, if you find yourself lost in the haze of imagery and social interaction, call a professional digital marketing company like Click Me.