How to Go Viral with Meme Marketing — and Why It’s So Easy [Thoughts After Dark]

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Thoughts After Dark answers the questions you have in the final moments before drifting off to sleep when a simple Google search turns into an hour-long exploration into how things are made and how they work. Your random late-night questions are answered here — even the ones you didn’t know you had.

When I was accepted to graduate school in 2018, I excitedly texted a group of friends the internet meme often referred to as “dog on fire” or “This Is Fine.” It’s a two-panel image, with the dog first depicted peacefully sitting with a mug of coffee in front of him despite being surrounded by flames. The second panel zooms into his face, where a widemouthed smile has appeared along with the words, “This is fine.” The joke is that the dog, surrounded by ferocious fire and smoke, is certainly not fine but convinces himself he is anyway. 

This may seem like a weird choice of image for such a happy moment — and technically doesn’t fit with the meme’s point of “conveying a sense of self-denial or acceptance in the face of a hopeless situation” — but it accurately depicted what was going on inside my head: chaos. I needed to tour apartments in a city I’d never been to; prepare to battle imposter syndrome in graduate school; find a new serving gig in Chicago; prepare to teach my first English class; and, perhaps the scariest part, leave the state I had lived in my entire life. Needless to say, I was feeling just fine (wink, wink).  

The best part about memes is that I didn’t have to explain the image to my friends, who immediately texted back with, You’ll do great! and Don’t stress about it! and What can I do to help?  

This is because memes are relatable and often used to depict a universal feeling or dilemma and take on current trends. But memes aren’t just shared on the internet among friends or for virality; companies also use memes for marketing campaigns. This is referred to as meme marketing, a form of viral marketing. 

Today, memes are part of the tenor of everyday life, and industrial businesses can adapt their marketing to boost online engagement and win sales. But how does one become a master of memes? I reached out to Joel Schadegg, Xometry’s “Chief Meme Officer” to find out.

Memes Predate the Internet 

While memes may feel synonymous with the internet, the word “meme” was coined in 1976 by biologist Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene. The term captures the concept of transmitting ideas “from brain to brain.” The literal translation of “meme” is “same” in French. 

The definition of the word has changed over time, with some claiming memes must include a video, image, or piece of text spread across the internet in a viral fashion. When it comes to meme marketing, this is a sound definition. But the word “meme” doesn’t just predate the internet, it extends beyond it. 

A more general definition has appeared in the New York Times Crossword as: “Something that gets passed around a lot.” By this definition, folklore, widespread rumors, and even games, like pattycake, fall under the meme category.  

Memes have also been defined as: 

• “An idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.” (Merriam-Webster)
• “An idea that rips through the public consciousness.” (D. Andrew Price, the head of content at Memes.com)
• “A cultural feature or a type of behavior that is passed from one generation to another.” (Cambridge Dictionary) 
• “A piece of media that is repurposed to deliver a cultural, social, or political expression, mainly through humor.” (Saint Hoax, meme creator with over 3 million Instagram followers)

Some of the earliest internet memes include “All Your Base Are Belong to Us” from 1998 and  “FAIL” or “EPIC FAIL” from the same year. 

While these images aren’t popular today, that’s common for memes. They go in and out of popularity as trends, ideas, and even jokes, change. Perhaps the most interesting thing about memes is their timeliness and shareability. When you relate to a meme, it’s almost like you’re in on an inside joke with the rest of the people resharing the image, whether it be on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. 

Understanding meme marketing is a good place to start for businesses that want to take advantage of memes' virality.

What Is Meme Marketing? 

For businesses to stay competitive, it has become increasingly important to engage with social media. Today, this is where new services and products are announced, upcoming events are promoted, and career opportunities are shared.  

But just because something is shared on a social channel doesn’t mean it will be seen, let alone shared. For companies to boost brand recognition, some invent a humorous online persona. For example, language lesson company Duolingo is the poster child (or, more accurately, bird) for funny online content. The company’s Twitter and TikTok accounts constantly engage with current trends and respond to users with quippy responses when appropriate. 

While not every company is as big as Duolingo or has a dedicated social media team, a simple way for marketing teams to have fun with a current trend with limited resources and time is through meme marketing. 

Defined as using memes “to power your content strategy and tell a narrative,” meme marketing promotes a product or service and increases a post's sharability. When anything “big” happens in the world, memes are immediately created and shared across the internet — this means there are endless opportunities for businesses to take advantage of. 

How to Use Meme Marketing to Your Advantage

People often take to social media to get a good laugh or engage with content they like. Even if someone is mainly on social media for entertainment purposes, if they see a new product or service promoted through a meme, they are more likely to bite or, at the very least, reshare the post. With 74% of people sharing memes to make people laugh, marketing teams can get ahead of the joke.

Memes are disruptive because they’re different. They may be a break from a company’s standard online persona or a way to engage with loyal customers. For a meme to work, understanding current trends is important. But what’s even more important is understanding your customers. Businesses know their target audience better than anyone else, which means they know what inside jokes will work. 

For example, if your company manufacturers self-cleaning litter boxes, you may share the popular meme known as “Pepe Silvia,” which is a shot captured from an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, with a caption like, “What it’s like explaining to people that they no longer have to clean their cat’s litter box every day because the robo-box does it for them.”

Beyond getting a good laugh from people on the internet, the meme is likely to reach cat owners interested in the convenience of a self-cleaning litter box. And, just like that, you may make a few extra sales without spending a pretty penny on advertising. 

Memes can also simply be shared for a good laugh and to engage social media followers. There may not be a deeper message or promotion behind the content, rather, it may foster a sense of community among like-minded thinkers or get people talking about your posts. 

When creating a meme for your business, here are a few other things to consider: 

• Make it recognizable: Familiarity makes a meme more likely to be shared. Memes work best when they’re engaging with current trends and offer new and unique takes on existing memes. 
• Avoid being overly promotional: Nobody is likely to share your meme if it’s an ad in disguise. It’s fine to promote a new product or service, but don’t go overboard with promotional language. If you need to brand a meme, adding a watermark works. 
• Don’t be offensive: Even if a viral meme has worked for other companies, it doesn’t mean it’s worth sharing if it could cause backlash or take away from your company voice and goals.    

A Digital Manufacturing Marketplace Enters the Meme Game

I’ve always been interested in memes because they rely heavily on imagery to get the point across. Grabbing someone’s attention through memes isn’t always easy, but it is certainly fun, according to Joel Schadegg, a technical engineer content writer for Xometry, a digital manufacturing marketplace powered by artificial intelligence (AI). 

Recently, I chatted with Schadegg about his secondary title of Chief Meme Officer and what he hopes to get out of creating memes for Xometry’s social channels. 

Brooklyn Kiosow (BK): What does being Chief Meme Officer entail, and how did you earn that title? 

Joel Schadegg (JS): Being the "Chief of Memes" or "Chief Meme Officer" is more of an adopted title that my colleagues came up with. It started when the team I was working on would share self-made work-related memes with each other at the end of each week. It was just to destress and poke fun at the latest happenings. 

While others contributed, eventually, I was the main person producing memes. I was known for being able to come up with them on the spot and often would be asked to "meme-ify" things. 

What first started as a simple internal activity for some fun turned into something we could use to connect with our audiences. One of my colleagues jokingly referred to me as our Chief Meme Officer and it stuck; thus, my pseudo-title was born.

BK: What’s your favorite part about being the Chief of Memes? 

JS: My favorite part is having fun with it and figuring out the best format to convey a message. 

Making a good meme isn't as simple as putting some top and bottom text on a picture. Being in touch with meme culture itself is a big component. It's fun taking a concept and sharing it in a way that conveys your message while also remaining culturally in touch and able to be enjoyed by people of different backgrounds.

BK: Do you have a goal for the memes you create for Xometry’s social channels? 

JS: Stonks… kidding! My main goal is to encourage humor and make content others enjoy. Ideally, if others like them enough, they will share them around to spread the humor. At the end of the day, though, as long as I get a couple of chuckles from it, I consider it a win.

Master Your Own Memes

Memes are their own language, and everyone likes to be in on the joke. Whether you’re using memes to promote your company or engage your followers, have fun with it. That’s what memes would want. 

Perhaps your company or company’s product will even become a meme, like NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope did after sharing images of space, with this masterfully crafted meme by Twitter user @JillKrajewski.  

More from Thoughts After Dark: 

• 5 Billion Views and Counting: Why Are Factory TikToks Trending?
• Being Authentic Online Can Really Pay Off — Here’s How
• Are Social Media Algorithms Beatable? Sort Of, Here’s How
• How Social Media Algorithms Work

Image Credit: 13_Phunkod / Shutterstock.com