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Imagine this…

You’re warming up last night’s lo mein leftovers in the microwave and grab your phone to make the two minutes pass quicker.

You open Instagram and start mindlessly scrolling.

You see influencers sharing photos of their blacked-out Maseratis…

Your aunt and uncle posting their Grand Rapids vacation pictures…

And social media gurus promising to help you go viral with $27 templates.

“Ugh,” you think as you keep scrolling.

But then an Instagram reel makes your scroll stop cold.

“Do you know how much money people make to post memes?”

In 2016, the meme account @fuckjerry charged $30,000 PER SPONSORED POST on Instagram. What did they post? MEMES!” the host of the video says enthusiastically.

Your eyes narrow as you take in this information.

You think back to the latte art pictures you proudly posted in 2016—as one did—and cringe.

“I could have been posting memes for $30,000 a pop?!” you think.

How did memes turn into major money-makers?

In today’s edition of Why We Buy 🧠 we’ll explore Memes—why we click *and* spend more when we see brands using them.

Let’s get into it.
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🧠 The Psychology of Memes

That cat meme you saved last week is based on science.

In 1976, around the time Steve Jobs released the first Apple computer, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins coined the term “meme.”

It describes the unit of cultural transmission, such as an idea or belief, passed from one generation to another.

Memes can be images like Grumpy Cat (RIP). But they can also be songs like “Happy Birthday” or phrases that should’ve been left in the ‘90s, like “Whasssssssssssup?”

With the rise of social media, memes have spread like wildfire. And for brands that hop on the bandwagon, memes aren’t *just* for laughs anymore.

Heinz used memes to address the age-old debate about tomatoes being a fruit or a vegetable.

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The result? Heinz generated 4,000,000+ impressions and 80,000 engagements across Instagram and Facebook. 🤯

Customers are more likely to share memes than regular ads because it feels like they’re sharing a relatable experience—*not* promoting a faceless brand or product.

Smart marketers know people hate being sold to. But they also know we love being WOW-ed, educated, delighted, or entertained.

Memes accomplish all of that. But most importantly, they distinctly show your customers you relate to them.

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🤑 How to Apply This

Alright, so how can you apply this right now to sell more?

Social media marketing​
​Gently poke some fun at your buyers’ pain

You can’t just post the top trending memes on your brand’s social media accounts and expect sales to roll in.

Use memes strategically to humorously highlight the pains your ideal customers are already experiencing.

Like Hootsuite did to show you shouldn’t be constrained to boring, rigid tactics in your social media marketing (not fun). You should experiment and embrace creativity with it instead (fun!).

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Not only does this grab customers’ attention, but it also makes them curious about your solution and increases the likelihood they’ll buy it.​

Subscriptions​
​Leverage special events and holidays

Nothing says “Happy Holidays,” like a serial killer meme, right? It does for Netflix. (This is why it pays to know your audience.)

Netflix knows their audience VERY well and used their wildly popular show You to spread a little holiday cheer—and get a boost in engagement.

When content is relevant (like articles about the best Super Bowl party foods in early February), it gets more clicks.

So tap into upcoming events and/or holidays to take your meme marketing to the next level and grab more eyeballs.

After all, there’s a reason that carousel got almost half a million likes.
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Content creation​
​Use memes to deliver valuable education

Memes can go deeper than *just* bringing in the laughs.

They can pack a 1-2 punch by delivering valuable education, too. Like I did in this LinkedIn post:

Sometimes buyers don’t want what they need. (The biggest catch-22 in marketing? Maybe.)

That’s why you’ve gotta get creative and sell people what they want while *also* delivering what they need.

Presenting education in a relatable way makes it easier to understand and remember. You’re not gonna remember the 83-word LinkedIn post. But you *are* gonna remember its Trojan Horse meme.

Psst… Wanna know what your customers *really* want and fix your messaging so people buy your product like hotcakes? We’re working on something you’ll want (and need). 😉 Coming Fall ‘24. Stay tuned.
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💥 The Short of It

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Using memes strategically is an excellent way to grab laughs, clicks, *and* dollars.

Memes make buyers feel like you understand them and see the world through the same lenses they do, which makes them like you more.

Just be careful—buyers can see right through awkward meme usage. (Like that one person we all know that tries waaay too hard to get a laugh, and it’s just…not it.)

Until next time, happy selling!