Corporate Company Marketing with Memes and GIFs

In the age of #internet popularity, #memes and #GIFs (Graphic Interchange Format) have infiltrated the way we think. Gone are the days when celebrities and public figures were our main source of #entertainment. Now with #pop #culture, if something is funny enough, the whole world will see it.

We live in an age where a lot of the things we post online have the potential to go viral. This influences the way companies post, with some striving to make their content as “shareable” as possible.

Both memes and GIFs originated off the internet in the late 70s and early 80s. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins coined the term “meme” in his book, ‘The Selfish Gene’ back in 1976. Originally, a meme was meant as an “an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture”, but with the introduction of internet and pop culture, that would soon change.

Memes

Affectionately renamed “memevertising”, memes essentially are what advertising is supposed to be at its core: funny, smart, and aimed towards a specific audience.

Take, for example, this Dawson’s Creek meme that was geared towards the height of the 90s:

There’s a mutual understanding that happens between meme-maker and content-consumer. Memes rely on users to understand their referential material and share its #content.

#Corporate companies can benefit hugely off of “memeing” popular culture. Like #parody, memes serve to make a statement about #culture, popular ideas, or simply make us laugh. They are a great way to access a specific audience and, if done right, keep them.

However, with the increasing #popularity and accessibility of memes, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. Before, #advertisers would struggle to keep their retained #audiences, now #memevertisers find it difficult to penetrate that bubble to get an audience’s attention in the first place.
One of the reasons why memes are so successful is their reference material. Most people feel like they are “in” on a secret joke that is inclusive. You will have #brand evangelists who will spread the word to a like-minded audience and possible potential clients.

GIFs

GIFs, in essence, are animated pictures.

GIFs are another popular way to emphasize subtleties in video that we don’t realize impact us. Popular on #subculture websites like #Tumblr and #Reddit, GIFs tap into an even more niche counterculture that requires real substance from content providers.

#Media outlets like #BuzzFeed are notorious for their use of memes and GIFs in their posts. They realized that our generation is less likely to read paragraphs of text post, and soon started incorporating GIFs. An animated bridge between image and video, GIFs literally “give life” to an otherwise dead text post.

They’re also great “calls to action”. Since they attract our eyes, marketers would benefit from using this platform to get their audience to do something.

Here at Key West Video, we create exceptional, GIF-worthy content. Contact us for a quote today!

Like this post? Comment or Share below!

The post Corporate Company Marketing with Memes and GIFs appeared first on Corporate Video Blog.