Did you know that at least 60% of those using social media use the platform to find humour? Plus, the average millennial looks at 20-30 memes per day, and using memes can boost reach by ten times more than your organic rate. The numbers speak for themselves. Memes are one of the most shared, relatable and saveable pieces of content on the web. Not only this, they’ve become highly demanded for commercial use, particularly in sport. So, follow these steps to make sure you can use meme marketing to better connect with your audience.
Increase your audiences understanding first
Memes are best maximised if your audience has a strong level of understanding of a sport. For example, if you approach any 12-13 year old and ask them anything about football, you’ll think they can speak for the entire world. However, asking a youngster the same about British basketball may not have as much to say.
There are ways around this. Betting operator, PaddyPower did a remarkable job by uploading an IGTV post that illustrated what horse racing fans would be like if they behaved as football fans. The video is their most-watched IGTV post during March which presents the appetite from sports fans to see different sports colliding through funny content. Plus, it’s likely gained more awareness to horse racing from football fans and vice versa.
Stay culturally sensitive
Social media strategies should always be led by culture to get authentic engagement from your audience. This video was created by an animation producer called Mojahed Fudailat, who regularly uploads parody UFC videos. Mojahed has nailed this meme to merge different pop and entertainment moments captured through his footage. His videos roughly gain 150-200k views; on occasions, this is more than the UFC event highlights uploaded to BT Sport’s YouTube channel. Finding a funny way to spin a sports event will always serve you leverage as a sports brand.
Be bold and brave
To an extent, nobody wants to be a laughing stock. However, being able to take some banter never did anyone any harm… Last April saw North London football club Spurs bring on paint brand Dulux as their Official Paint Supplier.
Minutes after announcing the partnership, Spurs found themselves being trolled by the Dulux Twitter account by an array of boldly hysterical tweets. Some made a mockery of the Spurs defence, their reign without a trophy, and they even dared to say the Dulux dog would do a better job at Centre Back than Spurs’ current backline.
It remains a myth whether this was a planned PR stunt or one that should’ve never happened; however, it made a lot of noise. Dulux’s Google search results doubled on the day of the announcement, and every English football fan became aware of who Spurs’ new paint supplier was.
Back to meme marketing, we’re connected by humour which creates interactions, conversations and discussions. Doing something bold will grasp your audiences attention and provide publicity, allowing you to capitalise on impact through social media.
Another example is from the all-mighty PaddyPower. It was predicted the announcement of the Super League would make the football worlds blood boil, but Paddy’s content team thought they would lighten the mood by this hilarious IGTV post on what they believe went on in the pre-Superleague meeting.
Many football fans would’ve appreciated this post as the Super League announcement was upsetting for the integrity of the Premier League. It goes to show, being bold pays off.
To wrap it up, to get your meme marketing strategy right, make sure your audience has a good level of understanding to interact with your content authentically. Use culturally sensitive moments to entice different demographics and be brave.