“Video memes” and “viral videos” often get rolled into one, but there’s a big difference between the two. A viral video is a single video passed around online and viewed by millions, while a video meme inspires new videos that replicate, remix, spin-off, or imitate the original. To top it all off, every meme is viral by nature, but viral content does not always guarantee memetic qualities. Confusing? A little. But one thing’s for sure: Internet memes offer marketers a new space that other media simply can’t touch.
The magic lies in the intangibleness of it all. Memes can’t be created – they occur naturally when something strikes a social chord on the Internet and is absorbed into the culture. And while it’s semi-possible (yet discouraged) for marketers to essentially force a meme, it is possible (and greatly encouraged) to create an environment more conducive to meme activities.
It’s all about making it easy for your target market to not only share your campaign, but also add to it, mix it around, jazz it up, and essentially (and oddly enough, hopefully) ‘hack’ your ads. While easier said than done, the “Harlem Shake” left many insightful lessons in its dance-crazed wake:
Keep Your Routine Simple
The Harlem Shake was wildly accessible thanks to its lack of rules and absurd simplicity. All it took was a whole lot of ‘not much to pull it off’ and that appealed to the masses. Lesson learned: when you have marketing goals that include “consumer engagement,” make the experience as simple as possible with a low barrier to entry. So whether soliciting participation in social media contests, loyalty programs, voting polls, etc., don’t ask too much of people too soon. You can always dive to deeper levels of engagement down the road, but simply getting people on the dance floor should be your first goal.
Dance to the Beat of Your Own Brand
As tempting as it may be, don’t be so quick to jump on the aspirational video meme bandwagon. If a video won’t help promote who you are or what you do as a company, don’t force it. Instead, think about how you can create original, value laden content to share. As always, it should be about communicating your call-to-action while delivering real value to your consumers and ultimately moving people to the next step of brand engagement.
The Art of a Graceful Exit
Just as quickly as memes rush in, their popularity runs out. That’s to be expected and embraced as part of the process. In fact, to really be a meme a video can’t overstay its welcome. Ironically, nothing kills a meme like massive media involvement. The Harlem Shake, for instance, met its demise after The Today Show ran its own version of the video just 11 days after the phenomenon began. Ad Age deemed it officially “played-out” after PepsiCo’s dancing soft drinks got in on the action.
While there are theories, nobody knows exactly why some memes catch on like they do. But there’s no time to overthink it. In the mysterious land of memes, spontaneity is definitely key.
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