Memes have advanced from web jokes into a robust type of cultural foreign money. For manufacturers, memes are now not fringe content material. As a substitute, they’ve advanced into strategic belongings that faucet into social media tradition and sign a model’s consciousness and adaptableness to fulfill their viewers the place they’re.

Tapping into meme tradition isn’t nearly being humorous, although—it’s extra about collaborating in a digital dialogue that feels natural, well timed and quintessentially human. When completed properly, memes change into a shorthand for model id. And this allows entrepreneurs to embed themselves into cultural moments that may speed up their model’s efficiency by way of relatability.

On this article, we deep dive into why memes matter in social media advertising and the way manufacturers can use them to spice up engagement.

How one can use memes on social media

Memes have change into a robust software to interact audiences with humor and cultural relevance. They will increase shareability, humanize a model and drive natural attain throughout social platforms. However how does a model make sure that it’s doing it proper?

We spoke with web tradition researcher Aidan Walker on the subject. Particularly on condition that Walker wrote his thesis on the Distracted Boyfriend meme in 2017 and lectures at establishments like Princeton and the College of Amsterdam on meme historical past and community tradition, and the way they intertwine with social advertising and technique.

In line with Walker, when utilizing memes of their social media technique, manufacturers must keep in mind that memes usually are not actually in regards to the model—they’re in regards to the viewers. And this implies a change in mindset when creating content material primarily based on memes.

“Memes can actually assist a model, however they’re basically not about you,” he says. “They’re invaluable as a result of they join you with an natural neighborhood and its creativity. You must see it not as “messaging” however relatively as an invite to play,” he explains.

With this audience-centric method because the north star, listed here are some examples that present you the way to use memes on social media.

Picture memes

These are traditional memes. They’ve daring texts in a picture and will be on quite a lot of subjects. They’re some of the generally used memes, owing to their versatility, which makes them relevant to any business or state of affairs. Right here’s a Distracted Boyfriend meme in regards to the rivalry between competing firms, Nikon and Canon.

Video or GIF memes

These memes are created with brief clips with overlaid captions or reactions. They’re very fashionable on TikTok and Instagram. Right here’s one in all ours selling the Sprout Social Influencer Advertising platform.

 

Relatable screenshots

These may very well be X posts, texts or remark threads that you should use in your social posts whereas being loyal to your model voice and viewers. As the instance beneath exhibits, RyanAir does it properly.

Response memes

These are memes that specific feelings or responses and want cleverly crafted textual content to be humorous and relatable. Right here’s an instance of a meme we posted that any worker can relate to.

Expectations vs. actuality memes

These memes are a humorous distinction that may tie right into a model’s product messaging. For instance, this meme speaks to all organizations attempting to maintain up with information safety compliance.

Branded memes

These are customized memes made in a model’s tone, usually utilizing any format that’s trending. These are sometimes utilized by content material creators.

 

Humorous social media memes driving conversations

Humorous social media memes spark conversations by turning on a regular basis moments into relatable humor that compels individuals to share them with others. Their fast wit and cultural relevance make them nice for engagement and model visibility, and a enjoyable solution to share invaluable model data.

As Walker places it, “Social media memes are a dialog with the web, not a monologue. When completed accurately, it each means that you can attain your audiences and could be a invaluable supply of information about what they need, who they’re and how one can assist them.”

One model doing nice work on its social media advertising meme technique is NutterButter. “Nutter Butter’s latest marketing campaign was good, partially as a result of it was so participatory: it created a thriller and integrated many user-generated jokes,” he notes.

And he’s not mistaken. Their posts have change into so broadly widespread, they recurrently drive greater than half 1,000,000 engagements and have gotten Bitter Patch Youngsters to cease by.

Bitter Patch Youngsters

There’s a toddler in all of us. And no different model brings out the child in an grownup like Bitter Patch Youngsters has completed with its social media meme technique. Its newest put up, proven beneath, drove 3.5 million views and hosted conversations the place adults felt compelled to remark, pushed by a way of real, shared connection to the model.

Steak-umm

Processed meats firm, Steak-Umm is “the OG in relation to utilizing social media memes in its model technique”, Walker mentioned. One solely has to crawl by way of their X account to see the enjoyable the corporate has with its account and the excessive engagement it invitations from audiences.

Steak-Umm has discovered the key to utilizing memes even when not utilizing them in posts instantly. For instance, within the put up beneath, the model encourages creating communities past social media and asks followers to print a meme and share a Steak-umm product with their neighbors.

Nuuly

Nuuly does an excellent job of incorporating social media memes into its model technique, combined with a mix of lovable self-deprecating humor and social media tradition. It’s put up, proven in Sprout’s Social Second of the Week beneath, gained greater than 10 million views, reflecting how a lot it resonated not solely with its viewers but additionally with the social media advertising neighborhood.

Wendy’s

Wendy’s has all the time been nice at driving social media engagement. Right here’s a social put up from Wendy’s Watch Recent Filter marketing campaign selling its Chrome extension to freeze movies.

How Sprout makes use of social media supervisor memes for connection

B2B doesn’t should be boring. And positively not, while you’re speaking to a neighborhood of social media professionals, creators and entrepreneurs.

Social media intelligence supervisor at Sprout, Olivia Jepson, says, “Utilizing memes in your B2B social technique isn’t about trendjacking. To be efficient, you could know your viewers on a deeper degree. It is advisable to perceive their aspirations, frustrations and pursuits. It additionally means being in tune with the web tradition and popular culture that they care about. When you’ll be able to align your content material with their world, your memes gained’t simply seize their consideration, they’ll drive connection.”

To this impact, Sprout’s social workforce usually makes use of memes that faucet into the day-to-day realities of social media managers and social groups whereas remaining true to Sprout’s model voice. The hot button is relatability, business in-jokes and validation. Listed below are a number of examples of subjects our social workforce faucets into with memes.

Social media ROI

Social ROI is a sizzling matter for all social entrepreneurs, particularly with the rising stress to justify budgets, headcount and technique. So when Sprout launched its 2025 Whole Financial Impression™ of Sprout Social research and we wished to advertise a webinar devoted to the important thing factors, our social workforce got here up with a social media advertising meme that instantly resonated with our viewers.

Rising social search

Reddit has emerged as a platform that serves as a cultural pulse level and different to conventional engines like google saturated with promotional content material. We wished to attract consideration to how, for manufacturers, Reddit traits are a window into uncooked shopper sentiment and evolving cultural conversations. What higher means to make use of a cat meme than this?

Social buyer care

It’s no secret that social buyer care groups in all places may do with some assist. So after we wished to speak about Social Buyer Care by Sprout Social, we wished to drive house the purpose that our platform was meant to assist groups work smarter, not tougher. With a centralized social inbox that removes the necessity to swap between social accounts, and a extra streamlined solution to monitor and reply to buyer inquiries, plus analytics, social buyer care simply obtained means cooler.

How memes can enhance social media engagement

Memes will be humorous, cool or nonchalant. The frequent theme, although, is that essentially the most impactful social media memes hinge on insider information or community-specific jokes. As an example, when you’re not working in social media, a meme just like the one beneath, won’t land the identical means.

That’s why memes are such a improbable software for social media entrepreneurs. With the appropriate format and punchline, you’ll be able to generate extra model consciousness about your services or products and increase natural social engagement together with your viewers.

Listed below are some tips about how to make sure your memes enhance your social media engagement.

Join emotionally together with your viewers

When memes mirror lived experiences or inside jokes, they resonate extra deeply and invite engagement. That’s why understanding your viewers’s tone, references and humorousness helps you create extra genuine content material.

In line with Walker, “For those who see what you’re doing as “advertising” you’re viewing it too narrowly. Your posting itself is a product, and it’ll have an effect on how individuals really feel and assume—so assist them really feel good and assume fascinating, helpful ideas.”

Figuring out your viewers’s demographics, shopping for habits and social media utilization is all good. Nonetheless, it’s equally necessary to know their subcultures, language and commonalities to make your content material relatable.

Keep true to your model

Shakepear’s well-known line in Hamlet, “To thine personal self be true”, very a lot applies to manufacturers as properly—particularly in a digital world the place your model voice can get muffled in social media noise. Regardless of the compulsion to hitch each social development and the concern of lacking out, remind your self to stay true to your model voice and character. In line with information from The 2025 Sprout Social Index ™, 33% of shoppers discover it embarrassing when a model jumps on each social development. So, decide memes that really resonate together with your model and your viewers, and be taught from how your viewers reacts.

Encourage sharing

Use memes that invite tagging, resharing or feedback to extend engagement and attain organically. Walker explains why.

“The web will not be one other content material channel or line-item for an advert purchase, the best way radio, TV, or print is perhaps. That’s as a result of on-line audiences usually are not actually “audiences” in the identical sense: they’re members and producers. Manufacturers that see social media primarily as an opportunity to reveal individuals to their product by making a very good, humorous or fantastic piece of content material are doing it mistaken. It’s about inviting others to play with you and make content material with you,” he says.

Goal area of interest communities

Intention for a smaller, stronger viewers. Like area of interest advertising, area of interest meme codecs allow you to attach with particular subcultures or curiosity teams in a significant means. When a model faucets into a distinct segment neighborhood’s distinctive humor or shared experiences, it exhibits they honestly perceive their viewers. This relevance fosters deeper engagement and encourages sharing inside these tight-knit circles.

Evolve your social media hiring

This one’s an outlier. However it’s necessary recommendation for manufacturers. It is advisable to evolve your social media workforce hiring technique to for optimum influence.

Between maintaining with algorithm adjustments in social networks and the subsequent rising social development, social media professionals have demanding roles. Fortunately, in response to The 2025 Sprout Social Index™, almost 86% of selling leaders plan to rent for at the least two new social roles this 12 months. For those who’re a kind of planning new hires, be conscious that they’re not going to be a jack of all trades.

“If I had been a model, I’d give attention to recruiting individuals with nice style to run my socials, inviting in one of the best meme-makers, communities and artists on-line, and letting them lead. Now could be the time to be bold,” Walker advises.

In brief, rent artistic individuals who love all issues social media, and make sure you’re offering them with one of the best social media administration instruments to work with.

How one can incorporate memes into your social media technique

In a crowded feed, memes supply a shortcut to consideration and connection, and a humorous respite. Nonetheless, as each social media marketer is aware of, there’s a whole lot of critical work that goes into not simply ideating and creating the meme, but additionally getting it authorized and revealed.

Listed below are some methods to streamline the method.

Step 1: Select a visible editor

Some trending social media meme codecs would require some mild graphic design efforts. For instance, this meme from SparkNotes doesn’t imply a lot and not using a few textual content additions. Equally, you should use different free picture meme turbines to create memes from any picture or graphic.

If you wish to bounce on a well timed social media second, having a most popular graphic design software on the prepared can streamline your creation course of. You don’t want something fancy—a software that helps on-brand fonts, colours and social media picture sizes will do exactly superb.

Listed below are some choices to contemplate:

• Instagram Tales editor: If a lo-fi method is aligned together with your model, then this can be a nice choice. Add the picture into your Story, choose the “add textual content” icon and write your textual content. Modify or place the textual content the place you need it to be, and also you’re completed. Your meme is able to share in your model account’s Instagram Story.
• Canva: For a bit extra refined method, you’ll be able to attempt instruments like Canva. Use the Canva software to create extra complicated memes in addition to meme templates that work on all of your most popular social media channels.

• Adobe Photoshop: In case your model voice requires a extra refined design, Adobe photoshop will be your alternative. Use any picture you prefer to create your memes. Nonetheless, guarantee they’re all meme-centered social posts are in keeping with one another.

Professional tip: Social media memes don’t should be excellent and polished. Maintain it scrappy and give attention to the content material of the visible.

Step 2: Simplify your approval course of

Who in your workforce must be notified earlier than you put up a social media meme? Relying in your social media governance coverage, it is perhaps fairly a number of.

To simplify the method, define who must be looped in on well timed posts, what their function is within the approval course of and the way shortly you anticipate their suggestions. Dealing with this forward of time can forestall approval purgatory from making you miss a well timed meme alternative.

Professional tip: For those who’re utilizing Sprout, ditch the prolonged electronic mail backwards and forwards and use the Message Approval Workflow as a substitute.

Sprout’s Message Approval Workflows provide help to collaborate successfully by creating multiple-step and multiple-user workflows. This makes submitting, reviewing and approving or rejecting outgoing messages straightforward. Plus, it ensures your content material is devoid of grammatical errors or off-brand messaging.

All it’s a must to do is submit your outgoing put up to the suitable approvers in Compose. Sprout will robotically ship a notification letting message approvers know {that a} put up wants their consideration. From there, they’ll approve or reject the message. They will additionally request adjustments utilizing Inside Feedback.

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Step 3: Use social listening

You’re scrolling by way of Instagram and all of the sudden it’s occurring. A brand new meme format is gaining traction on area of interest accounts. You recognize it’s going to be in all places by the top of the day. That’s when it’s time to ask the large query: To put up or to not put up?

When dealing with this conundrum, fast analysis utilizing social listening can do wonders. Social listening might help you see which memes are trending inside your target market and related communities. By analyzing real-time conversations and their sentiment, you’ll be able to determine memes and meme codecs that resonate—and use them to not solely be a part of the dialogue authentically but additionally create memes in your model technique.

Step 4: Overview your outcomes

As you experiment with new codecs and punchlines, be aware of which messages drive essentially the most engagement. It will provide help to fine-tune your trendspotting expertise over time. Finally, you’ll have the ability to spot an audience-approved meme format earlier than it has its personal Know Your Meme web page.

If you wish to take the guide effort out of your meme efficiency evaluation, use Sprout Social to create an Outbound Message Tag for posts that point out well timed traits and memes. Over time, you’ll have the ability to seize insights on which codecs, channels and themes work greatest together with your viewers.

Don’t be discouraged when you don’t instantly see the sort of engagement you had been anticipating. Mastering memes is an artwork so don’t be afraid to experiment. As Walker places it. “See your self as a patron of the humanities: you’re the Michelangelos and Donatellos of meme-making.”

By observing what works and what doesn’t, over time, you’ll quickly discover the candy spot.

Strengthen your social media meme technique

Hear carefully to your viewers and keep true to your model voice, and you’ll flip social media memes right into a dynamic software in your model’s cultural relevance and tangible social media efficiency. That is extra related immediately because the social panorama is being upended with new platforms rising seemingly every single day.

Discover the rising social media panorama, see how different manufacturers chart new paths and take your social technique to the subsequent degree.