Memes in Marketing: Exploring how internet memes can be integrated into social media marketing activities in a manner that is accepted by online communities

Abstract

Purpose: Internet memes have become a central element in community socialisation and social media culture. In response to this, brands are creating more entertaining content that appeals to their audience, using internet memes and humour to craft a relatable and engaging brand personality. While existing research has acknowledged that the usage of internet memes by brands increases brand engagement, the literature also suggests that it is difficult for brands to integrate with online communities due to issues of authenticity and shifting power dynamics. This research aims to understand if and how internet memes can be acceptably adopted by brands. Methodology: Guided by marketing literature, the researcher undertook netnographic data collection and observed one consumer community and one non-consumer community for a duration of 18-months. Data was collected in the form of fieldnotes, tweets, comments, and Instagram posts. This data was analysed using a discourse analysis approach. Textual data was examined at a linguistic, discursive, and practice level to understand the systems of meaning that enable or restrict brands from utilising internet memes. Findings: Brands that engaged with online communities over a long period of time, creating value through social media interactions, were perceived by community members as being more authentic, and were therefore accepted into community spaces. Through consistent interaction, brands became embedded within communities’ collective memories. Brands that adopt trending internet memes were construed to be opportunistic and profit driven and were therefore driven out of community digital space. Limitations: The research utilises one form of data collection (netnography) and only observes two communities. Value/Implications: This research is of value to marketing practitioners as it provides them with an understanding of how to navigate social media and engage with online communities. It is also of value to researchers, as it brings together research on internet memes from the areas of culture and media studies. This facilitate a multidisciplinary understanding of the usage of internet memes by brands within a marketing context.