Will Memes Hurt My Social Media Strategy?

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of teaching holiday social media strategy tips on a social media webinar for Stimulate+Success, and received a handful of attendee questions.

Whenever this particular topic arises in conversations about social media for the sex toy industry — and it often does — I’m eager to answer it. 

Q:

"Will sharing memes hurt a professional business image? They gain lots of shares and likes, but it doesn’t apply to our product, so does it really do any good to get customers/conversions? Does it make our business look unprofessional when we should be posting educational and high-quality content?"

A:

Two things to keep in mind are:

1. What type of content does your audience take the most action on? (Shares, comments, or link clicks.)

2. What tone of voice is cohesive with your brand?

This answer may differ for a luxury sex toy brand, but even mainstream luxury brands like Gucci identify ways to correlate their products with memes to leverage meme marketing.

In terms of straight numbers — data analytics from my ongoing social media content case studies — memes and humorous posts land in the #1 spot, year after year.

One brand that leans heavily into memes is Bellesa. This case study I did in early April 2024 tracks the frequency of their memes and how they use them to attract views, comments, and shares — and they sprinkle promotional posts in-between. Of course, this strategy does not apply to everyone, but it is a very successful strategy for them.

Meme Marketing Tips for Pleasure Product Brands

• Combine any other content with a meme in a carousel post. Use a meme as the first photo in a carousel to capture attention, and include whatever content (educational, promotional) you want in the rest of the slides.

• We are not our target customers. Consumer preferences are uniquely different for every business. The best way to know what content your audience takes action on (shares, high-quality comments) is to run a test. Post one meme a week for two weeks. The numbers in your analytics will reveal how meme content performs alongside your other content.

Additional Hot Takes

• Marketing and sales are two different things. An oversimplified explanation: Marketing generates awareness and demand. Sales secure the purchase. When marketing is effective, there is no need to “sell” anything.

• A single social media post rarely acquires an immediate sales conversion. The Rule of 7 has been around for a long time, and it states that consumers need to see a brand seven times before making a purchase decision.

• Sales conversions essentially boil down to consumer trust. Trust is built over time. Understanding your target audience will speak to their life experiences, and ideally, strike an emotional or nostalgic chord within them through your brand personality, tone of voice, and content value.

• Memes can attract eyes to your social media account immediately. The value and quality that your other content offers will keep them there.

Regarding Personal Preferences

When it comes to the style of content that motivates me to invest in a particular brand, product, or service, this is what I value:

• Factual
• Unique
• Compassionate
• Knowledge

(Brand/industry-specific memes fall into “Unique.”)

Well-balanced, intentional content indicates that a company or business owner is committed to staying relevant, and dialed into the needs and wants of their core audience.