The Most Popular Memes
The most popular memes have been spotted in every corner of the internet. Whether they started on a message board or a social network, these favorites have a track record of making people laugh and helping them relate to their peers.
Some of the most popular memes of all time include:
- Condescending Wonka
- LOLcats
- Grumpy Cat
- Doge
- Bad Luck Brian
- Y u no
- Futurama Fry
- First World Problems
- One does not simply
- The most interesting man in the world
The History of Memes
It’s difficult to pinpoint where exactly the first meme came from and who created it, but we do know it was a gradual evolution. One of the earliest forms of memes was the dancing baby, which took the internet by storm in 1996. If you were a child of the 90s, you also likely remember the peanut butter jelly time gifs and videos. Either way, these images and videos spread like wildfire in the earliest days of the internet.
As the years went on and Facebook was introduced, the popularity of memes started to skyrocket. Soon enough, your cousin Vinny was even sharing memes about her work drama! Fast forward to the present day and you see memes everywhere from Twitter to your coworker’s cubicle. Gen-X’ers can’t even remember a time when memes didn’t exist!
4 Reasons to Include Memes in Your Social Media Content
In a time when many consumers skip ads whenever they can, marketing with humor and familiar media can engage hard-to-reach consumers. For professional storytellers—digital marketers, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and creative pros—meme marketing can be an extremely low-cost way to create engaging content that attracts a following.
On social media, memes usually take the form of a GIF or static picture playing on a familiar theme, meaning, or phenomenon, often with text layered on top of or over the image.
Across industries, more marketers are using memes to build community, relate to their audience, and stick in their followers’ memory. Here are four reasons memes should be part of your social media content.
Memes Are Inexpensive Content
Memes play off of content that’s created by other people so you don’t need to create an original video or photo yourself. They save small businesses and digital marketers time that would be needed to produce original content.
Instead, you can riff off of existing media by adding a new caption or twist. Also, memers value DIY, low-resolution content so don’t worry if you have limited design skills.
Memes Support a Sense of Community
Memes are funny, and that helps foster community among your followers. They create a sense of belonging because your audience can relate to the situation you refer to and everyone’s in on the same joke.