Memes have been around waaaay before the internet existed. Now, with widespread access to the internet and various social media platforms, these internet sensations are thoroughly enjoyed by internet users all around the world, especially through sites such as 9GAG, Reddit and 4Chan. Memes are comedic ideas mimicking relatable real life situations, which have the ability to influence many.
Various companies have been trying to ride the meme wave to go viral and raise brand awareness. To analyse why organisations are beginning to value and capitalise on the virality of meme culture, I will utilise the Jonah Berger’s STEPPS model.
Social Currency:
People enjoy sharing their thoughts, opinions and ideas to look good in others’ eyes. When users come across relatable meme content, they feel less alone and may relate themselves to the brand or product. They then share the message on their social media to “get approval” from friends, and the process goes on, till the post becomes viral.
Emotion:
Emotions are greatly involved with how a viral story can spread. People are more likely to share messages and causes that they care about. Non-profit organisations are more likely to attempt to touch people’s hearts through stimulating peoples’ emotions. For example, Smile Train is an international children’s charity focusing on helping children with cleft lips and palate repair. To catch the attention of the online public, they used humorous memes to encourage users to donate and contribute.
Public:
Memes are generally public, hence they are extremely susceptible to imitation. In fact, a single meme can have many different variations to adapt to the idea created by the individual. Using this, the marketing departments from various organisations are able to tweak and use viral meme formats to market their brand and/ or product online.
With meme popularity, more organisations are trying to adjust their marketing methods and content to create memes that are relatable, encouraging users to share and spread awareness. Thank you for reading my post, do let me know in the comments below what what other factors of the Jonah Berger’s STEPPS model does the virality of memes apply to?
Daphne's 
I do enjoy seeing memes on Facebook myself, and I do agree with your point about social currency and emotions. The combination of the correct image and words do trigger feelings within us whether is amusement or something else. Hmm..maybe that is part of the reason why we keep sharing it and through it be part of the social circle on the internet, by spreading something that most of us is interested in. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you for reading! yes i agree and thinks that only when people start to feel that something could be related to themselves, then they will start to re-tweet of re-post to spread it around!
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I feel memes are a great way of reaching out to millennials and the younger generation but how about the baby boomers or gen X perhaps? Will it impact the way consumers view a product if they do not understand the content put out?
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Thank you for reading! i feel that memes does not necessarily reach out to Millennial and the younger generation. This this era everyone has been constantly learning and upgrading themselves and especially for the baby boomers or gen X, they are people who love to learn. With the free and discounted classes at our local community club, many of them have since pick up the skill on how to manure around the web.
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Hi Daphne, insightful post! I believe stories also play a vital role in memes going viral! I once heard that “a good story keeps one staying”, which kinda relates to how memes work for me. When I see a meme, i automatically relate it to a story in my mind be it a past experience etc., which relates to the meme itself. On a broader scope, viral campaigns almost always have a good story behind them which is why I feel story-telling is important!
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Hey Daphne
I love memes! I think they are simple and funny while having the power to spread important messages. Yes, I do agree that memes do contain most if not all the points of STEPPS. I feel that of all the points that you listed, the emotion factor would be the strongest point as “People are more likely to share messages and causes that they care about” After all, humans are emotional creatures and emotions is what spurs action in humans after all.
However, I felt this post could have elaborated on the rest of the STEPPS such as the Triggers, Practical Value and Stories. And perhaps you could have elaborated on the negative aspects of memes where they can be abused to spread racist and hate speech. It’s sad but it’s better to be aware of such things!
Cheers and have a good week ahead!
Bryan
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Hi Daphne! Great Post! I LOVE MEMES!
I feel that memes are able to connect with people on an emotional basis which allows them to go viral quickly! Personally, when i see a meme i like or relate with, i immediately share it with the aim of spreading something that my friends would be interested in! Memes are a cost efficient way for brands to gain awareness and i think is a marketing tool that can be utilized effectively by all companies. Cheers!
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