Did you know that until 2010, memes were regarded as an art form? Maybe that’s why the article you’re reading right now is called “The dos and don’ts of meme-making.” However, some people think it isn’t an art form anymore; because not all memes are made by artists (That picture of a dog on the moon was caused by an artist). That is our first point:
Not all memes are art
Not every doge, Pepe, smug Jesus, or this guy (and I quote) “This happened on Monday” is created with the purpose to be an artwork – some are badly drawn MS Paint scribbles (or worse), and some are badly photoshopped. Meme Scout can help you make appropriate memes for your brand.
Art is a creative expression of the artist – their feelings, thoughts, and ideas. A meme could be an art if it has such creativity behind it. (I know, there is no limit to what you can do with memes, but generally speaking). The old saying “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree”” does apply here: You should not judge a meme as artwork or just as another dumb, unfunny picture because that would be like judging every person by the ability to climb a tree 🙂
Memes should always have something funny in them
A good meme will make you laugh, think or at least chuckle. If I show my friends three pictures and the first is like “hey, look what I can do with one hand” (or even worse, some badly drawn MS paint picture). The second is like, “look at this funny guy; he thinks you can hammer a nail in with your teet”. And the third makes them laugh, then they will like the last one the most. And that brings us to our next point:
You need some solid background information
This goes for every form of media – if it doesn’t have something attractive or appealing to anyone outside your circle of friends. It won’t be liked no matter how hard you try. If you post something unfunny on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, or any other social network. Don’t be surprised if it gets downvoted, deleted, or ignored by everybody except your friends.
Note: If you know the person who made a meme and thinks that they would be so happy to see his creation shared on the internet – go ahead! Even if it is not funny at all 🙂 But uploading random memes from /r/dankmemes. Without knowing anything about the creator will only get your post buried faster than an Egyptian Pharaoh in the sand
Meme formats work best in series
If someone sees a picture like “this guy…” and then another one like “and this guy” and maybe even one image with three people, they might understand. They are meant to be funny (or at least think about it). But if the first picture is like “I went outside today…” and you leave it at that, nobody will get it, not even your mom.
If one picture is not enough for you – start a series. An artist made that dog on the moon meme, but because of the format (and some weird guy named Neil deGrasse Tyson). It became famous (and yes, I found out here!). If you want to make a successful meme series – create something that could host multiple pictures or videos.
