We live in a world where it feels like every week, if not every other day, there’s a new viral internet collective push that decides we’re all doing the same thing.
A meme takes off. One brand does it really well, so then another one jumps in, then twenty, then two hundred and before you know it every other post you see on your feed is filled with the same post followed by ‘comment ‘x’ to get the template and make it yours!’
The latest one is the Empire State Building meme.
And my dude, I get it. It’s clever, it’s timely, it’s easy. But I gotta say, somewhere between the 10th and the 300th same post has got me thinking: “is this helping anyone’s brand, or are wall just participating because FOMO and what 24/7 social media/internet access has done to our lil’ noodle brains?”
Here’s the thing my dude.
I’m not against trends or memes. I honestly love them and look for opportunities to put them into my own brand and marketing. I’m not even against viral moments. I’m annoyednand maybe even a little bit concerned about how so many do it without thinking.
Marketing is about communication, branding is about feeling, business is about serving. When all these things start to feel the same, flippant and diluted – all you’re showing is that you’re online enough to know what’s trending for the week and you’re not communicating anymore. You’re not building relationships.
It feels very ‘fetch’ and mean girls if you know what i mean. Like trying to win Regina George’s approval when she honestly just doesn’t give a fuck.
Also. It’s exhausting trying to feel ‘on’ all the fucking time.
I don’t think it’s helping small business owners as much as people think it is.
I also don’t think marketing is a race to post first. I think we’re starting to lose the plot. Or maybe the plot is shifting entirely and I’m speaking like a dinosaur.
Having grown up in the era of social media and the start of it (hey MySpace!), something social media has gotten really, really good at is convincing us that if we don’t post about something within the first twelve hours, we’ve misse dour chance.
Cue panic:
“Should I make one?”
“Everyone else is doing it.”
“Am I already behind?”
Nope. Nopety nope nope.
You’re not any of those things, you’re just watching everyone spring toward the same finish line. And then while you’re witnessing this, because everyone is jumping in on the trend, no one stands out.
CONGRATS YOU ALL WORE THE SAME OUTFIT TO A PARTY.
So listen (read?) – I’m not saying don’t post memes or jump on trends. But I AM 1,000% saying this:
Ask yourself if it fits your brand, if your audience would find it funny, if it supports the personality and brand you’re building or if you’re posting it because of FOMO.
Those are very different things.
When you constantly are chasing trends, your brand starts losing its voice and identity and starts sounding like everyone else’s. One week you’r
Not every trend belongs to your business.
Some age terribly after 24 hours, some are rooted in politics, some make fun of specific situations and some are harmless and just for shits and giggles. And here’s the other thing – because it might be super trendy, yours could absolutely take off. We all wanna go viral, right? Maybe. Maybe not. Going viral isn’t always good – sometimes it’s just attention. And not always the good kind.
The internet is kinda like the wild west. Know what I mean?
So if you’re gonna use a meme or jump on a trend, I encourage you to make it yours. Like make it absolutely feel like your brand no questions asked. Take time to be creative with it, and if you can’t do that then just skip it. Your brand and marketing will live. I promise.
When you reference something your audience understands and you let the brand personality do the heavy lifting…those are the ones that people remember. Not the ones that just copied the joke.
Something that I’ve been struggling with in marketing
It’s starting to feel kinda like a full-time specator sport. Refresh. Scroll. Refresh. Post. Copy. Check engagement. Refresh. See what’s trending. Refresh. Post. Save. Copy. Repeat.
After a while, it kinda feels like you’re lost int he phone and not reality – like you’re not even living your life anymore but vicariously through other peoples life through a tiny little rectangle.
Give your brain a break when you can. Colors start looking brighter again and it’s when the best ideas show up. Cause you’re in reality. Or better yet…bored *gasp*!
Your audience doesn’t need another copycat.
They need you, your perspective, stories and weird observations. Your weird laugh. That meme, though? Anyone can copy that.
Here’s what I want you to remember.
Your brand isn’t built by one viral post and it’s not going to get destroyed if you skip it. Your brand is built by consistently showing up with a pov, saying something they’ll remember or connect with, by creating content that feels and sounds like you.
You don’t need to meet everyone, just the right people. And the right people are a whole lot easier to attract when your brand has a personality instead of a panic attack.
P.S. If you’ve been spending more time wondering what to post than actually talking about your offer, that’s why I built Citrus Spritz. The heavy lifting is done for you – you can swap it out with your photos, colors and fonts and replace the placeholder text with your message. If you’re looking for something to do over the next few days/weekend, I’d rather see you build something with your brand on it than chasing and stressing over a viral meme that’s a blip on the radar.
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