Sick of Stock Photos? Use Memes to Liven Up Your Content.

May 2013

It’s no secret that the social Web has gone visual in a big way.

According to recent research by HubSpot, images on Facebook receive 53% more Likes and 104% more comments than the average post.

LinkedIn just launched new capabilities for adding visuals to your profile. And one of the most talked-about Super Bowl promos of 2013 was a simple image that Oreo put out on Twitter.

So even if you don’t “do” Pinterest or Instagram, your content needs to have some kind of visual element if it’s going to rack up likes and shares.

This is, of course, great news if you’re naturally creative with visuals … but if you’re like me, it means you’re likely to be stuck with stock photography. As Seinfeld would say, “not that there’s anything wrong with that,” but when you pull up “happy-woman-at-computer.jpg” for the umpteetnth time, you start looking around for something with a little more pizazz.

Enter the meme.

If you’ve never heard of memes (pronounced meemz), I guarantee you’ve seen at least one. They’re those funny images you see all over Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere on the inter-tubes with different messaging embedded.

One of my favorites is the Boromir “One Does Not Simply …” image from Lord of the Rings that I’ve included above. Look familiar?

The good news is that you don’t need Photoshop to create and share your very own memes—just an Internet connection.

There are several (free) meme creation websites out there; I’m partial tomemegenerator.net, which is super-easy to use:

Choose your meme.
Type in your text for above and below the image.
Select your language.
Click Create.
Right-click the image to save it, then use it wherever you want.

And blog posts are just the beginning. If your audience is into memes, you can invite them to create their own on a topic that’s related to your business … like the Frisco (TX) Public Library did with their library-themed meme contest on Pinterest.

Are you using memes to breathe life into your content? Share your secret in the Comments—we’d love to hear from you!

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About the Author

A self-described geek who can recite entire episodes of South Park by heart, Rachel Parker has had a passion for content ever since she was old enough to hold a crayon (purple, please).

As Founder and CEO of Resonance, Rachel helps businesses publish content that connects with their audience … and converts those followers into customers. She’s also the host of the Content Marketing Podcast and a sought-after speaker, having presented to many major business and marketing organizations. Contact Rachel about speaking to your group or business.

See you again next week!

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Rachel worked with me on creating a content marketing calendar and content for the Big Social Media Summit (Big SMS) three years in a row. She is very organized and knows just the right amount of posts on social, email newsletters and content to send. Her content marketing efforts helping us sell out our event three years in a row! I am expecting the same for October 2014.

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I just didn’t seem to be able to find the time or the right words to explain what I offer and how my company helps people accomplish their goals. Rachel was able to ask me some questions, do some research and capture my voice while writing my website copy exactly as I needed it to be written. Now, the copy on my website is much more professional than what I would have created and having this task handled by Rachel and Resonance freed up my time to complete other tasks I am better suited to do.

It was a joy to work with Rachel. Her professionalism and sincere desire to help was apparent from the first communication until the final delivery. I will definitely use Resonance again and highly recommend their services.
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My company had little or no time to spend on social media. Our needs were to ensure a steady stream of posts across three platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter) by harvesting and re-purposing content from our own site and news streams. So I contacted Rachel Parker of Resonance Content Marketing.

The result was two-fold. Not only did our ranks of followers grew steadily, the steady drip, drip, drip of content helped us train our personnel and direct their own individual social media efforts.

Rachel and her team are extremely organized and open to discussion and new ideas. They deliver a rapid response to new opportunities — and an overall feeling of being on the same team. One of the best “vendor” relationships I’ve ever had.
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Form.io needed someone who could grasp the complexities of our product, capture the subtlety of our differentiating value propositions, and convey them in the right voice for an exacting customer audience…. Resonance delivered, by crafting a multi-faceted online content marketing strategy that drove traffic and conversion, producing the ROI result we were looking for….
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We are so happy to have hired Resonance for our social media needs. We spend most of our time serving our clients and studying our field so we can provide the highest quality possible. We no longer worry about our social media, as we have total confidence in the wonderful work Rachel and her team have accomplished.

Our social media is active, promoted, and is ranking better than ever! People often comment about what they see on our Facebook page. Resonance has added a creative, and artistic twist to our social media that is appealing and captivating to our audience. This has allowed me more time to work with my team and clients, so I can focus on service towards the people that help our business grow.

I know there will be wonderful content on Facebook, and that Rachel will answer to posts, comments and questions as soon as a comment arrives. I am often impressed at how quickly she responds! Thank you Resonance! I highly endorse Resonance and encourage companies who need social media strategies to work with Resonance! You won’t regret it!
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Rachel is an amazing writer and has really managed to create engaging and relevant blog material on topics that aren’t always super interesting. On many occasions, she has been able to quickly turn around one-off requests and the results are always top-notch. She has also helped guide our content strategy based on her expertise in content marketing, which has been a huge asset to our team.
Added 5 figures to my business in less than 4 weeks

Rachel took the overwhelm and stress out of writing content for my marketing campaign! When I approached Rachel, I was really concerned that I wouldn’t have the time to focus on writing copy for a lengthy marketing campaign that included sales pages, solo emails, newsletters and social media updates. Well, let’s just say I’m glad I hired Rachel because I couldn’t have done it without her support and expertise. I loved how she used my voice and words to craft content that helped me reach and attract my ideal client. As a result of working with Rachel, I added 5 figures to my business in less than 4 weeks, hundreds of new social media followers and exceeded my sales and list building goals! You know your marketing copy is working when you hear someone say, “I see you everywhere”. Thank you Rachel for helping me not only get seen by my ideal clients but get paid!
Increased our likes and interaction rates

Working with Rachel was a delight. Not only does she communicate very well, but she provided valuable insight about our social media platforms and followers. We have much better engagement with our fans and followers, which increased our likes and interaction rates.