1/ Memes are the most powerful, most underrated, and most misunderstood item in a content creator's toolkit

a thread on how to up your meme game for those who don’t know where to start

2/ Not all memes are created equal

a reply meme (1) is not the same as a brand-building meme (2) which is not the same as a trend hopping meme (3)

memes as a medium are infinitely malleable, so adapt your memeing to whatever the situation calls for

3/ Where to find memes

always save funny formats you come across

but don't underestimate the power of a good ol' Google search

here's my process: search for the general idea behind the meme + ‘imgflip’

it will usually surface the meme you were thinking of

4/ Imgflip is your best friend

its a site that provides thousands of blank meme templates
as well as some basic text editing tools

absolutely essential for quick meme creation

Pro tip: Just screenshot straight from the site to save time

https://imgflip.com/memegenerator 

5/ Avoid memes from meme culture 1.0

as funny as they were in their day, if you use a meme like “Success Baby” or “Scumbag Steve” you will look lame as hell

memes have evolved. Just look at all the derivatives doge has spawned

meme for the youths, not for Facebook

6/ Go subculture hunting

dive into weird niches then adapt the memes you see there for your own niche

Black Twitter alone originates most memes on you eventually see https://www.revolt.tv/news/2020/12/16/22179164/black-twitter-superpowers-dec-21

7/ Start thematically then work backwards

for instance, I knew the Big Tech antitrust hearings would be juicy and confrontational

so I focused on the theme of competing/fighting to prepare lots of themed templates ahead of time

8/ Don’t be afraid to trend hop

there is no need to zag while others are zigging

a saturated meme market just means there is lots of demand for that format

so hop on trends while they are hot

9/ Video memes are liquid gold

@Friday_Beers has built an empire on the backs of this meme format

Invest in learning some basic editing skills and you’ll reap incredible rewards https://twitter.com/MorningBrew/status/1270365504390103041?s=20

10/ Low quality is better

memes are inherently meant to look hastily assembled

don’t waste time trying to make the perfect edit

as TikTok’s rise has shown, people resonate more with a DIY aesthetic https://twitter.com/MorningBrew/status/1349118147425550336?s=20

11/ But sometimes it’s worth it to put in the time

this meme took 3 weeks to ideate/edit

elevated and involved memes have their place, especially if you want to separate yourself from the noise

12/ Finally, memes ARE right for you

"Memes don't really work for our brand voice" is such a limiting stance to adopt

memes are one of the few universally understood languages

you are doing yourself, and your audience a disservice by refusing to speak it

let your memes rip