Communications Corner: Memes can easily add humor to communications

Meme humor has become part of our online social culture. If you’re on any sort of social media network or you email or text, you likely come across the funny images, videos, and sayings on a daily, if not hourly, basis. People chuckle at them and pass them along.
 
Memes are an easy, effective way to bring humor to communications.

• For the person responsibility for communications, memes are faster to produce than long blocks of copy.
• Individuals receiving the memes appreciate you taking time to connect with them on a more emotional level.

 
Types of memes

1. Photo and video memes: Photo memes include images of anything where a person is imitating a familiar position or action, such as running or eating, along with a saying. Video memes involve dubbing over or changing sounds of familiar videos.
2. Image (macro) memes: This is slightly different from a photo meme. It includes a familiar image (photo or cartoon) along with different captions. An example of this is “The Most Interesting Man in the World” meme, with varying taglines that play on “I don’t always (fill in the blank), but when I do, I prefer (fill in the blank).” You can find images to use by going to online meme generators such as https://www.canva.com/create/memes/, https://makeameme.org/memegenerator, or https://memegenerator.net.
3. Word memes: Use words and a simple illustration and/or background.
4. Miscellaneous marketing memes: These memes involve an employee or someone else engaging in an activity and taking a picture of it. For example, show the lighter side of an important message by having employees pose or act out something in a goofy way. Sometimes, the original behavior or position is the same with people adding their own flare to it.

 
How to generate meme ideas?

• Think about common issues that everyone can appreciate.
• Ask for suggestions from employees to make them feel they are part of the creation process.

 
As with using any type of humor, don’t create memes that others might perceive as racist, sexist, ageist, or involving any other form of discrimination. It’s also best to stay away from religion and politics. Remember: Use humor to lift people up, not to put them down. Laugh with people, not at them.