Rest assured, there are whole online communities dedicated to mercilessly pointing and laughing at those who try and fail to get down with the kids to make a quick buck. Like speaking in broken, informal English at a board meeting, misusing language can alienate your audience and leave you in a worse position than when you started. The effect is similar to that of an elderly uncle trying to share a joke with the kids at a family gathering and coming out of it just looking a bit weird. But I see all too many examples of brands trying to tap into the power of memes with their web content, especially when trying to engage a younger audience, and getting it tragically wrong. Facepalming is an oft-used way to express dismay at the sorry state of a given situation, while Haters Gonna Hate is a highly adaptable meme demonstrating assured nonchalance in the face of adversity.Īll well and good so far. Chances are you’ll recognise a few of the more popular memes. The term can technically refer to any recurring unit of social exchange, but images are the most enduring favourite. Memes can be modified through replication to make a new point, but always using the original as a point of reference. The internet speaks in the language of memes, most often images with accompanying text which have evolved through the online hive mind into broad expressions of ideas. It always helps to be fluent in the local language. Authenticity is a rare and valuable coin. The key word there is ‘genuinely.’ The internet is a jaded, cynical place, with today’s digital natives sick and tired of being marketed at, going to great lengths to avoid it or deliberately misconstrue the message. Take a step back and think, ‘if I hadn’t spent the last week working on this content, would it genuinely engage me?’ You’re going into their space and asking them to give you money. Assume your audience to be not necessarily hostile, but certainly lukewarm to your initial efforts. So how do you produce content which is relevant, engaging and not in the least bit patronising to the audience? It’s about respecting the space. What might be the result of an hours-long meeting to come up with the perfect pun to link your brand to the latest trend or craze is, to most people, just going to look like a bad joke. The sad fact is that most people aren’t, by default, in the mindset to gratefully accept your efforts to sell a product to them. It’s easy to forget that, for 99.9% of the internet-faring population, the web is a place to watch videos of people falling over, discuss the downward spiral of civilisation and marvel at cats. When you’re working on producing web content for a brand, you end up living and breathing that brand. The point is that those responsible showed a complete lack of awareness when it comes to the space they’re trying to occupy. Was the tweet in question taken out of context? Not the point.