Memes, GIFs and Twitter Wars.

Everyone loves a meme, but does that mean your business should be jumping on the hype and sharing GIFs and memes across their social media?

Memes are described as an image, video or piece of text, typically humorous, that is copied and spread rapidly, usually across social media. They can be a risky choice to share on social media, relying on a sharp sense of humour and a willing audience. As a general rule of thumb, from a business perspective, it would be advised to avoid sharing GIFs and memes to your followers. Instead, sharing company updates and industry related news would be preferred, so as to maintain a professional voice online.

Healthy competition

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. It’s a phrase we’re all familiar with, but how does it relate to marketing?

Competitor research provides valuable information. It can highlight what those in your industry are doing well, as well as what they’re perhaps doing badly. It shows gaps in the market that could be taken advantage of and gives a good overall picture of what’s going on in the digital world around that industry. Competitors can directly affect PPC bids and organic search results, meaning competitor research is a valuable tool and should be implemented as part of your marketing plan.

When it comes to social media, it’s rare to directly interact with your competitors. It can be a risky move, as getting into a debate could show your business in a negative light. However, in the recent case of a ‘Twitter war’ between Aldi, Lidl and Marks & Spencer, interacting with your competitors – and using memes and GIFs – worked to these brands’ advantage.

Twitter war

A recent Twitter war has hit the headlines. Joshua Barrie, The Mirror, reports:

A woman called Emily Cousins recently asked a pertinent question: which is better, Aldi or Lidl?

You might've asked the same thing yourself. The two German supermarkets are fairly similar, famous in Britain thanks to their low prices, good wines, and the fact you can pop in for some cheese and leave with a suspect camping stove and a pair of new ski boots.

The argument over which of the supermarkets is more distinguished is tribal. It might be a matter of convenience – whichever is closest. Or it might be more than that.

Sadly, Emily's question, which she asked on Twitter, proved indecisive. Aldi and Lidl offered little in the way of substantial debate. But they did offer an array of 'banter'.

Which is better @AldiUK or @LidlUK ? #questiontime

— Emily Cousins (@emzcousins) August 1, 2017

The twitter war moved on to a dance off between Aldi and Lidl, later resulted in a hilarious dispute between Marks & Spencer and Waitrose. You can read the full article here.

If you’d like any advice on managing your social media accounts, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.