How to Make a Social Media Meme

Memes are a core language of the internet, and knowing how to create them can give your social media presence a serious advantage. This guide breaks down exactly how to find formats, craft a genuinely funny concept, and use the right tools to build memes that get shares, likes, and follows. We’ll cover everything from the psychology of a great meme to a step-by-step creation process for your brand.

What Exactly Makes a Meme *Work*?

Ever wonder why some memes get thousands of shares while others fall flat? It’s not random. The best memes - the ones that feel effortlessly funny - usually nail three specific elements: relatability, timeliness, and simplicity. Before you open a single editor, understanding these concepts is the first step.

It’s All About Relatability

The magic of a meme is its ability to make someone say, "That's so me." It captures a shared human experience, a common frustration, or a silly thought in a single image or video clip. When you create a meme about the pain of joining an 8 AM video call or the joy of a canceled meeting, you’re not just making a joke, you’re creating a tiny piece of content that makes your audience feel understood.

For brands, this is a golden opportunity. Instead of talking about your product’s features, you can create memes about the problem your product solves. A coffee brand can meme about the struggle to function before the first cup. A project management tool can meme about the chaos of juggling tasks in spreadsheets. This approach builds a connection that traditional advertising just can’t replicate.

Timing is Everything

The internet moves fast, and meme culture moves even faster. A format that’s hilarious today might feel dated in two weeks. Great memes are often tied to current events, pop culture moments (like a new hit TV show or a celebrity's viral quote), or trending audio on TikTok. This timeliness makes the content feel fresh and relevant.

Does this mean you have to jump on every single trend? Absolutely not. The key is to find trends that align with your brand's voice and audience. Paying attention to what’s bubbling up on platforms like TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) will give you a major in-the-know advantage.

Keep It Simple

Memes aren't the place for long-winded explanations or complicated designs. They are designed for quick consumption. The joke should land in seconds, usually with just an image and a few lines of text. The visual and the text work together instantly. The fonts are big and easy to read (the classic Impact font is a meme staple for a reason), and the message is crystal clear. Fighting this simplicity is one of the biggest mistakes brands make. Don’t add a giant logo, don’t cram in a ton of text, and don’t over-explain the joke. Let the format do the heavy lifting.

• Good Example: A picture of a tired cat with the text, "Me on my third video meeting before 10 AM." (Simple, relatable)
• Bad Example: The same picture buried under a company logo with a paragraph explaining how their software solves meeting fatigue. (Too complex, feels like an ad)

A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Own Social Media Meme

Alright, you understand the theory. Now it’s time to get practical. Making a meme is easier than you think. You just need a great idea and a simple tool.

Step 1: Choose Your Meme Format

Don't try to invent a meme from scratch. The power of a meme comes from its familiar-but-new formula. Your job is to find an existing, popular format and put your own unique spin on it. A format is the template - the image, GIF, or video clip that provides the context for your joke.

Where to Find Trending Formats:

• TikTok: The undisputed king of new meme formats and trending audio. Scroll through the "For You" page and pay attention to recurring sounds, video clips, and comedic structures.
• Instagram Reels: A great place to see which TikTok trends have crossed over into the mainstream. The content here is highly visual and shareable.
• Reddit: Subreddits like r/MemeTemplatesOfficial are literal libraries of blank meme formats. You can also browse communities like r/memes or r/dankmemes to see what’s popular (just be mindful that some humor there can be extra edgy).
• X (Twitter): Trends move lightning-fast here. Pay attention to accounts that post and curate memes or scroll through the "Explore" page to catch formats that are gaining traction.

Step 2: Pick the Right Tool for the Job

You don’t need Photoshop or advanced video editing skills. The best meme-making tools are fast, simple, and often free.

• Canva: Perfect for beginners. It has a massive library of templates, including a dedicated "Meme Generator." You can quickly upload an image, add text in classic meme fonts, and download it in seconds.
• Kapwing: Your go-to for video and GIF memes. It's a powerful, browser-based editor that lets you clip videos, add text overlays, sync text to audio, and export your creation without a watermark (on the free plan). It's fantastic for creating Reels and TikToks based on popular audio clips.
• Veed.io: Another excellent browser-based video editor. It has tools specifically for adding progress bars, text, and captions, which works really well for modern video memes.
• Instagram or TikTok's Native Editors: For video memes, sometimes the best tool is the app itself. You can easily use a trending sound, add on-screen text, and leverage the platform's native fonts and effects to make content that feels perfectly at home.

Step 3: Write the Perfect Text

Your text is the punchline. This is where you inject your unique idea, industry humor, or brand personality into the familiar format.

Tips for Writing Meme Text:

• Be Short and Snappy: No one wants to read a paragraph. A few words or a short sentence is usually enough.
• Use Simple Language: Write like people talk. Avoid jargon or corporate-speak.
• Font and Placement Matter: The classic meme font is Impact, typically in white with a thin black outline. This makes it readable over almost any image. Place the text at the top and/or bottom of the image for that iconic look. For modern video memes, use the clean, sans-serif fonts popular on TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Example: The 'Drakeposting' Meme

The format shows the rapper Drake looking displeased at one thing and nodding in approval at another.

• The Template: Drake rejecting one panel, approving the other.
• The Brand Angle (for a meal kit service):
  • Top Panel (Drake rejecting): "Spending an hour at the grocery store deciding what's for dinner."
  • Bottom Panel (Drake approving): "Getting pre-portioned ingredients delivered to my door."

The joke is immediate, relatable to the target audience, and highlights the value of the service without feeling like a hard sell.

Step 4: Think About Platform-Specific Nuances

Where you post your meme matters. A static image perfect for Facebook might not perform as well as a short video on TikTok.

• Instagram & Facebook: Both image and video memes do well. For Instagram, consider if it works better as a Feed post (where it can be shared and saved) or on Stories (for a more casual, interactive feel). Making it a Reel gives it the highest potential for non-follower reach.
• TikTok: This platform is all about video. Even if your concept is simple, putting it in a short video format with trending audio will almost always perform better than a static image.
• X (Twitter): Text-based memes and simple reaction images rule here. The culture is quick and conversational, so content that prompts replies works well.
• LinkedIn: Yes, you can use memes on LinkedIn! Just make sure they are tailored to a professional audience. Focus on workplace humor, industry struggles, and relatable career moments. Keep it clean and clever.

Common Meme Mistakes Brands Make (And How to Avoid Them)

Creating memes as a brand walks a fine line. Done right, you look clever and in-the-know. Done wrong, you can quickly earn the "fellow kids" label. Here are some pitfalls to avoid.

1. Trying Too Hard ("Forcing" It)

The 'How do you do, fellow kids?' Steve Buscemi meme is itself a warning against this. If a trend feels unnatural for your brand voice, skip it. Your audience can tell when you’re shoehorning your product into a format where it just doesn’t belong. The humor should come first, the brand connection should feel secondary and witty.

2. Using Dead or Outdated Memes

Using a meme format that was popular a year ago tells your audience you’re out of touch. Meme half-life is short. Before you create something, do a quick search on TikTok or X to make sure the format is still in active circulation.

3. Misunderstanding the Context

This is the most dangerous mistake. Many memes have a specific cultural backstory or an underlying layer of irony. Using a format without understanding its full context can lead to embarrassing gaffes or, even worse, accidentally posting something offensive. If you're unsure, spend five minutes on a site like Know Your Meme to read up on its origin and how it’s commonly used.

4. Watermarking It to Death

Nothing screams "I'm a corporation trying to be funny" like a giant logo plastered over a meme. People share memes because they're funny and relatable, not because they’re advertisements. If you want to include branding, use a very small, subtle watermark in a corner. The better strategy is to let the content itself remind people of your brand through clever, industry-relevant humor.

Final Thoughts

Great memes aren't about design skills, they're about ideas. By focusing on simple, relatable concepts tied to timely formats, you can create social media content that builds a real connection with your audience. The goal is to join the conversation, not just broadcast a message, and memes are one of the most effective ways to do just that.

Creating clever content is just one part of the equation, having a plan to share it consistently is just as important. We built Postbase to streamline that entire process. Our visual calendar helps you see all your content - including your video memes for TikTok and Reels - in one place, so you can easily plan and schedule everything weeks ahead. Instead of jumping between platforms, you can manage your memes and all other social posts without the stress.