27+ B2B Meme Examples + Tips To Inspire Your Own Social Media Strategy

Should B2B brands use memes in their social media strategy?

Honestly, they probably could. And maybe they should.

Memes are among the most widely shared content on the internet and resonate in ways that more polished, highly-produced content often doesn’t.

“But, what about…”

I know, I know. As a social media agency managing social media programs for large B2B brands we’ve heard plenty of compelling objections.

• It’s lazy
• It’s not on brand
• It’s unprofessional
• Legal would never allow it
• It doesn’t match our tone of voice

We’ll come back to those arguments. What we hope to do is show which B2B brands are using memes on social, how content pillars translate into memes, and what you need to know to get started, too.

Why memes work in marketing

Memes are like internet inside jokes that spread like wildfire. They’re wonderful assets because they’re ideas that connect people with shared experiences and common interests.

Here’s the 411 on why memes work:

• Feel the feels: Memes get folks emotional, whether it’s a good chuckle or a “been there, done that” vibe. Use them to bond with your buyers.
• LOLs = Loyalty: Memes are jokes, but they don’t make your brand one. In a sea of smart, product marketing, memes offer an opportunity to show a different side to your customers, and earn their respect, attention, and trust.
• We, not me: Memes are simple formats with a powerful proposition — they show audiences you “get it.” The ‘it’ might be their professional struggles, career goals, or just work-related humor. But memes done right build bonds.

The Benefits of memes for B2B marketing

Memes inject light-hearted energy into your B2B social media strategy. They’re an engaging (and efficient) way to boost interactions, elevate brand awareness, and distinguish yourself from stiff competitors.

Here’s why you should consider adding memes to your social, paid, or content marketing mix:

1. Memes communicate more effectively than words

Memes are witty, relatable, and on point. They help you create catchy, memorable, and shareable content that gets people interacting. A solid meme can bring your brand in sync with your audience, leading to better engagement, loyalty, and sales.

2. Memes offer high engagement and viral potential

Memes can go viral, bringing your brand in front of new people you’d have to spend thousands in paid to reach. To make it happen, you have to know your audience, brand boundaries, and stay up to date with cultural trends online.

3. Low-cost, high-impact social media growth

Memes are a budget-friendly way to reach your target audience and level up your social game. Done well, memes offer brands the chance for significant exposure at a fraction of the production cost of other formats.

See how Firebolt rocked memes to chat about their database tool. They didn’t straight-up tell people to ditch Excel for data storage, but they got their point across with some clever humor.

Picture this: you’re fishing in a pool of potential customers. Using product and product category memes hooks those feeling happy, mad, or anxious. So make sure your product meme connects with a core emotion.

2. Profession or industry memes

Profession or industry memes are all about stuff specific to certain jobs or industries. They usually depict tongue-in-cheek scenarios that connect with the struggles, quirks, or clichés of a particular field. Like that Firebolt example earlier? Nailed it. But as a social media agency, we’ve seen even more.

There are memes about all sorts of jobs. Legal, customer experience, marketing, software development, accounting, security, and a whole bunch more.

These memes often playfully tease the unique aspects of the job, like crazy hours, tricky clients or patients, fancy lingo, or the need to keep up with the latest trends, just like Hootsuite did here.

Why it worked: This industry meme relates to a core pain point of Social Media Managers. Who among us isn’t tired of the algorithm updates on social platforms forcing new headaches?

If you catch the theme here, these memes have B2B brands being less “salesy” and more focused on connecting with their audience’s world.

Here’s a tip: Make industry or profession memes that get a “This is so us” or “This reminds me of [insert colleague]” reaction.

If you can achieve that, your meme post is going to crush it, just like Dooly below.

Why it worked: Their meme tells a story in a simple, familiar format that folks in the industry can identify with, and drives conversation.

With over 11k likes and 400+ reposts, Dooly’s team kept it low-key on self-promotion but still scored big on engagement and shares.

“So what, that’s cheap engagement”, voice the naysayers.

Our take? High engagement also drives curiosity clicks. It means people are more likely to check out the Company Page and website, or search for the brand.

Another theme you might be catching? Sales software scores a lot of industry meme points.

Gong nailed it here too. While subtly promoting their sales software and brand, the post tackles a common pain point for sales pros — call backs.

3. Trending or pop culture memes

These memes incorporate trending topics or references that are widely recognized.

They’re likely to connect with your audience effectively because of their familiarity and timeliness. How? They often incorporate clips from movies, stills from TV, or photos of celebrities.

Take a look at work management software Confluence. They ride cultural content waves but personalize them in ways their user community appreciates. We’ve used this Pedro Pascal meme twice already, it was just that popular in 2023. 😅

Why it worked: Their meme focused on a hot topic for knowledge workers — the return to offices. Here, the team collaboration brand taps into the target audience’s bummed-out mood with a trending image that screams, “Ugh, not again!” — holding back frustration and the urge to cry or shout.

Trending memes have the fun factor, so your chance of strong engagement is high. Just keep in mind cultural context and your audience’s tastes when sharing them.

4. Original or recreated brand memes

Let’s put Imgflip away for a second. Did we mention that you can create your own memes? Yup, they don’t always need to be inspired by TV moments or templatized formats.

B2B brands can rock a meme style that’s familiar and easy to understand while staying true to the brand’s values and guidelines.

You can remix ’em too, using well-known faces or objects, and let the context do the talking for your business.

Check out this post where GM CEO, Mary Barra, announced job openings at the car company using their own “I came for, I stay for” meme template.

The post worked because it had an inspiring company message with a familiar creative concept, and when other employees recreated it in the comments to share their stories, it gave a glimpse into the company’s culture and values.

B2B Brand Memes Examples

1. Confluence

This meme paired a trending image from the Super Bowl Sunday broadcast with relatable meme caption text. The team dynamic depicted is a common one, so it works great as an industry or profession meme. Bet you can guess which day this post would perform best?

2. LinkedIn

This original LinkedIn meme hits a home run on multiple levels. It’s original because the format and visual context are tailored for LinkedIn marketing. While it works as a professional meme, we’d call it a universal truth since pretty much everyone can relate to it.

3. Gong

To put it simply, Gong gets their people. In this profession category meme, they poke fun at a common tactic in their space.

4. Gorgias

Darien Payton from agency Antidote explains. “Gorgias is a customer support platform. Anyone who works in customer support understands how testy it can get. This was a great way for us to connect with our core audience and show them we support them in a more engaging way than just writing it out.”

Shoutout to Darien for the 🔥 contribution.

5. HubSpot

HubSpot’s meme is a video with a catchy sound that grabs your attention. The colors match the brand’s palette, and the prompts are super relatable for a number of modern professions.

6. Semrush

This flashy meme by Semrush uses celebs and easy-to-read text to share a message for their digital marketer audience that a new generation of change is coming in their industry.

7. Zapier

If you want to ease up on your social media marketing budget, low-effort content like this is the way to go. Zapier nails it with this celebrity-inspired, product category meme featuring a facial expression that says it all.

8. Hootsuite

Hootsuite used Rihanna’s different moments from her “big game” performance to highlight relatable topics in the world of social media management. Sure, featuring a popular celeb may have helped with a lift in impressions, but it’s really the spot-on portrayal of social media marketing life that made it a hit with the brand’s target audience.

9. Buffer

Buffer tackled a common issue for its target audience — algorithm changes. The industry meme uses a text-on-image style to show two scenarios, and it’s super relatable, especially for Social Media Managers.

10. Datree

Datree nails it with their ‘technical’ memes. They use a combination of profession and product category memes with great success. In this case, walking their developer target audience through the stages of their tasks.

11. Scratchpad

Sales revenue platform, Scratchpad brings some fun to the stress of sales teams. The company uses memes to address the hardest parts about sales, head on.

And who can’t relate to C-suite executives fireside chats that leave everyone feeling a bit…underwhelmed?

12. Chili Piper

SaaS startup, Chili Piper uses memes to make sales team pain points more relatable. And what’s more relatable than how little spinach is left once it’s cooked (and, unfortunately, MQLs not converting downstream)?

13. Toplyne

Qualifying leads is no easy task, so what better way to make light of it than with memes? Behavioral lead scoring platform, Toplyne, understood the assignment and incorporates industry and product category memes throughout their social media.

14. Litmus

MarTech platform Litmus loves a good meme, says Jaina Mistry, Director of Content and Email Marketing. In the example below, Litmus creates an original concept for email marketers in advance of Valentine’s.

15. Gradient Works

Memes can also be used to drive clicks. After all, what’s more scroll stopping than a familiar image? B2B sales platform Gradient Works did just that with the example below.

16. Canva

A brand ubiquitous in B2B and B2C, Canva chooses to have as much fun as possible with both audiences. Here they engage their community of product users with a meme to address the “universal truth” that most of us use the platform to pretend we know what we’re doing and make it look good while doing it.

17. BairesDev

IT giant, BairesDev, is taking the stuffiness out of their industry by poking at the obvious and adding some humor to the challenges of implementing new technologies.

Wrapping up: Unlock the power of memes in B2B Marketing

Using memes as part of your B2B marketing strategy can be a powerful way to engage your audience, humanize your brand, and stand out from the competition. By exploring various meme types, knowing your audience, and being mindful of legal and ethical concerns, you can create memorable, relatable, and entertaining content that resonates with your target market.

So go ahead and give memes a try — with a touch of creativity and a bit of humor, you might just find the perfect recipe for social media success.

Disclaimer: this is not legal advice. But let’s get real on risks and ramifications for a second.

Here are some key points to consider when using memes in your advertising and social media efforts:

• Copyright: Memes often have stuff like movie pics, TV characters, or quotes. To avoid legal problems, make sure you get permission or licenses for it. Or, create your own memes with your images or public domain stuff.
• Fair use: Sometimes, using copyrighted stuff in memes can be “fair use,” allowing limited use without permission. But fair use is tricky, so check with a lawyer if you’re unsure.
• Trademarks: Be careful with logos or trademarked stuff in your memes, or you could get in trouble. Get permission or skip using them.
• Right of publicity: People featured in memes might have rights over their name, image, or likeness for commercial use. Don’t imply they’re endorsing your brand without permission.
• Defamation: Memes with false or negative info can lead to defamation claims. Make sure your memes are accurate and don’t hurt anyone’s reputation.
• Privacy: Don’t violate privacy rights with sensitive information or pictures of people without consent.
• Brand reputation: Memes can be controversial, so think about how they’ll affect your brand. Choose memes that match your values and vibe with your audience.
• Attribution: If you’re using someone else’s meme, credit the creator. It’s good practice and keeps things cool in the online community.