How did cat meme become popular after gaining 100000 followers a week?
DT Business Observation
·May 28, 2024 12:11
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New traffic passwords of Tiktok, Xiaohongshu and Station B
The ancient Greek god in charge of "traffic" has recently turned to the cat meme.
meme， It means "meme" or simply "meme". Cat meme video is a short drama produced using various popular online magical cat materials. Vividly convey people's emotions of happiness, sadness, and breakdown through the expressions and actions of cats.
Cat meme has not only become the material for amateur hot selling products, but also the traffic password for brand official account operation.
For example, before using Cat Me to cut videos, @ SF Express's Xiaohongshu Notes had an average of tens to hundreds of likes, but with the help of Cat Me videos, they received nearly 180000 likes; Domestic potato chips @ Lumila, founded for 28 years, gained over 100000 followers on Bilibili within a week.
(Official brand account/source screenshot from Xiaohongshu with cat meme video)
Brands such as JD.com Maicai, SAIC Volkswagen, Zhengxin Chicken Chops, and Jierou tissue, which seem to be unrelated to the cat meme, have also relied on cat meme to support the data of account likes and reviews.
How did the cat meme become popular? On different platforms, which brands have gained traffic and fans through this? What are the brand inspirations behind the popularity of cat meme?
Cat meme meme universe, relying on "post-00s workplace craziness" to grow
The common prototype of cat meme comes from all over the world, including cats from tiktok pet bloggers, and cats from station B, Tiktok, and small red book bloggers.
For example, the two cats commonly used for dialogue come from Bilibili UP host @ Proud Big Fat Rabbit and @ Bard Poet Uncle Bang. The former only sounds like a talking cat, called Bozi; The latter keeps a weak, pitiful, and helpless cat with a downward corner of the eye, named Bangdang.
(Bozi and Bangdang/Image Source @ Bard Uncle Bang)
With brainwashing dubbing and the help of BGM, the meme universe of cat memes has gradually formed, and cat memes have become a new traffic password.
Many people use cat meme to play memes and tell stories, and even official accounts use cat meme to cut videos.
The difference is that the title and content of the official account's cat meme video are closely related to the working life of the post-00s generation. The high-frequency words in the "cat meme" video notes posted on the enterprise account on Xiaohongshu include beautiful "mental state", "working person", "crazy", "rectification", "workplace", etc.
Popular video titles are also the arrangement and combination of these words, such as:
【 Cat Me 】 Post-2000 college students bravely venture into xx as operators;
Cat Me's Rebirth: Brave Adventure in Operations;
Using cat meme to give leaders some post-00s shock
The video content is usually as follows:
When the post-00s are happy to join or take over the company's account operation, when they are preparing to fish for it, their leaders issue outrageous demands (usually an account that has gained 100000 followers, produced millions of popular videos, etc.), and they don't want to be fired on the first day. The post-00s force themselves to take action and use a cat meme video to persuade their leaders to "take the fire". Finally, they ask the audience to help like and follow them, achieving the bull they boast to their leaders.
It seems to be about "How to Firmly Rectify the Workplace for Post-2000s", but in fact, it is "Post-2000s Online Requesting Everyone to Help Save Their Jobs".
Tiktok, Xiaohongshu On Bilibili, official accounts that rely on cat meme to become popular are different
The overwhelming amount of materials and low production barriers have enabled cat meme's second creation videos to rapidly scale up.
Using cat meme to operate official accounts has also become a new marketing method for more and more brands and institutions.
These videos seem to be the same, but carefully compare Tiktok The popular cat meme videos and corresponding brand official accounts on Bilibili and Xiaohongshu will reveal that they each have their own characteristics. (Note: The popular cat meme videos on Kwai are mainly from the plainman account, and few from the official account)
On Tiktok, the cat meme videos that came out of the circle were mainly from official accounts such as public security, traffic police, fire control, drug control, and city cultural and tourism accounts.
The characteristics of these videos are: using the shell of the cat meme, integrating the main responsibilities of official institutions and the knowledge they want to popularize to the public.
For example, in a video, @ Yichang Public Security mentioned the characteristics of Yichang Public Security, including "strengthening the city and county's main battle, cracking down on prominent crimes, cultivating prevention and law enforcement, and improving governance level", when lending tasks to post-00s through leaders. As a result, it received 860000 likes.
Bilibili has become a hot spot for traditional Chinese Amway products.
In the top 20 popular videos related to Bilibili's cat meme, @ Genji Food and @ Lumila have appeared 4 times respectively, making them the two major winners in the marketing battle of Bilibili's cat meme.
@Genji Food is a spicy noodle brand from Luoyang with a 12 year history. In the Cat Me video, it was shown that the raw material for spicy noodles is soybean powder, and it uses first-class soybean oil and five spice seasonings, which are clean and hygienic, making many Bilibili netizens want to place orders to purchase.
@The official brand of Lumila is a domestic potato chip brand from Yunnan, which started in 1996 and has a history of 28 years. Previously, it had low popularity on social media. Since using a cat meme video to express "I am not a miscellaneous brand" and "there is too much competition in the offline market, I really can't beat international big brands", I have gained 100000 followers in a week.
A netizen expressed support through actions and suggested, "I bought a box of potato chips while browsing on Bilibili. I have received them, they are delicious, and I still want to buy them after eating."
(@ Genji Food Review Area/Screenshot of Image Source B Station)
Although there is no latest e-commerce data to show how much sales Bilibili users have contributed to Lumira, in the corresponding Taobao product link reviews, it can be seen that at least 10 recent reviews have mentioned "from Bilibili" or "Bilibili operations are really not deceiving".
In contrast, Xiaohongshu is more like a brand racetrack.
Whether it is a big brand, a niche brand or an emerging brand, it can be found on the list from food and beverage, games to perfume personal care.
What stands out more than other platforms is that when brands operate on Xiaohongshu, they often mention in the video the benefits that workers strive for from their leaders, such as "if they can increase their followers to 100000 in a month, the brand will give fans a passionate lottery", and then naturally plead for audience attention and likes at the end.
After achieving the goal of increasing followers, the brand will also arrange lucky draws, live broadcasts, and building fan groups on Xiaohongshu to further convert fans into brand users.
Why do everyone love cat memes?
If we only talk about the results, traffic is undoubtedly the reason why cat memes are favored.
Young people love to watch cat memes. With the recommendation of algorithms, cat memes can bring traffic and attention to brand accounts, which can be described as a two-way flow.
If you want to find commonalities, cat meme videos can be seen as an emotional marketing based on the persona of a "crazy worker".
As more and more brands join this cat meme new marketing conference, are all the operators behind it really post-00s? We have no way of knowing.
But one thing for sure is that the joys and sorrows of working people are intertwined.
Requesting the operation to gain 100000 followers per month is like the CEO in a short drama who frequently "buries everyone". Everyone understands the experience of "boss making trouble without reason".
The essence of brand branding is to establish a closer relationship with consumers, making it easier for consumers to develop a favorable impression and resonance with the brand.
Whoever can resonate with consumers and gain their recognition has a chance to gain their attention, even self initiated dissemination.
Of course, there are risks in character design, and one should choose carefully.
From the recently popular persona, whether it's the angry working woman "Wang Mama" in short dramas or the flashy post-00s in videos, "Crazy Working Man" is still a persona that can continue to resonate.
In the comments on Xiaohongshu Notes, there are many people who empathize with the "post-00s" and "workers" of Cat Me Video and choose to follow their accounts to help brand operations achieve KPIs. They advocate "young people help young people", and some even say harshly, "If your boss dismisses you, I will take immediate action.".
Secondly, unlike traditional marketing methods, these cat meme videos have little to do with the traditional concepts of "high-end," "high-quality," and "stylish." Instead, they are somewhat rough and absurd.
When the combination of post-00s and cat memes began to flood, some accounts continued to write storylines such as "post-00s taking leave to rest, post-70s learning how to make cat memes".
It is precisely this kind of "down-to-earth" content that provides young people with real, immediate, and direct pleasure, and young people are naturally willing to pay.
On Tiktok, the crowd watching cat meme is evenly distributed in other age groups except 18-23 years old.
The audience on Bilibili and Xiaohongshu is more youthful, with a focus on people under 30 years old.
Grounded and resonant content is not limited to videos, but can also be devices, graphics, or even a simple product identity card.
For example, in April and May, the sales of hydroponic apple bananas and millet bananas skyrocketed. With a "no banana green" card, strings of hydroponic bananas became popular green plants on the desks of migrant workers. Eating a string of green bananas after ripening is equivalent to eliminating anxiety.
A fruit upstream supplier enterprise in Fujian Province mentioned in an interview with Interface News that the shipment volume of apple and banana this year has reached 4-5 million tons, nearly doubling from last year.
From this perspective, this round of popularity is not only limited to cat memes, but also brands and official institutions willing to understand and cater to the preferences of young audiences.
When a brand expresses its understanding of young people through actions and communicates with them in a way that young people enjoy, young people will also give back their attention and support to the best of their ability, striving to make the brand they like survive.
Write at the end
When cat meme becomes a popular culture, some people also ask, why is it cat meme, not dog meme?
Actually, there are all of them.
Back to the popular meme on the Chinese Internet, Doge, annoying dog cheems、 Lemon heads, watermelon heads, and now cat and dog fruits are all included.
(On the left is the synthesis of Doge's head onto the muscle body, and on the right is Cheems)
These similar memes actually point to the same needs of young people: the desire to understand, the desire to be seen, the desire to have an outlet to release emotions.
The Internet is changing with each passing day. It can be predicted that meme will be updated in the future, and the universe will continue to grow.
But this kind of "thirst for understanding" in popular culture will continue throughout.
This will also be one of the core communications between brands and consumers in the past, present, and future.
After all, Cheems have been popular since 2017, while Doge has been leading the life of a top tier meme since 2013.
This article is from the WeChat official account "DT Business Observation" (ID: DTcaijing), written by Zheng Xiaohui, designed by Zheng Shuya, operated by Su Hongrui, supervised by Li Jingyu, and released by authorization.
The viewpoint of this article only represents the author himself, and the 36Kr platform only provides information storage space services.
一周涨粉10万，猫meme怎么就火了？
古希腊掌管“流量”的神，最近轮到了猫meme。
meme，是“模因”的意思，也可以简单地理解为“梗”。猫meme视频，即用各种网上走红的魔性小猫素材制作的小短剧。通过猫咪的神情和动作，生动地传达人们的快乐、悲伤和崩溃等情绪。
猫meme不仅成为素人冲爆款的素材，也成了品牌官方账号运营的流量密码。
举个例子，在使用猫meme剪视频之前，@顺丰速运 的小红书笔记平均点赞数在几十到几百不等，但靠着猫meme视频，拿下了接近18万的点赞；创立28年的国产薯片 @噜咪啦 在B站一周内涨粉超过10万。
（有猫meme视频的品牌官方账号 / 图源小红书截图）
还有京东买菜、上汽大众、正新鸡排、洁柔纸巾等看似和猫meme八竿子打不着一起的品牌，也靠猫meme撑起了账号转赞评数据的一片天。
猫meme究竟是怎么火的？不同平台上，分别有哪些品牌靠此收获了流量和粉丝？猫meme的爆火背后，有哪些品牌启示？
猫meme梗宇宙，靠“00后职场发疯”壮大
猫meme的常见原型来自五湖四海，有来自tiktok宠物博主的猫，也有来自B站、抖音、小红书博主们自己养的猫。
比如常被用作对话的两只猫则分别来自B站UP主 @骄傲的大肥兔 和 @吟游诗人咣舅爷。前者一只是听起来像是会说话的猫，叫波仔；后者养了一只因为眼角向下、看起来弱小可怜又无助的猫，叫咣当。
（波仔和咣当 / 图源 @吟游诗人咣舅爷）
在洗脑的配音和bgm的助推下，猫meme的梗宇宙逐渐形成，猫meme也成为新晋流量密码。
不少人都用猫meme玩梗、讲故事，连官方账号也用猫meme剪视频。
不同的是，官方账号的猫meme视频标题和内容紧扣00后的打工生活。在小红书上企业账号发布的“猫meme”视频笔记内容高频词中，有美丽的“精神状态”、“打工人”、“发疯”、“整顿”“职场”等。
热门视频标题也正是这些词的排列组合，比如：
【猫meme】00后大学生勇闯xx当运营；
猫meme重生之勇闯运营岗；
用猫meme给领导一些00后震撼……
视频内容通常是这样的：
00后开心入职或者00后接手公司的账号运营，准备摸鱼的时候领导下发离谱需求（通常是账号涨粉10万、产出百万爆款视频等），不想第一天就被开除的00后硬着头皮一顿操作，拿出猫meme视频极力说服领导“包火”，最后让观众帮忙点赞、关注，实现自己向领导吹的牛。
看起来是关于《00后如何硬气整顿职场》，实际上是《00后在线请求大家帮忙保住饭碗》。
抖音、小红书、B站上，靠猫meme爆火的官方账号不一样
铺天盖地的素材、较低的制作门槛，让猫meme二创视频迅速规模化。
用猫meme运营官方账号，也成为越来越多品牌和机构新的营销方式。
这些视频看起来似乎千篇一律，但仔细对比抖音、B站和小红书上的热门猫meme视频和对应的品牌官方账号，会发现它们其实各有特点。（注：快手上的热门猫meme视频主要来自素人号，来自官方账号的较少）
在抖音上，出圈的猫meme视频主要来自公安、交警、消防、禁毒、城市文旅号等官方账号。
这些视频的特点是：借着猫meme的壳，融入官方机构的主要职责和想要普及给大众的知识。
比如 @宜昌公安 在视频中，借领导给00后下达任务时提到宜昌公安的特点，包括“做强市县主战、严打突出犯罪、精耕预防警务、提升治理水平”，结果收获了86万点赞数。
B站，则成为老牌国货安利产品的“热土”。
在B站猫meme相关热门视频TOP 20中，@源氏食品 和 @噜咪啦官方 分别都出现了4次，可以说是B站猫meme营销大战中的两大赢家。
@源氏食品 是来自洛阳、有12年历史的辣条品牌，在猫meme视频中展示了辣条的原料是大豆粉，而且采用一级大豆油和五香调料，干净卫生，让不少B站网友都想下单购买。
@噜咪啦官方 则是来自云南的国货薯片品牌，始于1996年，已经有28年历史，此前在社交媒体上的热度不高。自从用猫meme视频表达“自己不是杂牌”“线下市场竞争太大，真的打不过国际大牌”而出圈，一周涨粉10万。
一位网友用行动表示了支持并建议道：“在B站刷着刷着就买了一箱薯片，已经收到了，好吃，吃完还买。”
（@源氏食品 评论区 / 图源B站截图）
尽管没有最新的相关电商数据能看到B站网友们给噜咪啦贡献了多少销售额，但在相应的淘宝商品链接的评价里，可以看到最近有至少10条评价都提到了“从B站来的”或“B站运营真的没骗人”。
相比之下，小红书更像一个品牌赛马场。
无论是大品牌、小众品牌还是新兴品牌，从食品饮料、游戏到香水个护……都能在榜单上找到。
比其他平台更突出的是，当品牌在小红书上运营时，往往会在视频中提到打工人向领导争取的福利，比如“如果一个月能涨粉到10万，品牌就要给粉丝们激情抽奖”，然后在结尾处顺理成章地恳求观众关注、点赞。
后续实现涨粉目标后，品牌也会真的安排抽奖、直播、在小红书上搭建粉丝群等，进一步把粉丝转化为品牌的用户。
为什么大家都爱猫meme？
如果只谈结果，流量无疑是猫meme受宠的原因。
年轻人爱看猫meme，猫meme在算法的推荐下，能给品牌账号带来流量和关注，可谓是双向奔赴。
如果想找共性，猫meme视频可以被看作是一种建立在“发疯打工人”人设上的情绪营销。
当越来越多品牌加入这场猫meme新型营销大会时，背后的运营者真的全都是00后吗？我们无从得知。
但有一点可以肯定的是，打工人的悲欢是相通的。
要求运营“一个月涨粉10万”，就如同短剧里动不动就“让所有人陪葬”的霸总一样，大家都懂“老板无理取闹”是一种怎样的体验。
品牌立人设的本质，就是和消费者建立一种更亲密的关系，让消费者更容易对品牌产生好感和共鸣。
谁能跟消费者产生共鸣，获得消费者的认同，就有几率获得消费者的关注，甚至是自发式的传播。
当然，人设有风险，选择需谨慎。
而从最近走红的人设来看——不管是在短剧里暴怒的打工人“王妈”，还是视频里花式整活的00后，“发疯打工人”仍是一个能持续引发共鸣的人设。
在小红书笔记评论里，就有不少人和猫meme视频的“00后”“打工人”共情，而选择关注账号，助力品牌运营完成KPI。他们主打“年轻人help年轻人”，还有人放出狠话，“你老板要是把你裁了我立马取关”。
其次，和以往正儿八经的营销不同，这些猫meme视频画面基本和传统意义上的“高级”“有品质”“有格调”不沾边，反而有些粗糙，还有点荒诞。
当00后和猫meme的组合开始泛滥后，一些账号又续写了类似“00后请假休息，70后学习如何制作猫meme”等剧情。
正是这种“接地气”的内容，给年轻人提供了真实、即时、直接的乐子，年轻人自然愿意买单。
在抖音上，观看猫meme的人群除了18-23岁这一年龄段，在其他年龄段上的人群分布都比较均匀。
B站和小红书上的受众则更加年轻化，都集中在30岁以下人群。
接地气的、能引起共鸣的内容，并不局限于视频，也可以是装置、是图文、甚至一张简单的产品身份卡。
比如4、5月销量暴涨的水培苹果蕉和小米蕉，凭借着一张“禁止蕉绿”的卡片，让一串串水培香蕉成为打工人办公桌上的网红绿植——把一串绿油油的香蕉养熟后吃掉，就相当于消灭了焦虑。
福建省一家水果上游供货商企业在接受界面新闻的采访时提到，今年苹果蕉的走货量有400-500万吨，较去年接近翻倍。
从这个角度来看，这一轮火的并不只是猫meme，还有愿意了解和迎合年轻观众喜好的品牌和官方机构。
当品牌用行动表示自己“懂年轻人”，用年轻人喜欢的方式和他们沟通，年轻人也会回馈力所能及的关注和支持，努力让自己喜欢的品牌活下去。
写在最后
当猫meme成为一种流行文化，也有人问，为什么是猫meme，不是狗meme？
其实都有。
回溯中文互联网流行的meme，Doge神烦狗、cheems、柠檬头、西瓜头，再到如今的猫meme，猫狗水果都涵盖在内。
（左边是doge的头合成到肌肉体上，右边是cheems）
这些类似的meme其实都指向年轻人的同一个需求：渴望理解，渴望被看见，渴望有一个释放情绪的出口。
互联网日新月异，可以预见的是，未来meme会更新换代，梗宇宙也会持续壮大。
但是这种“渴望理解”的流行文化内核，将会贯穿始终。
这也将是过去、如今和以后品牌和消费者沟通的核心之一。
毕竟，cheems是从2017年开始流行的，而Doge从2013年就开启了顶级meme的一生。
本文来自微信公众号“DT商业观察”（ID:DTcaijing），作者：郑晓慧，设计：郑舒雅，运营：苏洪锐，监制：李晶禹，36氪经授权发布。
该文观点仅代表作者本人，36氪平台仅提供信息存储空间服务。