If you’re over the age of 22, you probably haven’t heard of the @westchestermemes Instagram account. It’s run by a local high school student anonymously. I personally found out about it by my influencer marketing guru BFF @ms_westchester. The account features memes surrounding the youth in Westchester County. Which got me thinking about the vast market of successful anonymous social accounts, Westchester Memes and monetization.
In four short weeks, @westchestermemes has amassed 23,000 Instagram followers (at the time of this interview on 10/29) and is now hitting over a 120k reach, weekly. This is something I can tell you as a long-time social media user, is basically unheard of these days. Especially on Instagram.
But meme account’s arent new and there are plenty of people who have created entire businesses surrounding their once anonymous meme only accounts. Just look at @thefatjewish (102M followers on Instagram) or @betches (6.7M followers on Instagram).
Are you intrigued yet? I certainly wanted to know more after one short week of following along. While I don’t “get” a lot of the memes as a millennial already long out of college. I like that the owner allows local students from neighboring communities Westchester County towns to submit their own memes. Essentially letting people “make fun” of their towns and cities themselves.*
Anonymous Social Accounts and Westchester Memes
What specifically made your start the Westchester Memes account?
WM: I started this account for fun I was fascinated with the society of Westchester and noticed it was different from most places which led to me jokingly making this account.
Did you think it would blow up so fast? Why do you think people followed you so quickly?
WM: I am still surprised every time I open my phone to this account seeing [a] large number of followers I for some reason have. But I think people followed my account because it was relatable and specific to them and those around them which they appreciate.
Is there anything specific you did to get the account in front of others? (Liking other pages/ following specific people / paying to promote the account?)
WM: I didn’t beg for followers I would say, I looked up locations in Westchester at high schools and the Westchester Mall I then followed high school kids who were in these location tags, some followed me back and some didn’t. I don’t need to do this anymore but it was definitely a good way to get myself out there.
About how many hours would you spend on Westchester Memes per day?
WM: To be honest, I spend more time on this account then I would like, when it got really big I started devoting more and more time to it, I probably spend over 3 hours on my account daily.
I know you were going to start sharing some specifics about yourself when you hit certain follower milestones. Have you ever decided if you share your identity?
WM: I’ll drop hints but I know saying my identity is risky for many reasons. One being I could get expelled or suspended from my school. Another being that I often am getting dox threats. Sharing my identity could lead to my address being leaked and WiFi services being hacked which puts me and my family in danger. And the final being that I know with exposing my identity comes with my account dying out. I think that the aspect of mystery as far as my identity goes keeps the people on their toes.
Can you share your age with me?
WM: I won’t share my age until I hit 25k however by the time this is up I might have already shared this, however, I am a high school student.
Any advice you want to give to someone else in a local town or another county on starting a meme account?
WM: As far as starting a meme account I would just suggest to go for it but make sure that you try and make sure your memes don’t disrespect anyone and that everything you post is in good humor.
Let’s talk monetization with Danielle Colicci
Danielle is the Director of Strategy at boutique Social Media agency, Scout Digital, and has been working in influencer marketing for over 5 years. An early adopter to the influencer space, she started @ms_westchester in 2014 as a way to connect with her community (and mostly post pictures of food.) She focuses her social life on #fitspo and #healthyrecipes, storying avocado toast & her Home Depot runs on the weekends. She’s also one of my friends!
Meme accounts can sometimes be controversial. In your opinion what’s the best way to monetize these accounts?
DC: While meme accounts can be controversial it is absolutely possible to monetize with brand partnerships. Meme accounts have highly engaged audiences because their content is relatable, entertaining, and most importantly very shareable. Brands are always looking to broaden their audience and drive new views to their product and their own accounts, and as influencer marketing continues to be a priority, brands are noticing meme accounts more and more.
Tips on pitching yourself to brands as a meme account?
DC: Unlike your traditional influencer partnership where a brand heavily dictates image and copy direction, brands work with meme accounts to create sponsored content that fits seamlessly in their feed. The key to a successful partnership when it comes to Meme accounts is staying authentic to the content they’re already producing. For example, Betches partnering with dating app Bumble (prior to the launch of Ship) was natural and authentic because Betches was already enmeshed in the conversation about dating woes online.
For an emerging meme account with fast growth, looking to monetize is simple. Take a look at the content you’re putting out and look for brands you find yourself talking about frequently. If the brands are already a part of your conversation, it’s a no brainer for partnerships.
Your Favorites?
If you liked this post drop your favorite meme account in the comments!
I know style-wise this is a very different post for me, but I talk about social media A LOT with my friends in the industry so I thought you may find this interesting! If you hate posts like this I’m happy to hear that too – I always appreciate honesty.
If you liked this post about anonymous social accounts, Westchester Memes and monetization you should check out some of my blogging tips!
*Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions on the Westchester Memes Instagram account are not my own or Danielle’s. They belong solely to the author of the Westchester Memes account.
