If you're someone who regularly uses Facebook, you've probably come across memes posted by the popular page 'Sarcasm'. What's unique about the page is that every single post is something that all of us can relate to. No wonder the page reached a record 39 million followers in span of just two years. So how did the creators manage to do that, and how do they generate content? Here's what 23-year-old Meet Luthra, one of the founders of the page has to say. Excerpts...
1. How and why did you decide to create the page?
The co founders and became friends online and we decided to create something together. From 2013 to 2016, we spent all our time trying to learn about user behaviour. We started studying the most followed pages back then, which were UNILAD and 9gag. We knew that if we target only one region, our reach and growth would be limited. We had to expand out target audience to become the biggest Facebook page. We decided to generate content that's sarcastic but also relatable.
2. What was your first post about and how did the overnight popularity happen?
It was a meme we generated making fun of swimming pools saying they have 80 per cent urine and 20 per cent chlorine. People started sharing our posts because it was so relatable. We didn't have to use any boost option. The reach was completely organic. In 2017, some of posts got about 1 million likes. It was surprisingly fortunate for us when the page gained around 39 million followers in two years. No other page in the world has gained such popularity in such a short period.
3. How do you decide what to post?
We observe daily life, things that people are obsessed with. We post about hollywood movies, news and entertainment.
4. What are some of the common comments or feedback from your followers?
We always get comments like 'Hey Sarcasm, how do you know this happened with me today?" It's like they are shocked that everyone faces the same situations in life.
5. What us a normal day at work like? Do you work out of an office or from home?
I take every day as a challenge because I want to reach 50 million followers by 2020. Initially, my team and I used to work from home, just following daily trends and movies and discussing how we can convert them into sarcastic memes. After that, many brands like MCD MI mobile phones and singers approached us to promote them. So we started an office in Gurgaon and hired staff for creative designing.
6. How do you generate revenue?
When we started monetisating the page, we started it by using Google Adsense, Double click and Affiliates. After that, brands started showing their love to us by collaborating with us to promote themselves. Soon, Facebook started a monetisation tool called Instant Articles, articles which open without loading on other page. So we switched from Google to Facebook for monetisation. We also got funding offers from other countries but we kept declining.
7. How far do you hope to go, and what plans to have once you achieve that?
We plan to reach 100 million followers in the next few years. It might sound like a far fetched dream, but with what we've experienced, nothing seems impossible anymore. Once that happens, I'd like to travel the world.
