Should founders use trending sounds and memes, or does it make them look unserious?

Trending sounds and memes can work for founders, but only as a way of delivering a real point, never as the point itself. A meme that captures a frustration your buyers know well can travel further than a straight explainer and still make you look sharp. A trend with nothing to say about your industry just makes you look like you’re chasing views.

Why trends can help

Platforms pay attention to how people interact with audio. When Instagram’s Adam Mosseri explained how reels are ranked, he listed whether someone is likely to go to a reel’s audio page among the main things the platform predicts, alongside resharing, watching to the end and liking. A familiar sound or format also lowers the effort needed to get the joke.

Humor gets shared, and sharing is what Instagram weighs most: Mosseri said the most important prediction it makes for reels is how likely you are to reshare one. A meme that names a shared pain, like “me explaining to procurement why the cheaper vendor will cost more,” is exactly the kind of thing buyers send to a colleague.

Why trends can backfire

• No link to your expertise. A dance trend tells nobody anything about your judgment.
• The wrong audience. Pure trend content can attract viewers who will never buy, which skews who you reach next.
• Credibility risk. If your buyers are senior and conservative, a steady stream of memes can undercut the trust you’re building. In Wyzowl’s 2026 survey, 89% of consumers said video quality affects how much they trust a brand, and content that looks careless carries the same cost.
• They age quickly. A video built on a sound from three weeks ago can already feel stale.

A three-question test before you use a trend

1. Does the joke depend on knowing my industry?
2. Would a buyer send it to a colleague?
3. Would I be comfortable if a prospect watched it just before a sales call?

If all three answers are yes, use it. If not, skip it.

How much is too much

Treat trends like seasoning. One trend-based video for every four or five substantive ones keeps the feed fresh without changing what you’re known for. Your core content should still show your thinking: see what types of short-form videos founders should make.

Your own voice is the safe default. Talking to camera in your own words is the format least likely to date, and if a trend takes off, you can borrow the idea rather than copy someone else’s clip. If your videos keep stalling whatever you post, the cause is usually elsewhere: see why founder videos get no views.

Keeping up without living on the app

Spotting which trends fit your industry takes time most founders don’t have. The DIY approach is ten minutes a week scrolling your platform’s popular audio and meme formats, saving only the ones you could tie to a real point.

Dopameme tracks trends for its founder clients and only uses the ones that can carry the founder’s expertise, alongside the core formats that build authority. However you do it, the substance has to outlast the trend.

Bottom line

Founders can use trending sounds and memes, as long as each one makes a real point about their industry that buyers would want to share. Use trends sparingly, roughly one video in five, keep your core content focused on expertise, and skip any trend you wouldn’t want a prospect to see before a sales call.

Sources: Instagram: Instagram Ranking Explained; Wyzowl: Video Marketing Statistics 2026.