Graphic Interchange Formats or GIFs as they are popularly known are a really fun way to communicate, add humour and personality to your content. These looping animated videos are a versatile tool that instantly attract attention to the content they are used in. With attention spans decreasing it is key to hold your audience’s attention and truly drive your message. Hence the need for visual content is huge and GIFs fit in very well as part of that.
Why are GIFs popular?
They can be adopted to suit your brand easily and bring out your brand personality, They are fun!
They are dynamic and hence better than images.
They are simple to consume. You can embedded them easily in your emails, social media messages, DMs etc.
They are cheaper to create than video.
They are mobile friendly.
They instantly catch attention and hook the audience, quick in building a brand connect – which is much more effective than just a picture.
They are easy to find or create – There is a huge stock of Gifs, so if you think you cannot create new GIFs, don’t worry as there is so much you can choose from.
What are the different types of GIFs?
There are so many types of GIFs that one can build a strategy around them. Understanding your audience and their likes is key. If anything, make sure DO NOT go overboard with it!
Reaction GIFs – Commonly used in social media and messaging apps showing a reaction to something.
Illustration and Cartoon GIFs – Illustrated by an artist and then turned into a GIF. Some amazing art is featured on Giphy.
Illusion GIFs – These trick your eye. They are amazing to look at but don’t look too long or you’ll go cross-eyed.
Cinemegraphs – These are still-photos but with one animated section. Like a river flowing or the subject’s hair blowing in the wind. They can be quite beautiful and relaxing to view with a lot of potential for advertising.
Branded GIFs – These are GIFs that are branded, with logos, or product releases or sale items. Great for advertising. Brands that create these GIFs are aware that these GIFs have huge potential to create shareable content.
How to really use a GIF in day to day marketing?
Their accessibility and ease of sharing make them extremely versatile.
Emails and newsletters – A GIF can really catch attention and draw people in to read your content in your emails and newsletters. They are great for adding humor and excitement.
Replies and comments – Reaction GIFs can really bring out your brand voice – whether it’s cheeky, funny or just helpful!
GIF-ify your branding assets – Turning logos into a GIF while combining with the brand tagline or other brand assets contributes to brand recall.
Show your products as a GIFs – A series of products or styles can be converted into a GIFs so audiences can scroll through the examples.
In contests – There are many ways to run a GIF contest. For example, which is the best GIF for or create your own GIF around a particular topic. Spot the difference between two GIFs, or spot the odd one out of a GIF showing your product range.
Infographics -Most infographics are static and GIFs can lighten them up.
Stickers on social media– Sharing GIF stickers in your stories on Instagram and Snapchat. Instagram and Snapchat have opened up search for GIF stickers on their stories. This is a great way to add fun and creativity to your social media channel. And finally…
‘How to do GIFs’ – Use GIFs to show a short processes or step-by-step procedures as anything that goes through a series of steps can be captured in a GIF!
While GIFs are coming out everywhere here’s a word of caution on using them correctly;
Don’t overdo – there is a time and a place where they can be used but not every where.
It has to pass the 3 seconds mark – as required by Instagram, videos need to be 3 seconds long.
It has to scream out RELEVANCE! Don’t just post a GIF – there needs to be content that is relevant to the GIF else it will not build the connect. Assess the emotion a GIF will bring to your customer. Best to ask before posting – is it really funny? Is it really fare and genuine?
Top tip: Remember you need to convert your GIF to a video or Mp4 format.
Lastly, get the ROI – find out ways in which you can attach analytics to your GIF to measure the success and shareability it has.
Get GIFying!
