More likely than not, you probably use GIFs when you’re texting friends and family, or on your personal social media platforms. It works pretty well in those instances, right? Incorporating GIFs into your digital marketing such as on your website, social media platforms, or email campaigns can help boost your engagement.
What are GIFs?
In case you aren’t familiar, GIFs are short for Graphics Interchange Format. They were first developed in 1987 by an employee at CompuServe. It’s technically a file type that supports animation and static images. They can be used to animate a still object, preview a short movie or television clip, or you can make your own.
Why Use GIFs?
It might seem like GIFs are a new thing for the younger generation, but in all actuality, they’ve been around for almost 30 years. You should consider incorporating GIFs into your marketing because they are easy to understand for readers, they tell a story, they provide an emotional aspect, and they’re just more fun to look at.
Using GIFs in Your Marketing
There are several different ways you can use GIFs in your marketing strategy, here a few that we want to mention.
- Add Elements To Your Website
As mentioned above, GIFs make it simple for readers to consume your content and more visually appealing. Try adding a couple of GIFs where you currently have icons on your website. An animated social media icon, or contact button that moves when hovered over, or when it loads on the page. There are several places you can insert GIFs on your website to make it more eye-catching to visitors.
- Email Marketing
If you are sending a weekly or monthly newsletter to subscribers, GIFs are a perfect way to capture the reader’s attention. They also can provide a humorous feel or other emotional aspects. If you’re looking for an alternative to adding videos into your email, GIFs are a great resource. Did you know that in 2012 the technology company, Dell, sent out their first email with an animated GIF, and conversions rose by 103% followed by an increase in revenue of 109%? Now, we aren’t saying your numbers will automatically increase by this much, but it shows how big of a difference GIFs can make in your marketing.
- Social Media
GIFs are most commonly used on social media platforms for brands. They can help your followers engage with your content, and are perfect for spicing up still images. You should use GIFs that complement your brand and social media presence, don’t just use random GIFs and think that you’ll automatically get better results. Use them to tell a story, complement your brand image, engage your audience, or create an emotional aspect. You need to have a reason for a GIF, just like for anything else you post.
- Promotion Tactics
If you’re launching a new product or service or big sale, use GIFs as a promotional tool. As we mentioned, they are more eye-catching than still graphics and don’t take as much time to comprehend as videos do. When you need to capture potential customers’ attention quickly, GIFs are a great resource.
- Explain How A Process Works
Instead of creating a two or three-minute video explaining how a product works, or how to do something, consider using GIFs. Let’s be honest, people probably aren’t watching those videos, or are just quickly skimming through them until they get to the part that they need. When using short GIF clips, you can decrease the number of time users spends searching for the answer. GIFs also pair well with the text, so you can explain the how-to process and provide visual instructions at the same time. Using text by itself can get lengthy and most users won’t spend the time to read all of the information you provide. The same thing goes for long videos, users more than likely won’t spend the time watching. So, GIFs combine the best of both worlds!
Click here if you’re looking for free downloadable marketing GIFs.
