Today, people are less concerned with grammar and more interested in images. The GIF has become the default tool of web humor.
GIFs are here to stay. GIF was named the 2012 Oxford Dictionary ‘Word of the Year.’
GIFs are eye-catching and easily sharable social media and marketing tools. Animated GIFs can add value to your business’ brand and show off your personality. If you have a sense of humor, use it in your business to engage your customers and potential customers.
What is a GIF?
A GIF, or Graphical Interchange Format, is a series of images or soundless video that will loop continuously and doesn’t require anyone to press ‘play’ for it to work. GIFs were invented in 1987 by Steve Wilhite, a US software writer, who was looking for a way to animate images in the smallest file size.
Why use GIFs on social media?
Creating that close relationship with your customers requires engaging content. The right GIF can connect and engage.
You have an average of eight-seconds of a person’s attention on social media before they scroll on to the next post. Since GIFs average 2-5 seconds in length, they are perfect for grabbing attention.
How else can GIFs add value to your business?
They are easily sharable
They show you’re paying attention to trends
GIFs show your fun side
GIFs can add more context or emotion in a much shorter message
When should you use GIFs?
GIFs can not only keep your audience engaged, but they can help keep your brand from appearing too serious. Whether your goal is to build brand awareness, develop a brand personality, or create more viral content, here’s how you can use GIFs in your social media:
Show off your products
GIFs are dynamic which allows them to show off details and motion that a regular photo simply can’t. their animation allows for a great opportunity to highlight a key function or feature of your product.
Provide visual instructions
GIFs are a great way to instruct your customers with how-to’s or step-by-step tutorials. Since they loop forever, your audience can watch as many times as they need to fully understand.
Provide a sneak peak
Do you want to build excitement about a new product launch? GIFs are perfect for a bite-sized teaser.
Animate your data
Data can be boring. Use a GIF to add color and motion to normally dull statistics.
How to make a GIF
You don’t need to be a tech wizard to create your own GIFs. Here are a few online tools where you can easily learn how to make a GIF by uploading your images and videos.
Ezgif (https://ezgif.com/maker)
Makeagif (https://makeagif.com/)
Where can you find GIFs?
There are plenty of places to find them. In addition to Giphy mentioned above, here are some of our favorite places:
Tumblr GIFs (https://www.tumblr.com/explore/gifs)
Imgur GIFs (https://imgur.com/r/gifs)
GIFbin (http://www.gifbin.com/)
GIFs upload to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest just like you’d upload any image. It’s easy! Give them a try and have fun while engaging your audience!