GIF stands for Graphic Interchange Format but it’s much simpler than the definition sounds. Pronounced as Jif, this potent form of visual content was created by Steve Wilhite. You wouldn’t believe it but GIFs came about way back in 1987. Shocking right? They just seem so recent and new.
Through the years it has evolved and become what it is today; one of the top marketing methods.
The reason is in recent years it has been popularized by social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter by adding a GIF button in their interface. This along with platforms like Giphy and EZ GIF to name a few, have made it possible for user-generated content. Resulting in many engaging and associating this form of visual content. Among these Giphy stands out to be the giant dominating the world of GIFs with its integration in Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp since Facebook acquired it back in 2020
We can then easily conclude they are now an essential pillar in the marketing structure. The added bonus would be that the possibilities are endless with marketing GIFs.
There is so much that can be achieved by incorporating them into your marketing strategy.
Let’s take a look at why you need to use them and where.
With the amount of content that users come across in a day, it is important to grab your viewer’s attention. And GIFs are highly known for grabbing attention. Even more than a picture it is able to stop us in our tracks to see what happens. Since it’s shorter than a video we’re able to consume the entire content that’s being presented easily.
GIFs are able to send the message across quickly so the attention you just grabbed is not going to go wasted (unless the content on the GIF makes no sense).
Emotionally connecting with your prospective customer is very important to make that all-important sale. While a static image can convey emotions to a certain degree it just can’t do what a GIF can do. GIFs have the potential to create the exact emotion that marketers would like to get out of a consumer. And it can be done in seconds! Fascinating isn’t it?
A properly placed Marketing GIF can make a user connect with it to such a great extent that it becomes highly memorable.
This is one of the most common marketing tactics that even famous brand use. Emotions help connect people and create a memory that’s lasting.
There may be so much material out there to help create engaging content. But none is as helpful as a GIF is. A properly placed marketing GIF can increase the chances of your audience engaging with the content you put out. The importance is that there are so many possibilities to explore.
With the storytelling powers of GIFS, you can effectively engage your audience with your content.
Marketing GIFs are the perfect way to showcase products. They’re brief and have just enough information for a potential customer to make an informed decision. Plus they can be made in such an engaging way that a customer would definitely take a double look.
One of the greatest benefits of GIFs is that they’re easily accessible on social media platforms. Since most people spend their time on phones and thereby have access to social media it’s a great opportunity for marketing GIFs. If you need to upload custom GIFs on social media platforms do check out how these integrations can be done before going through unnecessary trouble.
Marketing GIFs are of high importance when it comes to sharing content in Email Marketing. Even on websites like blogs, large bodies of text are summarized down to a GIF to make the content more understandable.
There may be other content marketing methods. But marketing GIFs are your all-in-one superpower when it comes to marketing content. They’re so versatile that almost any kind of content can be done using them. They’re great for grabbing attention as opposed to static posts and videos that you really don’t want to hit play.
They’re the ideal method to communicate emotions surrounding a subject or any kind of information for that matter. Consumers can easily engage and read well what the advertiser is trying to communicate.
Even engagement is higher with this kind of visual content. Since it’s auto-played viewers will definitely stop to take note which is the first step in engaging with something.
Marketing GIFs are able to showcase products clearly and concisely. A great deal of content can be condensed and shown In short bursts of animations. It is easy for any audience to consume.
Above all these GIFs are supported almost anywhere on the internet. It makes them an ideal tool for marketing content. In 2022 December it was calculated that 700 million users use Giphy on a daily basis.
So incorporate marketing GIFs into your marketing strategies. Be appropriate and choose ones that go well with your brand’s tone. When these marketing GIFs are used with all that in mind you can drive conversion rates through the roof!
