During the early days of the Internet, GIFs did not have a good reputation. They were cheesy artwork that only existed to slow down web pages. Then, as chat emojis became popular, GIFs fell out of favor. However, in the era of Myspace, GIFs got another shot at rising and proving everyone wrong.
Today, GIFs are fully accepted, and they’re no longer considered unprofessional and juvenile. Instead, they’ve become one of the essential tools of social media marketing. They’re easily shareable and eye-catching, so several brands are using them as a part of their social media marketing strategy. In addition, animated GIFs help add value to brands and accentuate user engagement.
If you’re prepared to animate your personality across social media networks, here’s what you need to know to get started.
How can you create GIFs?
Ready-made GIFs are abundantly available. However, if you want your brand to stand out and make an impact, creating your own would be a better choice.
- You can create GIFs by converting your MP4 videos into GIFs. If you have shot a brand video that you wish to use as a GIF, you can learn how to convert it by clicking here setapp.com.
- Create GIFs from personal or YouTube videos using Giphy’s GIF maker. All you need to do is upload the video or paste the video link to the interface and select the part of the video that you would want to transform. Then, it will be saved in the Giphy library, and you can use it.
- Use Photoshop to create GIFs. upload a video and choose what duration you want. Then, save it for the web and set it to looping forever.
- You can also record videos in the form of a GIF using Instagram’s Boomerang. It will be saved to your camera roll, and you can post it on any social media network.
Watch Video: How to effectively use GIFs on social media?
Effective ways of using GIFs on social media channels
Animated GIFs can add a dash of youthful fun to your brand’s timeline. They will prevent your brand from appearing too serious and keep your audience engaged. Here are a few ways to use GIFs to develop brand personality, build awareness or create viral content.
- Showcase your products with GIFs
Animated GIFs are dynamic, and you can use them to showcase the motion and details that static images cannot. The animation lets you highlight the key features and functions of your product. It makes it easier for your audience to understand what your product is about and how they can use it.
- Offer visual instructions to your audience
If you need to instruct your audience regarding your brand or product, you can use GIFs for step-by-step tutorials or how-to guides. GIFs make guides seem entertaining, and your audience can watch them as many times as they want to understand what you are saying fully.
- Gamification of your social media posts
Want to increase social media engagement? The answer is gamification. You can make your social media posts appear like games, so your target audience is tempted to participate or respond to them. Using GIFs is one of the easiest ways to gamify your social media posts.
- Animate dull statistics
If you need to post about data or statistics, depict your data as GIFs so they can be digested easily by your audience. Some motion or color will make statistics fun.
- A trailer or sneak peek
To build excitement for your upcoming product release or video release, you can use GIFs. Animated GIFs act like the ideal bite-sized teaser to keep your audience wanting more.
- Respond in style
If you want your brand to appear positive and approachable, you can use GIFs to respond to your users on social media.
How can you post GIFs across social media networks?
- GIFs can be directly uploaded to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You need to click on the upload image option and upload the GIF as you would any other picture.
- If you want the GIF to play inline on Twitter, you need to place the link at the very end of your tweet. Once you have posted your tweet, the GIF will animate inline.
Conclusion
Animated GIFs are a wonderful way to grab the attention of your target audience and help your brand stand apart from the rest. As there are over 500 million tweets per day and over 1.3 million content shared on Facebook, it is getting much harder for brands to get their audience’s attention. GIFs with their color and motion make it easy. So, if you haven’t started using GIFs as a part of your social media strategy yet, think again.