How to create and use an animated GIF to increase marketing conversions?
If the first gif was created in 1987, it took a quarter of a century for its use to spread.
9% of consumers use it regularly in their personal communications.
But what is an animated gif?
How to make a gif?
How to create an animated gif from a video or download them?
And above all, how to take advantage of the characteristics of the gif in your digital marketing acquisition strategy?
What is an animated GIF?
The GIF is defined as a specific digital image format . Acronym of “Graphics Interchange Format”, the GIF can be perceived as the association of a video of a short duration (a few seconds) with an image.
Concretely, the gif format allows the storage of several images in the same file, thus making it possible to create short animations, repeated in a loop.
According to Brad Zeff, CCO of the GIPHY search engine, a gif consists of an average of 60 images .
Example of Animated GIF
Why use animated GIFS in digital marketing?
GIF's are all the rage on social networks and digital marketing in general. 69% of consumers use it regularly in their personal communications.
It's an engaging format that can go viral pretty quickly on facebook, instagram, twitter, tik tok...
At a time when it is becoming more and more difficult to capture attention and engage your audience by email , advertisements and social selling on social and professional networks , it is becoming obvious to use the popular formats that are "trendy". " Currently.
All brands, community managers, many influencers, and even politicians are starting to use GIFs in their content publications and internet advertisements. So, what are you waiting for to take the train and take advantage of it in your sales and marketing actions?
How to create an animated gif yourself?
There are several possibilities. The first is to transform a video from Photoshop software:
. Choose the video to edit from File > Import > Video to Layer.
. Then, define the dimensions of the gif from Image > Image size.
. Then simply save the creation in GIF format.
Apart from Photoshop, there is free software available online that allows you to create a GIF yourself by assembling several photos and then choosing the animation speed and any effects.
To do this, make sure to select images of the same size and copy them one after the other, in the desired display order.
From smartphones, dedicated applications, free and intuitive, now offer to make a GIF in a few simple steps . Either by association of several photos, or by using the camera of the device.
But let's be honest, it takes time. And in marketing, time is money!
We will therefore direct you to platforms like gifing.com which offers to create an animated GIF from thousands of videos on all subjects. Or directly download GIFs by selecting the desired criteria in the search engine. For example: money, real estate, health, holidays, family, business, sport, etc.
How to download GIFs?
If you don't want to create an animated GIF, there are free and paid databases, such as giphy.com , which we personally use. This gives you access to thousands of content tailored to your search in just a few clicks.
This type of service has two main advantages:
. It saves you time. Since you don't have to go through the various stages of the GIF creation process
. You get a wider choice from a diverse catalog of different types of gifs
New exclusive content every week to differentiate yourself in terms of marketing and be one step ahead of your competitors.
You can download hundreds of GIFs sorted by theme for free (with the watermark of the site). Or with a paid subscription that allows you to download the blank GIF in square, horizontal or vertical format (for reading on smartphones).
What are the different uses of an animated GIF?
The use of an animated GIF is relevant in the following cases:
. Illustrate a newsletter or email campaign with animated visual content
. Animate and engage with a facebook, twitter, linkedin, instagram, snapchat, tik tok post…
. Boost your content marketing to engage Internet users
. Create viral and engaging facebook, instagram, linkedin… ads
Etc.
Depending on the target and brand intent, this specific digital format can be beneficial because it is:
. Lighter and easier to broadcast than a video
. More captivating than a static image
. Able to generate a high engagement rate, by getting a community to react
. Can quickly go viral
. Naturally brings out the text it illustrates
. It can also stand on its own without the use of a caption, which makes the message concise
. Finally, gifs are particularly popular with younger generations (teenagers and young adults) who use them as smileys were used at the time.
Mistakes to avoid when using animated GIF's
Owever, animated gifs should be used sparingly so as not to create the opposite effect to that desired. That is to say drown its target in a communication where the gif occupies an excessive place to the point of becoming intrusive and totally ineffective.
In addition, the choice of the first image of the gif is particularly important since it is it which will capture (or not) the attention of the Internet user.
Finally, pay attention to the size of the file, especially in the case of e-mailing . If the GIF is too heavy, it may take too long to display or not display at all. And the message will immediately end up in the trash without having convinced its recipient to take action.
In summary, dynamic and attractive, the gif has the advantage of being able to rejuvenate the image of a brand , almost in the true sense of the term. In 2018, nearly 7 out of 10 Internet users said they used the GIF format for their personal exchanges.
Aware of the importance of their popularity, 1/4 of websites have started to use gifs in their communication. Consequently, far from being a single ephemeral trend, it seems obvious that the gif has established itself as a format in its own right with its own consumption habits. And that it therefore has its place in an e-mailing strategy, sms or an advertising campaign on social networks, just like any other form of content.
EN 
Español - ES 
Français - FR 
, a gif consists of an average of 60 images .
