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The Convince & Convert Editor-in-Chief knew what she was doing when she clicked on me to write a “GIFs for Marketers” post. I recently gave up my title of "emoji queen" to get GIFs-Guru-In-Residence at C&C. That's right. I think in GIF and I will not reply to group emails without email. As you read it, I hope you don't either.
What are GIFs?
GIFs are easy-to-share videos that repeat continuously. They provide emotional weight or context in a world of nonverbal communication. GIFs are popular in today's digital language. They are available to use on your mobile messaging app, in social comments and sometimes as a whole social posting strategy (Tumblr).
If you are not convinced of their importance, then consider this: the use of GIFs on social media is a Shorty award category .
GIFs have a cousin you should also know: Stickers.
What are stickers?
The sticker is technically a GIF format, with (at least 20%) transparency around the edges. Stickers are flat images that can be animated. They're more common on Instagram stories and messaging apps, are often more illustrated, and are meant to add a bit of emotion.
A little history about GIFs
In human years, GIF, which stands for graphic interchange format, would have been Millennial. Internet history traces GIFs back to 1987 and CompuServ. For a few decades, GIFs were cute little animated icons seen all over the web. Certainly, not a threat to the top cultural position that GIFs enjoy right now. But when Web 2.0 (in the early 2000s) gave birth to YouTube and the rise of video creators, followed by the rapid adoption of social media and smartphones, GIFs emerged. as a phenomenon.
Reaction GIFs
Tumblr is the birthplace of GIF reactions, inspiring creators to define the perfect video sequence for every possible reaction. Creators and writers at BuzzFeed have been using GIFs since day one, both on the website and in relevant social media posts. BuzzFeed's popularity helped propel GIFs into the mainstream for internet users and social media culture. Today, GIPHY, Tenor, and Gfycat store and index billions of user-generated GIFs to aid in GIF search and discovery on mobile phones and across social networks.
The GIF pronunciation debate
The ongoing debate over GIF pronunciation splits between the hard "g" or the soft "g". Amazingly, GIPHY teamed up with JIF peanut butter to solve this problem, in GIFs, once and for all.
Can I use GIFs for marketing?
Short answer: of course you can!
Longer answer: Yes! GIFs are preferred for marketing.
GIFs are incredibly flexible in terms of both what they're about and how they're implemented. Using GIFs is another way to integrate more video into your overall post style. In addition to social media, GIFs are used in blogs, email direct messages and even website backgrounds .
And the audience interacts with the GIF. Omnicore found that tweets with GIFs get 55 percent more Engagement than those without — but only 2% of all tweets that contain GIFs.
GIFs work because they're simple – no audio, only video (some with words on images). They create without thinking too much. You don't need video clips to work. The entire genre of GIFs with artistic animated illustrations by talented creators has taken the place of prominence and rivaled video clips for the most viewed GIFs.
Marketers have multiple options for how to integrate GIFs into their content stack:
- Education and notice
- Product display
- Respond quickly to social media mentions and comments
- Presenting simple steps
- Give users something to share organically
- Add movement and interest, especially in traditionally static channels, like email
Why use GIFs in marketing
Culturally, Americans use GIFs most often to express two commonly spoken sentiments; or say “I love you” or “Happy Birthday.”
We have a lot to talk about lately. The cultural awakening and events of the past year have elevated their current “IntoAction” endorsement brand and GIFs into the most viewed partner brand on GIPHY with 21. 4B (that is billion) views in 2020.
Audiences love them because they're short — most GIFs are under 4 seconds long — and add context and emotion. GIFs humanize social accounts by being relevant.
I admit that I think of GIFs, whether from my favorite TV show or a sports highlight pack. Nine times out of ten, when I search for GIFs with emotional or understanding feedback, I can find GIFs that match my exact tone and mood. There's a GIF for anything and everything.
GIFs are marketing because they:
- Spontaneous support and real-time feedback
- Bringing personality into brand tone and identity
- Storytelling support but fewer words
- Is a safe way to check courageous content Super relevant and inspirational.
If we understand where and how marketers can use GIFs, then why are more and more marketers not using GIFs in content?
Don't let the lack of branded content or copyright concerns keep you from using GIFs in the first place. If your Legal department has warned against using GIFS from copyrighted content, don't worry. Designing a set of branded GIFs and Stickers is a relatively simple creative project.
How to make a GIF for your brand
Convince & Convert Consulting recently worked with the University of Arizona on the launch of the COVID Watch app, which is timed when college students return to campus in the fall of 2020. From our message and audience research, we I know students will appreciate images that are updated to reflect current events (diversity and masking are a must). During our creative brainstorming process, we defined a variety of custom icons, Stickers, and GIFs for the COVID Watch Arizona campaign.
Step 1: Build a creative brief.
We wanted the University of Arizona social team to be able to use iconic assets to create their own social media posts, so we enlisted a range of artists to help us bring the icons to life. this into life. Our creative brief includes creative identities, campaign messages, existing icons and images, and links to GIFs and Sticker styles we want to mimic. Our team shared briefs with selected artists from Fiverr, Lightboard , and Ghost Ranch. Using three different creative resources, we've tripled the design options and styles the university will use in the campaign.
Step 2: Start with an icon set for your brand.
A set of custom vector icons that are the starting point for your GIFs and Stickers. Approving the illustrations before they become animated has saved us (and the artists) time in general. Provide icons for your social group to build additional social graphics with GIFs and Stickers. Icon sets can be shared with influencers who co-create content with your brand.
Step 3: Animate to create impact.
After approving the vector icons, the artists worked to animate them to fit the style and format we needed. In our summary, we asked for:
Illustration stickers Emphasize texting campaigns in both handwritten and cartoon/illustrative styles. Animation and movement to enhance the design is a must.
Animated GIFs The illustrations promote the campaign message and tie into the iconic design elements of the brand.
Step 4: Build a Creator Account on GIPHY.
After we had the final files from our designers, we uploaded the .gif files to our GIPHY branding account and added a branded set of hashtags for ability detection ability. Since we verified the account during the creation phase, new content was available almost instantly on Instagram when we searched the University of Arizona.
To create and optimize a GIPHY account, follow these steps:
- Create a basic GIPHY account.
- Upload 5 GIFS (not necessarily original) and sign up for a creator's account
- Organize your account page using playlists and categories. Take cues from brand accounts like LEGO GIFs for best practices.
- Use SEO best practices to tagging GIFs with keywords to aid identification and discovery.
Outsourcing GIFs and Stickers design allows us to have more looks and ways to support the campaign. When looking for artists or ideas to help with your campaign, don't overlook the GIPHY Artist Network. GIPHY recognized its the best and creative people year-to-date, most of them take on custom client work for as little as $100 – $300 per project.
As social platforms and audience preferences continue to favor video-like formats and emotional resonance, marketers must actively use GIFs as part of the content mix. If GIFs from your industry or keywords stink, make GIFs and stickers a priority.
Or, you can follow what I do and use Moira Rose as your default character. With 981 GIFs tagged “ Moira ” by CBC, I am sure that there will always be a suitable Moira for all team emails.
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