GIF Making

Pronounced ‘Jif’ apparently, like the bathroom cream cleaner (which is now called ‘Cif’ to further confuse matters)!

GIFs are the gift that keep on giving.

Puns aside, they can be a useful addition to the marketing toolkit.

Here are some ways they can be used in your digital marketing.

Branded Memes

A seagull wearing red headphones. The text 'Geddon!' appears. Gif making by Video Posts
A dog robot pumps his arms as the text 'WIN!' appears. Gif making by Video Posts

Does your company have some favourite sayings? Do members of the team have a particular work habit? Are there relatable jokes that resonate with people in your industry?

Showing the personality, authenticity and likeability of your team in the form of funny GIFS, invites an emotional engagement with your brand.

Branded Emojis

A smiley face emoji accompanied by company branding. Gif making by Video Posts

Reacting to other people’s posts is a great way to encourage reciprocal engagement and reach new followers. It’s common for people to use generic emojis such as ‘thumbs up’, when posting such comments. Creating a set of custom emoticons can make your brand more visible when appearing in the chain of replies. Although a single posting is likely to have a minimal impact, when multiplied by the number of reaction posts made in a year, branded emojis could contribute to increased brand visibility.

Branded Messages

A testimonial GIF example. Gif making by Video Posts

Virtually any type of static social media post could be converted into an animated GIF. Key statistics, company facts, testimonials, offers…the list is endless. The reasons for doing this are:

  • GIFs have smaller file size compared to standard video, so they’re easy to store, upload and distribute.
  • Video has a higher likelihood of engagement compared to static posts.

The Benefits of GIF Making in Video Marketing

Size

In layman’s terms, a GIF is a video but with fewer frames per second. With less frames in total, it significantly reduces the size of the file. A 50 MB MP4 video for example, could easily be reduced to a 5MB GIF file. This could be particularly useful in email marketing where mail providers enforce limits on attachment sizes.

Autoplay and Loop

Many social platforms auto play standard video, but not in every situation. Users having to physically press the play button on a video is barrier to potential engagement. GIFs have the advantage of being auto played AND looped. This ensures your message is served automatically, with no additional user input required.

The Negatives of GIF Making in Video Marketing

No Sound

In layman’s terms, a GIF is a video but with fewer frames per second. With less frames in total, it significantly reduces the size of the file. A 50 MB MP4 video for example, could easily be reduced to a 5MB GIF file. This could be particularly useful in email marketing where mail providers enforce limits on attachment sizes.

Picture Quality

Due to their light-weight nature, the image resolution/colour depth is much lower than a standard video. With fewer frames, any movement or animation will also be less smooth.

Perception

GIFs are more often associated with memes and humorous reactions rather than as a serious tool for marketers.

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