How to use GIFs for Your Business

The concept of a GIF is extremely simple: several dozen images strung together in the span of a few seconds that replay over and over. But the reason they are so ubiquitous is because they’re surprisingly versatile. We text them to each other, see them on blogs, and we post them on social media. But how do you use GIFs for your business? 

We love GIFs at Consume Media because they are a professional secret weapon. Since we are already creating videos, it’s a powerful and cost-effective way to take advantage of video production. The magic of the GIF is that it reads like an image to a computer, which means GIFs can go places where video can’t, such as email. On the other hand, GIFs look like a video to humans, meaning that you get some of the benefits of video!

We think the two biggest assets of GIFs (for work purposes) are in email and on web pages. Let’s dive in. 

Using GIFs in your email is an extremely effective way to increase your click-through rate (CTR) and drive more traffic to your content. GIFs allow us to bypass the fact that videos can’t be embedded in email. GIFs have a high-conversion rate when trying to get your audience out of their email and onto your website. We do this by adding in a GIF with a play button overlayed on top, and hyperlinking to the desired viewing or shopping experience where your video lives.

We’ve all been placing links in our email campaigns for years. The problem is that links aren’t exciting to click on! GIFs, on the other hand, are sexy. Plus, the play button is the strongest call to action on the Internet. People love to click the play button because they know they’re about to see a video.

So GIF + play button overlaid tells people 2 things: “here’s a preview of a video” and “click here to see that video.” But don’t forget to hyperlink the GIF to the page on your website where the video actually lives.

Pro Tip: Make sure to include the word “video” in your subject line as that word has been shown to increase email open rates by 5x!

GIFs without play buttons are great on website and blog pages because they bring otherwise static pages to life. We live in an attention economy, which means we are always competing for users attention. Plus, many people would rather watch than read your content, so you’re more likely to get your message across if you use moving content. Since GIFs are moving images, they take visuals to the next level by offering many of the benefits of video.

GIFs are also eye-catching and invite people to stay engaged with your content. The longer users stay on your page, the greater your website dwell time, which leads to increased search engine rankings. In fact, it’s scientifically proven that you’ll stay on this blog page longer because you’ll watch the puppy GIF below several times before moving on.

When planning your video marketing strategy, don’t forget about the power of GIFs. Your video content can easily be converted into versatile and effective GIFs designed to increased CTR in your emails and increase your website dwell time.

Plus, GIFs are also hip and cool. GIFs are popular across all facets of the Internet and make consuming content more enjoyable. While there are thousands of GIFs on websites like Giphy, having GIFs of your own content/company humanizes your brand.

We never overlook the power of GIFs when creating content strategies for our clients. Each piece of content is designed for a different goal, which is why we always create GIFs for our clients who are on our Growth Plan. Whether using GIFs in email or on your website, these tools are effective ways to engage your audience and convert them into lovers of your brand. Click here to learn more.