What are GIFs
Graphical Interchange Format or GIF was invented by US software writer Steve Wilhite in 1987. He was trying to animate images without crossing over the minimum stipulated file size. You can thus think of GIFs to be a series of soundless video or images which loop continuously without requiring anyone to press on the play button. This very repetition tags along with a familiar feel from the GIFs. Which you can compare to the beat of your favorite song. You can use GIFs effectively on social media to get attention.
Although GIF was considered to be unprofessional and juvenile once, it has been accepted in its entirety. In modern times with social media marketers using the same as a potent tool for their propaganda. These eye-catching GIFs can be shared easily across multiple social media networks. You can easily show off your personality and add value to your brand by adding GIFs to your content.
Why Use GIFs
So, if you are all set to animate your social media personality but are clueless about where to start. Then our guide is for you to pass the test with flying colors.
- The dynamic GIFs can bring along a certain flair in displaying motion as well as intricate details. Which is impossible to attain with static photos. Social media managers can highlight a key attribute of their product coupled with such eye-catching animation.
- Gamification stands out as another means of increasing your social media engagement coupled with stellar GIFs. In this manner, you can make it an extremely fun experience and urge everyone to participate.
- A picture can be worth a thousand words. And when it’s a moving picture, then you are bound to hit the bullseye time and again. Be it step-by-step recipes or tutorials, GIF’s can serve as the pick if you wish to instruct your audience in an audio-visual manner. The audience can watch it ‘n’ number of times unless they fully understand the same as these GIF’s loop forever.
Using GIFs for Business and Adding Value
GIFs can be extremely helpful to convey the message effectively. Here are the few points:
- It becomes extremely easy to relate to GIFs which can also be shared in a hassle-free manner on social media. Social media platforms display visual contents in a large manner. The chances are high that your target audience might actually notice your content as well as share it with probable ones.
- Data animation can serve as an awesome means of depicting the same in a much more digestible form. Social media managers are thus making use of GIF to add a dash of vibrancy and motion to otherwise dull statistics.
- GIFs can be the perfect teaser for an upcoming product or service. If you wish to build enough excitement without giving away too much about the specifications.
- Just like other social media posts, GIF’s are not always about sales or conversion. It can also be possible to just entertain your ultimate audience by sharing some cool stuff through the social platforms for boosting client engagement as well as staying in touch with the target audience. Resulting in business growth on social media by attracting more audience.
- Answering the queries of users also become easier coupled with positive and approachable GIFs. They can also serve as an excellent option of replying back to posts, comments, and Tweets if you even run out of emojis or words.
- The GIF’s you use need to be properly aligned with your audience and brand. Pay close attention to the reaction of the audience. So that, your campaigns can grow in a positive direction.
How to Create GIFs
You can create your favorite GIFs by seeking out the help of the following tools. These tools can even cater to the requirements of amateurs:
- The GIF maker of Giphy aids in making GIFs from personal or YouTube videos. You just need to upload your own link or paste one in its interface and subsequently choose the part of the video which you wish to transform. This, in turn, will be saved in the Giphy library for your use later.
- It is also possible to make GIFs in Photoshop by simply uploading a video and selecting your desired duration coupled with the timeline tool. You need to “Save for Web” while saving and set “looping” to “forever.”
- Boomerang by Instagram refers to a mobile application which allows recording of video in GIF format. You will find the finished product saved in your camera roll. You can post with ease onto the social channels of your company.
- The free application of LiceCap GIF creator from Cockos Incorporated. It aids in recording the desktop screen activity. Which can be saved as an animated GIF. This application can be of great help while creating a small tutorial. One of the best things about LiceCap is that we can use it both on Mac and Windows OS. You can download it from Fileopt which is one of the best sites for downloading Mac and Windows software.
Effective Use of GIFs
Research studies have suggested that emotional response such as happiness and humor can influence people much more than actual content. Property managers can thus create a GIF comprising of a resident who is diving into a sparkling community pool. Throwing light on the various amenities available in community living.
We can also use GIFs for introducing a certain problem to your prospective consumers. And concluding the whole thing by displaying your product as the solution. Even highly informative data can prove to be boring at times. You can visually showcase the message which you are trying to convey by using GIF’s to animate data. In this manner, it becomes possible to hold on to the level of interest. While getting your job done in style.
