Animated GIFs are extremely popular. They can be used in almost any situation and in most cases they bring a smile to people’s faces. GIF stands for “Graphics Interchange Format”. They can be found on all popular social media platforms, messaging services, websites and homepages, as well as forums and account profile pages.
You can use animated GIFs wherever you want to attract attention with movement. The advantage of this solution, unlike video integration, is that animated GIFs can be created with much less effort.
Animated GIFs can be used, for example, as logos on slides or in templates. They can also be used as animated pictograms, as eye-catchers and to visualize trends in charts. For more complex topics, GIFs are also suitable for process visualization. You can also create a slideshow with animated GIFs. Moreover, you can also add a GIF to a PDF file for a good presentation.
The benefits of GIFs
Adding or creating your own GIFs has many benefits. First of all, nowadays society is focused on visual communication, which is why GIFs bring a greater response than static image equivalents. The GIF format allows you to save moving images, so you do not need to spend extra money on creating personalized video content.
There are many possibilities! If you need to design a short message, the best solution is an interesting and visually attractive banner with a looping animation. You don’t need sound or additional elements for thousands of users to understand you without words.
They can be used in business to:
- DIY guide – DIY shown in GIF form ? Nothing easier! The photos themselves are enough to create something more interesting than a long description of the presented process.
- Communication with fans – GIFs are no longer associated with content and have become commonplace. Their skillful use has a positive impact on consumers’ perception of the brand. Through GIFs, a brand can interact with fans.
- Presenting history – GIFs are also a good medium for conveying stories. Using this format in brand storytelling will diversify communication with users.
- Showing personality – Brands that show their personality on the Internet are considered more human. Funny or educational GIFs create an additional space to exude original character.
- Real time marketing – The use of GIFs in newsjacking allows you to visually convey a message relating to an event in real time. Such a GIF is more likely to go viral than a standard note.
- Surprise with your mailing – GIFs have undoubtedly changed e-mail marketing and if anyone has been shying away from them before, they should try it. If we want to test whether this approach will work, it is worth trying to send the same e-mails in a traditional form and with a short animation.
- Offer better presentation – By creating an offer in this way, you can fit a large number of products to the surface with little space, also a GIF integration makes your digital presentation more interactive, such as an interactive PDF.
Revive your company website and blog
Skillfully placing GIFs on your company website can work wonders. Internet users check a lot of websites when looking for the information they need, which is why it is said that you literally have 3-4 seconds to steal their attention. Well-thought-out animation will certainly catch their attention . However, remember not to overdo it, because reaching for GIFs too eagerly will make the page take longer to open.
GIFs are also worth using on blogs, where companies present their offers and the most interesting trends in the industry. An interesting GIF will not only give the reader a break from the sometimes quite long text, but above all it will increase the chance that he or she will share it with other users. As we wrote earlier, GIF, like no other format on the Internet, has a huge viral potential.
Adding a GIF to a post on a company blog can sometimes be a saving grace for the text. Let’s be honest, there are industries whose offer is really difficult to describe in accessible language.
In conclusion
GIFs are very popular and this is not surprising, because it is difficult to find a better way to comment on some events, not only great and important, but also ordinary, everyday ones. GIFs are funny and often very accurate. It’s hard to say that you applaud with tears in your eyes with delight over a film or a song, but showing it with a GIF is extremely simple. They can be used for entertainment, scientific purposes and basically any other purpose we want.
However, one rule should be remembered – if we use them in the company’s communication with customers, we must take special care not to overdo it, e.g. not to violate someone’s political or religious views. Everything should be done with “taste” and be embedded in a natural way of communicating with the recipients.
