In this day and age, GIFs have taken the world by storm. What started out as a humble technology that improved compression for photographs, GIFs are now invariably used as a form of expression.
In recent times, these alluring animated pictures have come to play a crucial role in online marketing via blog entries, emails, websites, forums, and more. Nowadays, it would not be an over-exaggeration to say that online marketing is significantly shaped by graphic design in the form of GIFs.
However, despite the significance of GIFs, they tend to be neglected in most marketing plans and directives. We’ll teach you how to completely utilize GIF templates, giving your business’s marketing strategy the necessary windfall to propel it over competitors.
What are GIFs, and How Do They Attract Customers?
Though they may seem to be relatively new, GIFs can be traced all the way back to 1987! As mentioned earlier, GIFs came about because of the need for image compression. To cater to this need, Steve Wilhite devised the ingenious compression technology known as the Graphics Interchange Format which also facilitated the transmission of animated pictures.
GIFs have seen their fair share of turmoil throughout their lifetime. Beginning out as a form of picture compression, they’re now ubiquitously used to express feelings and emotions.
They are dynamic and visually appealing, allowing you to share your message in a manner that captivates your audience.
Using GIFs can provide your marketing strategy with that much-needed engaging element- which is more often than not lacking in even the best marketing plans.
Whether you want to add flair, relay an anecdote or simply enhance your marketing, dynamic content is the way to go. Naturally, it goes without saying that strategic placement of GIFs is crucial when it comes to online marketing- no one appreciates an unrelated, crass GIF!
Creative Ways to Incorporate GIF Templates
The applications of GIFs are nearly endless! Below, we’ll be going over some of the best ways Desygner can benefit your business and its online marketing goals by allowing you to easily create effective GIFs:
Increase Customer Engagement.
Engaging customers can be a daunting task. On the contrary, using GIFs can transform this tough row to hoe into a piece of cake.
Moving images naturally draw attention and encourage the viewer to actively connect with the content. The dynamic adds a “curiosity factor” to an online marketing campaign, encouraging viewers to click on the advert or email and see what is within it for themselves.
Improved Memory Retention.
According to estimates, when simply reading text, people tend to remember roughly 20% of the text. However, simply incorporating an image or two can boost those numbers tremendously.
As a result, GIFs are an excellent tool for boosting memory retention amongst your prospective customers. After all, a picture truly does convey a thousand words!
Convert Viewers to Customers
GIFs are an excellent alternative to your conventional countdown timers. Keeping this in mind, you can use GIFs to highlight the urgency of your content.
Using this urgency, you can push your viewers to action; thus effectively converting more viewers into customers!
Small Footprint
One of the greatest advantages of GIFs is their space footprint. When compared to other file formats, GIFs are exponentially smaller. The smaller file size is directly proportional to faster loading times so you can bid slow, clunky online marketing adverts adieu!
The list of benefits doesn’t end here. With GIFs, you can use transparent backgrounds which can integrate well with your brand’s website, giving it a professional and minimalistic aesthetic.
Using GIFs in Online Marketing: Best Practices
As with any asset, misuse or overuse of GIFs can lead to disastrous and unwanted effects. Therefore, we’ve compiled a list of best practices for you to observe when using GIFs in online marketing:
- A few GIFs here and there engage customers and never negatively impact your message. On the other hand, going overboard with GIFs is a surefire way to distract your prospective customers from the actual content and purpose of your marketing plan.
- Always remember: The GIF used should be related to the content or activity being conveyed. Misusing GIFs runs the risk of offending customers, and that is a big red flag on its own!
- Always aim to create a GIF with a file size of 40KB, or less. Larger file sizes lead to slower loading times, and your prospective customers won’t sit around waiting for a single GIF to load!
- At times, a GIF may fail to load or display properly. No matter the reason, it is essential that an alternate image text is present, so that viewers may comprehend what the GIF was for. Try to make your description as detailed as possible, thus aiding understandability.
Final Thoughts
The applications of GIFs are nearly limitless! Whether you want a quick fix to increase customer engagement, improve your brand’s memorability, or simply improve your brand website’s performance, GIFs are the way to go.
With GIFs, your business will gain a much-needed edge, propelling it over its competitors. Moreover, with greater customer engagement, your customer’s interest in your brand will increase, leading to an improvement in customer loyalty.
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