GIFs are not a new trend, but they are more widely used than ever. The Internet did not take too long to embrace GIFs, and even though they were introduced in 1987, they continue to be extremely relevant and valuable.
As you know, GIFs are a huge sensation across social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. Many brands have started incorporating them into their social media marketing strategy. While you can do that if you haven’t already, there’s also a lot of buzz regarding making them a part of the content marketing strategy of promoting businesses. Some of the reasons why this makes sense are given below.
● GIFs are appealing, entertaining and effective
GIFs help brands boost their message with appealing and entertaining visual content. It means you cannot underestimate the power of visuals when spreading your brand’s message. Studies reveal only 20% of the text is remembered by people if the text comes without visuals.
As businesses are looking forward to blending their content markets with ROI, GIFs might offer the ideal encouragement for the audience to listen and retain a brand’s message. It can serve as the perfect CTA.
● GIFs are easily consumed by the audience
GIFs are consumed and retained easily by the audience. That’s why they are extremely attractive to businesses trying to meet the content needs of their target audience.
In 2015, Twitter reported users shared over 100 million GIFs. The number has only increased from there, and GIFs have surged into the mainstream spotlight.
● They’re so much better than pictures but cheaper than videos
Brands started heavily using GIFs in content marketing because they’re more appealing and engaging than pictures. Also, compared to videos, GIFs are easier and cheaper to create.
Moreover, if you already have videos that you have created for promoting your brand, you can convert video to GIF Mac and use them in your content. It will help to lend a unique personality to your brand.
● GIFs are mobile-friendly
GIFs are short animations that last for a few seconds, and their file size is smaller than videos. Therefore, GIFs are easier and quicker to upload. When they’re seen in an auto loop, the effectiveness of the brand’s message increases.
● They’re highly engaging and attracts the attention of the audience
Typically, GIFs are used to express emotions and feelings. When words fall short, people communicate through GIFs. Therefore, they’re being utilized as a new form of communication that represents one’s feelings via an animated image. By including this in your content marketing strategy, you can bring your content to life and ensure your audience is hooked to your content.
● Helps in telling a story
In a brand’s content strategy, storytelling can be quite effective as it helps build a relationship with the target audience. Also, GIFs and visual content play a key role in the story. They help capture the audience’s attention and quickly create an outline of what the overall content is about. So, readers don’t need to go through blocks of text to understand what you’re saying. They can skim the story.
● There’s an abundance of stock on the Internet
Brands don’t even have to create their GIFs if they don’t want to. They can easily find a huge amount of stock on the Internet. What’s more, you are sure to find one that is perfect for every occasion. Moreover, there are handy tools available online that allow brands to create their unique GIFs and use them in their content. Some of the popular stock libraries you can check out are GifBin, Giphy and Imgur. Go through the library to select GIFs you need for your brand, or you can use the library to serve as an inspiration for your designers. You can even turn your old brand photos and videos into GIFs and reuse them.
● GIFs make the promotion of content so much more interesting
When it comes to traditional marketing, people are less enthusiastic and receptive. That’s why brands are trying to come up with new ways to capture the audience’s attention. Since there’s already so much competition, brands need to put on their creativity hat and find ways to be unique.
Brands heavily use gIFs as part of their email or social media marketing tactics to inform the audience about new products or services. They help brands relay messages appealingly and interestingly, which only takes a few seconds.
● They’re used across channels and platforms
GIFs are used across social media platforms, and therefore, brands can use them accordingly. But you need to understand the content popular on different social media networks.
Summing up
So, these are some reasons why you must consider using GIFs as part of your content marketing strategy.