Obsessed with B2B marketing? You should be a PRO member! Join now at 25% off (or 50% off for teams).
Listen
NEW! Listen to article

The GIF, short for "graphics interchange format," has become a staple in modern communication. The short, looping video clips can be easily shared, which has made GIFs popular with social media users. They're perfect for conveying emotions, reactions, and ideas in a fun, engaging way.

But aside from being a popular form of entertainment, GIFs can be a powerful marketing tool, even for B2B marketers.

Pulsating HELLO text in green

Source: Pixabay

Why Are GIFs Popular?

GIFs are undeniably popular in online communication. One of the top GIF-sharing platforms, Giphy, has over 700 million users who share more than 10 billion pieces of content daily.

There are a few reasons that GIFs work so well. They relate to how we process images and browse content.

It's a part of our biological makeup that our brains process images more quickly than words. That means if you want to convey a lot of information quickly, your best options are videos, images, and GIFs.

Giving priority to visual cues also aligns with how we use social media. As we browse through a Facebook or Instagram feed, we're generally not paying attention to each individual post. Consciously or otherwise, we're looking for something that stands out, looks interesting, or appeals to us.

Why Are GIFs Good for Marketing?

Social Media

On social media, GIFs have a few subtle advantages over full videos and still images.

Unlike a still image, a GIF is an attention-grabber: Movement makes the GIF stand out. When you scroll through your Twitter feed, do you notice that your eyes are drawn to moving images over still ones? It's a natural reaction.

But videos are also moving images, so why don't they work just as well? Videos can be great content for engaging an audience on sites such as YouTube, but many social media feeds don't autoplay videos. That means a user has to make a conscious choice to play the clip.

Incorporating GIFs into your marketing strategy can also be effective for reaching out to potential customers through chatbots and automated sales AI systems. The dynamic nature of GIFs can capture the attention of users and enhance the conversational experience, making it more likely for them to engage with you.

Engagement

Increasing the visibility of your profile and encouraging engagement is a crucial part of any marketing strategy.

In marketing and user experience (UX) design, if a user has to take additional actions to get to your content, we refer to it as friction. Friction drives down engagement rates because it causes users move past your content to something more accessible.

GIFs avoid that problem by being immediate. They autoplay on a loop of a few seconds, which makes them hard to ignore. Getting a user's attention can be difficult in the crowded space of B2B marketing, and marketing with GIFs can help you increase engagement.

Alternating heart and thumbs up signals in pink and blue

Source: Pixabay

Brand Persona

GIFs can help establish your brand persona and voice, allowing you to connect with your audience in a more personal way. GIFs convey a lot of personality and tone. And you can create your own to tailor them to your specific company values.

Mobile-Friendliness

GIFs are small files compared with videos. They're no more difficult to load than an image. That means they're perfect for mobile browsing, which is how most of your audience views its social media content.

How Can You Use GIFs for Marketing?

Enter your email address to continue reading

A Beginner's Guide to Using GIFs in Marketing

Don't worry...it's free!

Already a member? Sign in now.

Sign in with your preferred account, below.

Did you like this article?
Know someone who would enjoy it too? Share with your friends, free of charge, no sign up required! Simply share this link, and they will get instant access…
  • Copy Link

  • Email

  • Twitter

  • Facebook

  • Pinterest

  • Linkedin

  • AI


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Jenna Bunnell

Jenna Bunnell is the senior manager for content marketing at Dialpad, an AI-incorporated Cloud-hosted unified communications system that provides call details to business owners and sales representatives.

LinkedIn: Jenna Bunnell