Is your email marketing campaign falling behind? What’s the best way to get your email messages read? Make them fun and interesting. As an email marketer, you must see that your emails were opened and read. That’s why you keep on improving your campaign’s copy and design. It’s a tricky one since there are a lot of email marketers out there, so you need to stand out from the rest to increase your open rate and engagement and think of creative ways to get ahead of the competition.
GIFs are a great way to get people’s attention and make your email more interactive. Did you know that marketers who use animated GIFs receive higher click-through rates (CTR) on their emails than those who don’t? Using GIFs in your emails can help you engage with your audience, encourage interaction, and convert more users. In this article, we will explore some innovative ways to use GIFs in email marketing and how they can benefit your campaigns.
What is a GIF?
GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) are the perfect tool for adding personality and color to your digital marketing efforts. GIFs are short, looping animated images that convey a point or story engagingly. This looping nature makes GIFs well-suited for creating short, repetitive animations or emphasizing specific actions or reactions. They’ve been around since the early 1990s but have recently become essential to online communication. It has become a popular medium for visual communication on the internet, offering a unique way to capture attention, engage audiences, and enhance the user experience through short, animated sequences.
How to create an animated GIF with VEED?
There are many ways on how to create a GIF. You can find different online tools and platforms to convert a series of images or a video into a GIF file format. Some have a function that can easily convert GIF to MP4 and MOV to MP4.
Here is one way to create GIF using video with a VEED converter.
- Upload a file
Upload the video file you wish to convert. Just drag & drop it onto the page, or click the blue button to choose from a folder on your device (you can also add files from Dropbox or even straight from a YouTube URL).
- Convert your video
Choose GIF as the output format by selecting from the dropdown list of file types. Then just press ‘Convert File.’ It’s that easy!
- Download (& Edit) your video
Hit the ‘Download File’ button to save your newly converted GIF file. You can also click the ‘Edit’ button to add text, auto-subtitles, progress bars, and more to your video. It’s super-easy with VEED!
It’s worth noting that the specific steps and features may vary depending on the software or online tool you use. Some tools offer advanced options like adding text, stickers, or effects to your GIF. Additionally, remember that larger or longer GIFs may have bigger file sizes, impacting loading times and compatibility on specific platforms.
How to use GIFs for Email Marketing?
If you want a response from your contact, you need an effective email for them to act. There are many ways, and one of them is to incorporate moving images – GIFs, which people don’t expect from a normal email. Here’s how you can make your static email engaging:
- Use it appropriately: The perfect way is in welcome emails, promotions, product announcements, product features, or any situation where you grab their attention and create engagement.
- Keep your brand identity: Don’t just go for your creative freedom. You must stay within your branding for your audience across different campaigns.
- Be mindful of the file size: This applies to all graphic design; having a large file size tends to increase the loading time, which may cause your contact’s loss of interest in sitting and waiting for the image to show. Keep it in a small size!
- Don’t overplay: Keep it concise, clear, and easy to understand. Avoid using exaggerated motions or many elements.
- Apply to CTA buttons: Use it to call to action buttons to make them visually enticing. You can change colors or pulsating buttons to take the desired action.
- Consider the first frame: There are unsupported webmail clients, so make sure to create the first frame that is captivating and delivers the main message even without animation.
- Test and optimize: Test carefully across different email clients, devices, screen sizes, and image placement to ensure it displays correctly.
- Monitor and track results: Check and analyze results such as open rates, CTR, and conversion rates to assess how effectively it achieves your campaign goals.
How do you add a GIF to a marketing email?
For an effective and successful campaign, you must consider some factors in adding GIFs to your emails.
First of all, make sure to find the right GIF to convey your message. Next, optimize and compress your file for a faster loading time without compromising graphic quality. At last, test it before sending it and check if it plays correctly and displays as planned. See below the general steps on how to add GIFs to your email campaign:
- Choose a suitable GIF
Select a GIF that aligns with your email’s purpose and effectively conveys your message. Consider using relevant, visually appealing GIFs that support your brand identity.
- Insert the GIF
In the email editor, find the option to insert an image or add media. Choose the image insertion option and paste the GIF URL into the designated field or you can simply drag and drop in the email. They are well supported in almost any webmail.
- Test and Sent
Before sending the email, thoroughly test it across different email clients, devices, and screen sizes. After testing, schedule or send the email to your recipients.
Are GIFs effective in email marketing?
When using GIFs in email marketing, it’s important to strike a balance and use them wisely. Overusing or using irrelevant GIFs can distract or annoy recipients, negatively impacting their perception of your brand. Therefore, it’s crucial to ensure that GIFs are aligned with your email’s purpose, support your message, and enhance the overall user experience.
Here are several reasons why you should utilize GIFs in your email marketing campaigns:
- Grabs attention quickly: Colorful images surely grabs attention; how much more animate it. It can stir the recipient’s curiosity and can help increase the chances of content engagement.
- Express emotions: It conveys emotions and storytelling, adds a human touch to your emails, and creates a significant connection to your audience, which is very important.
- Increased engagement: Their dynamic nature stands out in an email, encouraging recipients to interact with the content and explore the message more. It increases engagement rates, which can lead to higher CTR and conversions and certainly affect your campaign in a positive way.
- Simplify complicated ideas – If you give tutorials or a product guide, you can create a quick guide explaining how the product works easily and briefly.
Disadvantages of Using GIFs in email marketing
GIFs are a great tool to boost your email engagement. When used correctly, they give you a huge factor that can result in a successful campaign. However, when used carelessly, you will miss the big opportunity.
Below are some disadvantages you will experience when using GIFs in your marketing campaign
- Email Client Compatibility – Not all email clients fully support animated GIFs; some may display them as static images.
- File Size and Loading Time – Those that are longer or more complex can have larger file sizes. This can result in slower loading times, which may frustrate recipients and negatively impact their experience with your email.
- Overwhelm and Distraction – Excessive or irrelevant use of GIFs can overwhelm recipients and distract them from your main message.
Why use GIFs for Email Marketing?
GIF can be a very valuable tool in your email marketing strategy. It is important to use them strategically and align them with your brand identity and message. Consider the preferences of your target audience, test your emails across different devices and email clients, follow the best practices, and monitor the performance of your campaigns to optimize your use of GIFs effectively.
Therefore, GIFs in email marketing allow you to stand out, deliver information effectively, and make your brand more relatable and memorable. By embracing the creative possibilities of GIFs, you can elevate your email campaigns, deepen audience engagement, and drive success in the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape.
