GIFs present a compelling opportunity for marketers seeking to differentiate their content. Their compact size facilitates easy sharing across various platforms. Furthermore, their creation is relatively straightforward, often utilizing existing video or image assets.
GIFs offer a unique visual appeal in a crowded social media landscape that can significantly enhance engagement.
Start with Understanding the Technical Fundamentals
GIFs are an animated media format that includes images that sometimes look like videos. They are so similar to videos, in fact, that you can use a GIF maker to convert existing videos to GIFs.
As with video, getting them right starts with understanding what makes them what they are. The primary technical fundamental to understand is that the moist impactful GIFs play at around 24–30 frames per second and last about 6 seconds. They can last a lot longer, but you risk losing your audience if they are too long.
Instead of making your GIFs longer, you can loop them. GIFs play and loop automatically on most platforms unless you specifically toggle a setting to turn this off. This means you can create a never-ending GIF if you are creative enough and know how to cut it just right.
GIFs are usually under 10MB in size, although most platforms only allow you to upload GIFs of up to 8 MB. This animated media can be as small as 480x480 pixels, but the optimal size is 1000x1000 pixels.
Source Material Selection
A GIF’s effectiveness, shareability, and virality on social media and elsewhere depend on its content and quality. This makes selecting the content to include in one very important. As mentioned, the easiest and best way to choose the content that will go into a GIF is by using existing video. You have already spent the time, money, and effort to create high-quality videos, so why not reuse them for GIFs?
Another important consideration is making the subject clear. GIFs do not have sound, so you rely on the subject to help people understand what they are about. If it is unclear, the GIFs will not be as effective as you want.
Lastly, ensure the subject conveys a distinctive emotion or action. Remember that you have about 8 seconds to make an impact with a GIF, so you should choose punchy content that delivers the action or emotion you want quickly.
Color Grading, Filters, and Effects
Different online tools, including ones from Adobe, let you do a lot with a GIF. You can remove the background, add textual overlays, add filters, and even change specific colors within the media. However, there is always the possibility of going too far and ruining the content.
When creating GIFs, it is best to take the same common-sense approach you do with photographs and videos. You want them to be quirky, humorous, or fun, depending on what you are going for, but you don't want to add or do so much that the message is lost in the edit.
At the very least, avoid using too many filters or ones that are too strong and using too much text on your GIFs. Some text is okay, but keep it under 10 words if you must use any.
Remember that you have limited real estate to add anything apart from the visual content, so you will make your GIFs look cluttered if you add too much.
Follow Composition Rules
Composition applies to creating GIFs in the same way that it does to creating video. The rule of thirds is fundamental and helps you place key elements at strategic points. Used correctly, this rule can help you draw the viewer's eye wherever you want it, whether to the main subject or wherever else.
The second rule is using leading lines. Like thirds, the lines guide a viewer's attention through your GIF. They can help create a sense of flow, keep your viewers engaged, and make your GIFs feel less chaotic.
The third rule is using a balanced frame to make your GIF feel balanced while giving viewers specific points to focus on.
Finally, intentional movement ties everything together. Ensure each motion in the animation feels deliberate and has an overall narrative or emotional impact.
GIFs can be powerful marketing mediums, but many businesses do not get the right. Doing so requires technical knowledge, strategic thinking, and creativity. Focusing on quality and using the right original content while keeping the technical fundamentals of creating GIFs in mind will help you create ones that stand out and can help you propel your marketing endeavors.