How to Use and Create Animated GIFs in Email Marketing?

Overview

GIFs add a touch of fun to your emails and enhance their appeal and engagement. This blog will explore how to use GIFs in email marketing and how to benefit from them. In addition, you will also get to know why people use GIFs in email and some of its best practices.

Adding GIFs in email marketing is one such creative method. One statistic states that about 51.28% of marketers like to use GIFs in their email marketing services. And the results they have seen are just incredible. Read more to find out a step-by-step explanation of how to insert GIFs in email.

What are GIFs?

Like images, GIFs can be a fantastic way to convey concepts and information accurately to the users. They can also be a pause for users already tired from reading long paragraphs of text. GIFs are great stopping points between images and videos. This is because they offer you the best of both worlds.

They are more interactive than plain images; at the same time, they are smaller and easier to create than a video. However, in the past few years, GIFs have been associated with humor, visual cues, and pop cultural references. Learning how to use animated GIF in email can be different and complicated.

Why do people use GIFs in Email Marketing?

Adding GIFs to your emails is an excellent way to make your content more dynamic and engaging. Using content marketing GIF in emails will leave a good impression on potential clients or customers. In addition, they can also help increase interaction with your audience.

Here are a few reasons why you should consider using GIFs for email marketing:

1. They add visual interest to boring old email

GIFs add an element of motion to the otherwise static email. They make your emails look more attractive.

2. They stand out

GIFs are eye-catching, and that is an undisputed fact. So unless someone has used a dozen GIFs in a simple email, your GIF will likely stand out against the rest of the nonanimated emails.

3. GIFs work when videos don’t

Generally, if an email platform supports embedded images, it is likely also to support GIFs. However, such is not the case with videos. Major clients like Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail do not support video files. So, if adding a dash of animation is your aim, marketing GIFs is your best bet.

4. They are mobile-friendly

Since more than 1.5 billion people check their email through mobile, using GIFs in email marketing is the right thing. They are lighter than video files, allowing them to load easily on mobile devices.

Email and GIFs are like a pair made in heaven and go very well together. So, if you just use them right, you will experience all sorts of benefits. The next section explains the advantages of animated email marketing.

What are the advantages of using animated email marketing?

GIFs can change the tone of your email; when used correctly, it can improve how your audience perceives your brand. There are several benefits of using GIFs in email marketing campaigns, including:

1. Simplify a complex idea

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a GIF is probably worth even more. You can use GIFs to illustrate a complex idea so your customers can understand you better.

2. Evoke emotions

Animated GIFs can evoke emotions from the viewers. That is if you manage to use the right set of GIFs in your email. With content marketing GIFs, you can build a connection between you and your customers that can never be possible with just texts.

3. Saves times

Generally, people don't have enough time or patience to go through your entire email. Therefore, using GIFs in email marketing helps them save time to understand your message and take the required action.

4. Increasing ROI

GIFs, as you know, help you connect with your target audience, garner their interest, and nurture good relationships. All of this will contribute to increasing your business's overall ROI. This way, you can make the most of your marketing spending.

BY successfully implementing GIF in email marketing, you can experience all of these benefits and more. But do you know how to embed a GIF in an email? Well, if you don't, then the next section might be of some help to you.

How can you use GIFs for email marketing?

Adding an animated GIF to your email follows the same process as adding an image file. There are three ways you can embed a GIF in an email:

1. Drag and drop

This method of embedding GIFs in email marketing is easy. All you have to do is click and hold on to the GIF you like and then drag it over to your email. However, there is one small issue: not every email client supports drag-and-drop uploading.

2. Download and re-upload

If you already have a GIF downloaded, you can simply re-upload it on the email platform. However, make sure that the file keeps the .gif extension, or you will lose the animation. Once you have the GIF downloaded, all you have to do is follow these steps, and you will be able to add GIFs to email marketing successfully:

3. Copy the URL

If a site does not provide you with a link to share the GIF, you must copy the image link by right-clicking on it. The process is very easy; once you have the URL, you can process it to your email client. Find the insert photo button, click it, and paste the URL. Make sure that the link ends with a .gif extension.

You can use any of these three methods to achieve your desired results. However, just adding GIFs in marketing will not do, you have to be smart about how you use them. The following section will give some important tips you can use.

Best Practices to Use GIFs in Email Marketing

Now that you are familiar with embedding GIFs in marketing let's look at some of the email marketing best practices.

1. Do not go overboard

Sometimes simplicity is all that customers need, unlike an email that is filled with moving images. Occasionally, coming across a GIF is a great experience, but imagine if you have to face a bunch of them simultaneously.

Have you heard of this? Too much of anything isn't good. Well, it's the same thing here!

2. They should be understandable

Use GIFs with a clear message and in context to your brand and the email subject. As an email marketer, your job is to share content that strikes a chord with your audience, not confuse them. Therefore, when using GIFs in email marketing, only include images with bold captions and coherent movement.

3. Your branding should be on point

With GIFs, it's very easy to steer away from your brand's original identity. Especially with so many options, you are bound to get tempted. But remember, no matter what, your brand comes first.

4. Watch out for the layout

The last thing you need is for your GIF to look out of place and in contrast with the overall layout of your email. Designing GIFs is easy; what's difficult is integrating the rest of your design. If your GIF has a different color scheme than your layout, it will stand out, but not in a good way.

5. Align your GIF and CTA

Every email you create should have a call to action. The best emails drive customers to take action. That's why it's important to make sure your GIF and CTA play well together.

You can use these tips to improve your email campaign further. If you need help implementing GIFs in email marketing, you can always get help from a professional email marketing services provider like Gigde.

Conclusion

GIFs have become a fun and interesting communication method in this digital age. So, if you plan to spice up your email marketing tactics and need professional help, we recommend getting help from Gigde. With our expertise, adding GIFs in email marketing will become a piece of cake. Check out our website for more information on our services.

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