How GIFs can Boost Your Social Media Presence

What do you call a 3 to 5-second short clip that is played repeatedly?

Answer: GIFs!

GIFs are the primary source of today’s social media humor. If you’re active on Twitter, Facebook or even Tumblr, you’ve most probably seen a number of interesting, witty, and mostly funny GIFs doing the rounds.

An acronym that stands for Graphics Interchange Format, GIF was introduced to the public in 1987 by Steve Wilhite as a new way to present a moving image. It has now become the internet’s go-to image format as an easier form of expression in the digital world.

Do you know why people use GIFs? Out of a million reasons, here’s a few:

GIF is the Internet’s Language

For most people, it’s easier to be funny with GIFs than with their own words. Therefore GIFs play a vital role in the cultivation of internet culture. As years passed, forms of content and communication have changed. To keep up with the trend, you should look into utilizing GIFs in your social media strategy.

GIF is Used by Everyone

GIFs are very easy to consume, making them appealing to any kind of business trying to satisfy their target market’s needs. Today, there are more than 300 million people who are reported to use GIFs in their social media platforms daily. Marketers don’t expect this number to reduce.

GIF is Enticing and Effective

Aside from being visually appealing, GIFs are also effective in enhancing a brand’s message with visual content. It is said that people remember only 20% of the text they read without any visuals. This emphasizes the reason why graphics is more important than ever.

GIF is More Attractive than Images but Cheaper than Videos

Ever since brands discovered that GIFs are a popular form of content marketing strategy, they immediately started using GIFs. Aside from being more attractive than simple images, they most certainly are cheaper and easier to create compared to videos.

GIF is Mobile-friendly

GIFs last only a few seconds, thus their file size is notably smaller and uploading them is faster. Meanwhile, the auto loop feature gives emphasis to the brand’s message and retainable in one’s memory.

Now, the question is… GIF or JIF?

A debate on GIFs pronunciation has been ongoing and people can’t stop talking about it. Should you pronounce it with a soft “G” as in giraffe or a hard “G” as in graphics?

Despite the more popular way of pronouncing it with the latter, the creator of GIFs, Steve Wilhite, has finally ended the big debate. He clarified that the correct pronunciation is the first one–soft “G,” as the name came from the American peanut butter brand “Jif.”

GIFs will definitely continue to be a trend. So, if you'd like to sign up your brand for success, then you should start incorporating animated images in your marketing campaigns. And a professional digital marketing agency can help you get started!