GIFs on social media are hot and everyone knows them, moving images that are often funny and have no sound. Some are a bit funnier than others. But how do you use them in your social media strategy? Let that be exactly what we explain to you in this blog! Happy reading!
What are GIFs?
GIFs are different pictures in a row. They are often used to reinforce a message. The term ‘GIF’ is an abbreviation for the term ‘Graphics Interchange Format’. A GIF is not a new internet phenomenon at all, they have existed much longer than the internet itself and originated from the file format .gif, the predecessor of the well-known .png.
One of the oldest GIFs is this dancing banana from Hyves.
Why would you use GIFs?
Now you may be wondering why you should use GIFs in the first place. What added values do they have in your communication? There are several reasons why it is best to integrate a GIF. We’ll list them for you:
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- With a GIF you can clarify your message and leave less room for interpretation.
- The recipient of your message will immediately see what emotion you want to convey.
- They also make your message a lot lighter
- You show that you have a humorous side.
What is the best way to use them?
Using GIFs is certainly not difficult, but it is important to always focus on your message. A GIF is more likely to be used to support your message. It is therefore perfectly possible that your message does not lean towards using a GIF. Think of less positive news or really serious messages.
Not every channel lends itself perfectly to the use of GIFs either. Instagram and LinkedIn, for example, are slightly less ideal than Facebook. You can’t add a GIF directly on Instagram like you can on Facebook. There, you can actually do this in a detour. Instagram Stories, on the other hand, are slightly better suited, although it is more about stickers that you add to your own images. So they hardly ever stand alone in your story.
With LinkedIn, the reason is obvious. On a business channel it is often not really appropriate to use GIFs. This does not mean that it is never possible, but unlike Facebook, LinkedIn will not automatically give you the opportunity to use a GIF. With Facebook, this is really embedded in the platform.
When is it ideal to use a GIF?
A common way in which companies use GIFs is in conversation management on their social media channels. Nice examples of this are: Volvo and Bol.com.
At So Buzzy we dare to use them in polls on Facebook. When we ask the opinion of our followers, it is always nice to support this visually. Even though we didn’t provide an image ourselves.
Where can you find GIFs?
Now for the key question, of course. Where can you find these nice moving images? Fortunately, there are already a few channels that you can consult to find the best GIFs.
How to make your own personalized GIFs?
Now, of course, you’ve heard us tell you about our own GIFs and you’re thinking, “hmm, I’d like that too”. Okay top! Then it’s best to read on. How did we start making the GIFs of Office Dog Lola?
Step 1: Create good images
Lola is not the most patient when it comes to sitting still and looking into the lens. With the necessary cookies, blue background and a lot of patience we made a movie. Now this movie was not square and Lola looked too slowly from left to right.
Step 2: Fine-tune your footage
In other words, our film has yet to be made square and accelerated. GIFs don’t take too long either, so in our case shortening was also necessary. For this we use a few fast tools.
- https://video-crop.com/
- Squarefit
Step 3: Direction Giphy
Through the site GIPHY.com you can easily pimp your movies so that they become fun GIFs. You can also easily adjust the length of your movie here. Next comes the fun part. Decorate! Go to work with the different fonts, colors and animations.
Step 4: Selecting and uploading tags
After decorating you choose (if you want others to be able to use your GIF as well) some tags that describe your GIF well and that’s it. Your GIF is now online. From now on you can easily use it.
Good luck!
We are curious to discover your GIFs!