Here is why and how to use GIF’s in your e-mail marketing

Animated GIFs are getting more popular every day. Most of the people even use them daily. In group chats, Instagram Stories and now also mail marketing. More and more digital marketeers are discovering the possibilities of moving images in their content. It has been proven that using the proper use of GIFs can boost Your emails. You reinforce the story you want to convey and can thereby increase engagement. In this blog we explain why you should use GIFs in your email strategy and how to do it successfully.

The power of GIFs
Many companies are already using GIFs in their email marketing today and reap the benefits. For example, BlueFly discovered a 12% increase in revenue from emails with GIFs compared to emails that did not use GIFs. In addition, Dell Computers saw their conversions increase by 103%, clickthrough rate by 42% and revenue by 109% after using GIFs in their emails.

Moving content
All promising statistics, that can be explained by the happy, lively character of GIFs. Words and static images can sometimes fall short to convey a message exactly as you intended. With a suitable GIF you immediately provide the right information with emotional impact for your costumers. But there are more reasons to add GIFs to your marketing strategy. For example, GIFs are:

Good to add context to a (short) message

A good representation of emotions

Easy to share and they go viral quickly

Efficient to show that your company is aware of and powerfully handles internet trends

Good to show the playful side of your company

The GIF-rules
However, your GIFs must meet a number of conditions to reach these goals. The most important one is that you always have to check whether your mail server supports the use of animated GIFs first. After all, you don't want weird stills in the middle of your email. In addition, the GIFs you use must match your target audience and actually add value to the message you send them. Also keep in mind that GIFs have a high attention value, which is good, but you should be careful not to get too blatant. Keep in mind that less is more: keep it simple and don't use them too much. Also, make sure there is a clear beginning and end in the GIF that includes a call to action. And last but not least, don't make them too large. Use a maximum size of 500kb.

On the the ‘how’
All right, now you know the benefits from the use of GIFs in your e mail marketing, time to move on to the ‘how’. How exactly do you use GIFs in your email marketing? We give you 4 ways to efficiently use animated GIFs in your emails.

1. Communicate a certain message strongly
By using a moving image or moving letters, you can reinforce a message and make it stand out more compared to the text of the rest of your email.

2. Emphasize a particular product / service
You can simply emphasize certain features or qualities of a product or service using a GIF. For example, you can move the product so that all functionalities are visible.

3. Sketch a story / process
You can use a GIF to tell a story. The making of your product, for instance. Or some behind the scenes footage from your company. You can also use a GIF to process stills of, for example, a YouTube video in your mail. This way, consumers don't have to watch the entire video to see what it's all about.

4. Show different products
You can easily display different products one after the other with an animated GIF. This way you can present multiple products without it being "too much".

Giffify is your go to GIF-tool
Processing GIFs in your email marketing can be done quickly and easily if you use the right tools. Giffify is the perfect tool for doing this. You simply install the Shopify app and implement the Giffify shortcodes in your store's automated emails. Then you choose the most suitable GIFs to convey your story. And, you’re done! Happy GIFfing.