I Want to See It Again Gif

GIFs in Email Marketing: 6 Brands with Bang-up Ideas

Effective emails appoint the reader and motivate them to take action. There are plenty of means to endeavour and exercise that, but GIFs in email marketing have something almost magical about them.

Why? For ane affair, people don't actually expect to see moving images in an email.

Simply it'southward also because images are more powerful and more memorable than words. They get attention. They arm-twist emotion. GIFs in email marketing can communicate a key idea quickly and finer.

GIFs aren't merely for social media. Yeah, they do well at getting attending in that crowded mural. But the email inbox is crowded too, and when readers browse through an email after opening it, a GIF is certain to catch their attention and brand them spend more time with your email.

Of class, it's about more than than just throwing in random finds from Giphy. You'll get the most out of adding and creating animated GIFs for electronic mail campaigns if you do so strategically. We're going to explore some brands that are using GIFs to make their emails more than impactful.

Simply first – allow'south respond a few questions almost GIFs in e-mail.

Are GIFs in electronic mail supported?

You would call back that by at present, supporting GIFs would be pretty standard among email clients. And you lot would be correct… except for some versions of Outlook.

Desktop versions of Outlook (2007 – 2016) practise non support animated GIFs. Outlook 2019 plays an animated GIF once and and so produces a play button to see it again. All the same, GIFs will work just fine for subscribers using Outlook.com and on the app using iOS or Android.

E-mail developers can address Outlook GIF support issues with some conditional lawmaking that creates a GIF fallback, which displays a static prototype instead. The other option is to make certain the first frame of a GIF has the most important information, since that'south what desktop versions of Outlook will display.

Don't miss our other tips for fixing Outlook e-mail rendering issues.

One manner around this is to write lawmaking that tells Outlook how to handle GIFs in your electronic mail. That doesn't completely solve the problem, just it does provide a better experience for the reader.

Why apply GIFs in emails?

A better question might be, why not use GIFs in email marketing? Allow'south be honest, it's a great (and pretty easy) way to bring static emails to life. But that's non the only reason.

Ways to apply GIFs in email:

Create an animated call-to-action (CTA)
Include equally an alternative to video in email
Show how something works with an animation
Add humor to an electronic mail campaign
Draw attention to something important in an email
Showcase multiple products in one paradigm

When Dell used GIFs in one of their email campaigns, they saw a 42% increase in clicks. More importantly, they earned a 109% increase in revenue. Granted, that was back in 2014. Yet, it'south still an example of how e-mail design changes can make a big departure.

Let's look at the strategy from five brands that have used GIFs in emails more than recently.

6 brands using GIFs in electronic mail creatively

It'due south pretty elementary to head over to Giphy and look for pre-fabricated GIFs referencing popular culture, electric current events, animals, and plenty more. And at that place'southward goose egg wrong with that — so if you lot find something that fits within the tenor of your e-mail, go with it.

But in terms of marketing that nudges customers and subscribers to have action and receive true value from your electronic mail, you usually want to make your own GIF images. Let's look at a few examples.

1. Apple: GIF as how-to content

Apple sent an email showing subscribers how to manage and simplify their iTunes subscriptions. The email included a GIF, shown below, that walked subscribers through exactly how to locate the right settings on their device.

This GIF delivered value to users by giving helpful information and solving a specific problem many faced.

2. Adobe: GIF illustrates a feature

To spread the news of i of their coolest product features, Adobe used a GIF to bring their email to life. Their subscribers could immediately see the power of the tool. For their existing customers, this could further solidify their reliance on and loyalty to Adobe. And for many of their potential customers, the "wow cistron" of this sit-in was likely enough to convert them.

iii. Ballsy: GIF promotes a sale

A mutual use of GIFs is merely to draw attention. Ballsy sent out an email promoting big discounts. People get these sorts of emails all the fourth dimension and discounts solitary often don't get plenty attending. But anyone who opened this e-mail would be drawn to the colorful GIF animation and requite the message to a higher place-average consideration.

In this example, Epic'southward email GIF isn't what almost of think of every bit a typical GIF. The brand used the GIF file format to add together a moving groundwork to a graphic. There's no pop culture reference, no products, not even whatsoever animated text. It's elementary, only information technology's likewise kind of… hypnotizing.

iv. Loom: GIF as an alternative to video

Another effective fashion to utilise GIF animation in emails is to preview or promote an actual video — similar what Loom did here. Videos don't usually play in emails, just if you lot create a GIF from the i with a 'play' button overlaying the image, information technology can attract more clicks to the real matter.

5. Everlane: GIF showcases multiple products

Here's an email instance from Everlane where the GIF does the selling. This sort of blitheness works well for products that are very like merely come in a variety of colors, shapes, flavors, sizes, etc. In this case, the GIF shows dissimilar t-shirts worn past different models.

And then, right in the email, without even clicking, the subscriber has already started the shopping process.

6. Starbucks: GIF to help create buzz

When you've got a special consequence or a big announcement, a picayune animation can spice up your email entrada, making it more memorable. Starbucks did this with an original animated GIF to promote pop-up parties where subscribers could get free java.

If the news you're sharing is exciting, information technology only makes sense to create a more exciting electronic mail!

Quick tips for using GIFs in email marketing

GIFs are a great addition to your email pattern, just that doesn't hateful y'all can throw a few in and telephone call information technology a day. Here are some tips to get the almost from using GIFs.

ane. Don't overdo information technology

Putting a GIF in every email will, in the stop, be like putting a GIF in no emails. In marketing, if yous practice something all the time, it inevitably ends up becoming background noise. Employ GIFs smartly, strategically, and selectively.

2. Consider email accessibility

Animations that are likewise fast and flashy tin actually cause harm to people who suffer from seizures. Then get like shooting fish in a barrel on the motion.

And if you bury of import copy within the GIF epitome itself — as with any other prototype — yous run the run a risk of people not seeing that text if the GIF doesn't bear witness upwards for some reason. And for people with visual impairments, including color blindness, you run the adventure of them missing your bulletin.

And then be careful when including cardinal messaging on the bodily GIF unless you repeat the same message elsewhere in the e-mail.

iii. Include fallbacks

Anytime you add complex elements to an electronic mail, you increase the chances of it not working. While there is much you can do to minimize this, as y'all'll run across in a bit, yous do want to include a static image that will testify upwards in place of the GIF if for some reason information technology doesn't function.

4. Use GIFs to tease video content

Y'all saw this earlier in the Loom instance. Video typically doesn't play in emails. It tin be done, simply it'south tricky and non universally supported by email clients. At that place's a good chance many subscribers won't run across information technology.

So if you want to send a video via email, you normally accept to just include a screenshot with a play push button that clicks through to the video. With GIFs, yous tin make the video appear to exist playing, which tin increase clicks.

five. Sentry the file size of GIFs in email

This again is true with whatsoever graphics. Large file sizes increase load time, and subscribers speedily lose patience if they have to sit there while the image slowly comes into view.

Just like you want to reduce file sizes for regular photos and graphics, be sure to keep your GIF file sizes small too.

Optimizing GIFs for the electronic mail inbox

Slow load times. GIF animations non showing up or not animating (Outlook!). Incorrect image placement. There are a variety of ways your GIFs and other graphics can show up incorrectly when your subscribers open up your emails on the dozens and dozens of possible devices and platforms.

Electronic mail on Acid'southward Entrada Precheck automated checklist includes the Image Validation stride, which tests load time for images, ensures correct borders and widths, and confirms that your GIFs are working properly.

We even make it easy to do the workaround mentioned before for subscribers who may be opening your emails in Outlook. You tin can quickly cull the frame in your GIF that yous want to show upward as an paradigm for Outlook users, in instance the blitheness doesn't function.

Keep in heed that when you exam with E-mail on Acid, you won't be able to see the GIFs in activeness, as our previews are static. Odds are the platform will grab them mid-animation, merely residuum assured this is perfectly normal. Information technology means they're animating only fine!

Explore everything else Electronic mail on Acid has to offering when you sign up for a free trial today.

Writer: The Email on Acrid Squad

The Electronic mail on Acid content team is fabricated upward of digital marketers, content creators, and direct-up email geeks.

Connect with united states of america on LinkedIn, follow us on Facebook, and tweet at @EmailonAcid on Twitter for more sweet stuff and bang-up convos on electronic mail marketing.

Author: The Email on Acid Team

The Email on Acid content team is made upward of digital marketers, content creators, and straight-up email geeks.

Connect with us on LinkedIn, follow us on Facebook, and tweet at @EmailonAcid on Twitter for more sugariness stuff and groovy convos on email marketing.

lawrencehazies2002.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/email-marketing/5-brands-that-are-using-gifs-to-elevate-their-email-marketing/