Images and videos are good marketing campaign materials. But in recent years, we have seen the rise of new material – GIFs. This catchy, usually funny, and relatable content has been circulating on the digital market. From clips of famous movies and shows, to interview reactions of celebrities, it is clear that GIF has sparked the creativity of a lot of people.
What is a GIF?
GIFs known as graphics interchange format is a digital file format that was first devised in 1987 by CompuServe to reduce the size of images and animations. GIF is a dynamic image that is used in marketing and in digital communication. It is an animated image, not a video. It is composed of moving images. Usually, it lasts only seconds long. The recommended length of it is no more than 6 seconds but it can be as long as 15 seconds.
Tips for making GIF
GIFs when produced properly, are a good marketing tool. Here are some tips that will help make that trendy GIF!
Keep it eye-catching. There is nothing more important than being able to engage your target audience and even attract those outside your target. Making a relatable and memorable GIF can do wonders for your venture. Keep up with the trend! Use images or clips from popular TV shows, movies, or Korean dramas.
Keep the file size low. There are minimum required file sizes on social media networking sites for ease of sharing. For some sites, GIFs should not be bigger than 3 megabytes or else there will be a decrease in quality. Ragged edges may appear which is not quite appealing to the audience.
Keep in mind the mobile users. Design a GIF that will appear on a small screen to avoid slowdown or glitches in your GIF. Keep it accessible for everyone and avoid overly flashy graphics that can bother photosensitive individuals. You wouldn’t want to scare your audience away right?
Use the right tools. There are a lot of websites and applications you can use to create your own GIF. They only differ in user interface and ease of learning. You choose which one’s easier for you. Here’s a list of the websites and applications you can try.
Adobe Photoshop
If you are a pro at photo editing, this software will be easier for you to navigate and experiment on. Just a little tweak and you’re on your way to creating your own GIF!
GIPHY’s GIF Maker
Where else would you go but to the company that has the largest library of animated GIFs – GIPHY! It is free of charge and it allows you to create GIFs from multiple file sources! Instructions are included so it’ll be easy to navigate your way through it.
GIFs.com
This is a simple online tool that allows you to turn videos from other platforms as GIFs! However, you need to be a subscriber to access all of its features.
Boomerang for Instagram
This mobile app uses the burst feature of your phone to capture multiple images. The good thing about this is you don’t need to stitch them all together because it already is on loop!
Wrapping it Up!
Keep it simple. GIFs don’t need to be complicated and overly designed. The secret to an eye catchy GIF is its simplicity. Work with a minimal number of colors, that way it’s gonna be easy on the eyes. Additionally, you can add a little bit of text so that there’s a little bit to read too.
Explore new things! Creativity is key to keeping the audience hyped! Be it new typography, new transitions, new images, or new layout – keep your audience craving for more fresh content. That may be a little exhausting and challenging but that’s how competitive the digital market is! You have to either start a new trend or keep up with the trend or be out of the picture already.
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