Yesterday, Twitter announced that it now supports GIFs (looping animations) and the world rejoiced. Looking further, you'll have noticed that the conversations quickly divided into two camps: celebration and speculation. To most, it's long overdue and one I firmly believe will enhance the Twitter experience especially if marketers get it right. To others, it threatens to turn Twitter into Tumblr, the blogging platform and GIF stronghold.
GIFs are a good thing. By design, they force us to stop - often for just a few seconds - and view a piece of content. The content can vary, from a 90's-era sitcom throwback, to an awe-inspiring World Cup header to a moment in history captured before social media was on the map. Done well, it can punctuate a larger narrative in a way bottled marketing messaging never could.
GIFs can scare, inform or delight. These emotions drive behaviors we as marketers strive for such as shares, re-tweets or clicks through to a website or download. GIFs can serve as disrupters; interrupting saturated decision makers (and customers) by forcing them to pause and maybe even decide to explore your brand further.
Personally, I can't wait to see how GIFs evolve, both in quality and production. Think GoPro enthusiasts and real-time ireporting, for starters.
All well and good, but you probably want to get started. Before you start flinging out GIFs as part of your content strategy, ask these three questions:
1. Is it relevant? Make sure the GIF you're tweeting makes sense for your brand and community. For many brands, tweeting GIFs will be a foreign concept so make sure what you're sharing is something your followers will welcome. Now's not the time to look clumsy.
2. Is now the right time? If you're in the middle of a Twitter customer service crisis or providing disaster relief, it's probably not the time to start posting GIFs. Please, pick your moment wisely.
3. Does it dilute your call to action? Don't over think this. But just make sure your GIF makes sense. If it's drawing attention to a concept, event or call to action, make sure that is clear either in the copy in the video or Tweet itself and that it doesn't compete or distract from what you're actually trying to communicate.
Enough of the rules, Mashable has posted an excellent piece on how to quickly get started. Need some inspiration? Marketing Land has already compiled a list already ofbest early examples to get going.
Are GIFs an excellent or horrible idea for marketers? Leave a comment below or Tweet me @jpaynebu.
