GIFs today are video-type images that you see on social media sites. You’ve heard of GIFs, right? For example, some people use GIFs instead of emojis to react to Facebook posts. They’re super fun to use! There’s also an endless amount to choose from, no matter what reaction you’re trying to convey. It’s neat to see a popular movie or TV scene become a GIF and take online interaction to a whole new level.
GIFs are also a recommended use for websites instead of JPEGs. They’re advisable to save loading time and storage space since they’re smaller than JPEGs. Using GIFs will also prevent people from downloading your photos and printing them out for unauthorized use.
However, are GIFs only used for memes or fun responses? And have PNGs rendered GIFs obsolete when it comes to using them on the web? After all, a PNG file will always have better compression and smaller file size when compared to a GIF. In terms of marketing and business, do GIFs still offer any advantage? Should you even bother using them at all?
Well, you’d be surprised to know that GIFs are not useless or archaic. In fact, a lot of big brands are using them, netting positive reactions from their audience. Let’s dive deeper into GIFs and find out how you can use them to your brand’s advantage.
What is a GIF?
GIF is actually an acronym for “Graphics Interchange Format.” If you’re wondering how to pronounce it, the creator, Steve Wilhite, said it is pronounced with a soft “g,” like Jif, the peanut butter.
The GIF format supports up to 8 bits per pixel for each image. It also uses the 256 colors of the 24-bit RGB color space. Plus, the GIF format supports animations. That’s the most considerable difference it has over other image formats. But as mentioned, the color palette is limited to 256. This makes it ideal for images like graphics or logos that have solid colors. If you try to save a photo in GIF format, you might not get the most accurate colors.
Where did GIFs start?
As already mentioned, the creator of the GIF is Steve Wilhite. He made the GIF back in 1987. Smithsonian Magazine says that it was because they were looking for a storage solution. Back then, computers didn’t have much memory. Therefore, they needed to make a computer display an image while still saving on memory. So Wilhite found a way to compress images while using the 256 colors of the RGB color space. GIFs soon became the world standard, especially on the Internet. Software developers quickly came out with different programs to produce GIFs.
Now, as also mentioned, the GIF was the only format that could make still images move. This ability was because of the compression algorithm Lempel-Ziv-Welch named for its three creators (Abraham Lemepl, Jacob Ziv, and Terry Welch). Unisys Corp patented this algorithm. But most people didn’t know about this patent. So they were surprised that suddenly, the Corporation wanted their royalty fees for all software that used the algorithm.
In response, developers came up with different file formats, like the Portable Network Graphics (PNG, humorously called Ping, is Not GIF). And eventually, GIFs were phased out for still images since other formats could do the job better. The only thing they couldn’t do? Become animated images. And that’s the reason GIFs are still around!
Which brands use GIFs today to their advantage?
So with that in mind, the moving image that’s not a video is still appealing. Think about it: do you have the time to watch several videos every day? Or do you want to wait for content to load if you have a slow Internet connection? Because GIFs are animated, they’re great for communicating jokes, emotions, and even ideas instantly. Some websites like GIPHY and Gyfcat make it even easier to create and share GIFs. They’re even integrated into apps like Twitter so users can react with them just like emojis.
In fact, GIFs are still so appealing that various brands have been using them for their marketing content! What’s the advantage of using GIFs for brands? As DSIM said:
- Lighter on memory and easier to use than a video.
- It grabs attention.
- Creative GIFs swiftly go viral.
- It can easily communicate what you want in a few seconds.
- And GIFs allows users to engage either spontaneously or through creative campaigns.
Here are a few brands that have used GIFs:
Subway
For #EatYourVeggiesDay back in 2016, Subway made a GIF that showed one of their sandwiches in the background and then shifted to vegetables in the foreground. It was a great way to show that people could enjoy a delicious sub and still get a good serving of vegetables. And Subway communicated all of that in a few seconds!
Lyft
Back when Lyft achieved serving 50 cities in the USA, they made a GIF to celebrate. It showed the map of the country with Lyft spots popping up in the areas they serve. Definitely eye-catching and delivers a more striking result than just a still image, don’t you think so?
Starbucks
In the UK, during the 2020 holidays, Starbucks emphasized their limited-edition red cups using GIFs. The GIFs focused on two key ingredients of their featured beverages. The content was very effective in showing the limited-edition drink and options for those who have specific dietary requirements.
Back in 2018, Google launched a voice-activated mini-golf game. They showcased it in New York, so they released a golf-related GIF on Instagram to hype the event. Aside from being a great graphic, it made Google stand out. It helps communicate the message easily.
Use GIFs for your brand today!
In conclusion, we can say that GIFs remain relevant because one GIF can convey a message quicker than a still image. GIFs can also load much faster than a video file. And because of their fun nature, GIFs are excellent when it comes to getting an emotional reaction from your audience. And, finally, they’re genuinely effective in boosting engagement with your content. So, don’t get left behind the competition and start using a GIF for your brand today!