Lately quite a few people have been asking about other advertising capabilities on social media beyond images or videos. This question brought me to GIFs, an animated type advertisement that some brands and companies have had recent success with. Facebook started allowing advertisers to use GIFs in their ads by uploading them via the Ads Manager tool. This is exciting news, as it gives advertisers another option to try and capture users – possibly bridging that decision gap between using a photo or a video. Now you can engage your audience with a GIF!
Let’s quickly recap the functionality of a GIF and why these types of files are widely popular today. As stated above, a GIF can bridge the gap between a photo and a video as this file format supports both animated and static images to form a short looping scene to grab your attention. In this age of instant gratification, GIFs have hit home with pretty much every demographic, but especially younger generations. Even recent mobile device updates now give users the ability to choose from a library of GIFs to send in a text conversation.
So, how can you use GIFs to potentially boost your Facebook campaigns? Success when using GIFs in your social advertisements starts with strategy. What is important to remember during your GIF creation is that you are connecting emotionally with your audience and doing so very quickly (as GIF loops only last a few seconds). Unlike an image where you try and capture the best scene, or a video that may take a lot longer to get to the point of your ad – a GIF will always get directly to the point while stimulating the user’s mind in much the same way a video ad would. Here are some specific examples of how GIFs could be used for your product or service:
Ultimately, GIFs are a great test to try in Facebook or in another platform if you never have before. They bridge that gap while new photos are being taken and videos are being edited, to still showcase something unique to your audience. Create a strategy, implement your GIF ads and keep a close eye on performance to see if these could be a permanent ad strategy for your business.