{"id":63154,"date":"2016-12-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rockcontent.com\/blog\/the-when-where-how-of-using-gifs-in-content-marketing\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T23:10:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T02:10:44","slug":"the-when-where-how-of-using-gifs-in-content-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pingback.com\/en\/resources\/the-when-where-how-of-using-gifs-in-content-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"The When, Where &#038; How of Using GIFs in Content Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>GIFs have evolved our visual language and the way we communicate with each other in a very short amount of time. They\u2019re everywhere now. Slack channels. Emails. Social networks. Articles. Comment sections. There isn\u2019t a digital content format or method of communication that hasn\u2019t been taken over by GIFs. They\u2019ve become one of the internet\u2019s primary languages.<\/p>\n<p>But \u2013 even though they\u2019re everywhere \u2013 a thoughtful, well-used and perfectly timed GIF is always a delight. This is because GIFs are effective. While a picture is worth a thousand words, Alex Chung (CEO of Giphy) pointed out that as the \u201caverage GIF contains sixty frames, then they\u2019re capable of conveying 60,000 words \u2013 the same as the average novel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Given their popularity and ability to quickly and concisely convey emotions, elicit a laugh and so much more, marketers have started using GIFs in their content. Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>GIFs are more interactive and visually appealing than images, but much cheaper than video<\/li>\n<li>They\u2019re mobile-friendly given their small file size<\/li>\n<li>Integrations with social networks make it easy to share GIFs across major players like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram<\/li>\n<li>There is an over abundance of existing GIFs to choose from, and creating original GIFs is very easy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Denny&#8217;s, for example, is one of the best case studies of a brand that has used GIFs to engage with and entertain its audience. The brand has an awesome and hilarious presence on Tumblr with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.dennys.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">blog.dennys.com<\/a>. The brand creates its\u00a0own food-centric GIFs and has really tapped into the tone and\u00a0humor\u00a0that performs well on Tumblr. Engagement levels with each post are impressive.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tumblr-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/embed.tumblr.com\/embed\/post\/zUPF93FbIs3KIHzRsAh9tw\/126629961498\" data-did=\"f7afeb264a310dc022331076787bafc61c907270\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.dennys.com\/post\/126629961498\/when-you-order-toast-with-space-jam\">https:\/\/blog.dennys.com\/post\/126629961498\/when-you-order-toast-with-space-jam<\/a><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/assets.tumblr.com\/post.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In this post, you\u2019ll learn where GIFs fit within a content marketing strategy, where to make your own and how to avoid copyright issues.<\/p>\n<h2>It\u2019s Important to GIF Responsibly<\/h2>\n<p>As mentioned above, GIFs are a delight when they are thoughtfully employed and timed, but it should be emphasized that GIFs are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>ONLY<\/strong><\/span> a delight when thoughtfully employed and timed. Most companies have at least one person that abuses Slack\u2019s integration with Giphy, and they can be grating when misused.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to using GIFs within content, they should only be used when they serve the story you\u2019re telling. Don&#8217;t use a GIF if it doesn&#8217;t enhance the story you\u2019re telling or if your message would remain unchanged without it.\u00a0Choose carefully. If a GIF doesn\u2019t serve a purpose, then it\u2019s just moving clutter.\u00a0Here are a few use cases in which GIFs and content marketing make an excellent pair.<\/p>\n<p><b>Explaining How to Do Something<\/b><br \/>\nTutorials and guides are a staple in most content strategies. When showing your audience how a product works or how it can be used, it\u2019s much easier to do so with images than words. GIFs are great for step-by-step walkthroughs of software features, recipes, beauty product applications and so much more.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Realistically, nobody\u2019s got the patience to scroll through a step-by-step gallery with dozens of still images when one short GIF can show it all in motion\u2014cleaner, faster, less frustration for everyone involved. It\u2019s not just tech stuff, either. People use GIFs for recipes or even something as simple as how to properly tie a tie (I\u2019ve looked that up too many times myself). That little looped motion takes out the guesswork. There\u2019s almost a universal sigh of relief when you realize you don\u2019t have to decipher yet another ambiguous instructional graphic.<\/p>\n<p><b>Bringing Data to Life<\/b><br \/>\nUsing infographics to visualize data in a palatable way is great, but animated infographics\u00a0are next level. Showing how different metrics have changed over time, for example, looks great in GIF form. Also, breaking out a large infographic into smaller pieces \u2013 one GIF per data figure \u2013 is a lot easier and more enjoyable to consume.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s something weirdly satisfying about watching a data bar rise and fall, or a pie chart animate its segments. Maybe it\u2019s just our brains craving a little bit of action with our information. Either way, GIFs make stats way less intimidating and a lot more memorable. If you\u2019re someone who zones out the minute you see a spreadsheet, a looping animation can make all the difference\u2014you\u2019re more likely to remember the moving pastel slices than the numbers themselves. Turns out, engagement really does go up when things get a bit more lively.<\/p>\n<p><b>Email Campaigns<\/b><br \/>\nGIFs look great in newsletters and promotional emails (and most email clients are compatible with GIFS). Experian recently reported that 72% of email marketers that have used GIFs in emails boast higher click-through-rates and transactions compared to GIF-less emails sent to the same customers.<\/p>\n<h2>Making Your Own GIFs<\/h2>\n<p>There is no shortage of GIFs to choose from online, but it\u2019s very easy to make your own if you can\u2019t find what you\u2019re looking for or need to create original GIFs. These two tools have your GIF-ing needs covered.<\/p>\n<p><b>Giphy\u2019s GIF Maker<\/b><br \/>\nGiphy.com is the largest GIF collection online but it also has a GIF Maker that allows you to create GIFs from video files or YouTube links. Simply upload a video or paste a link and you\u2019ll be able to create a GIF within Giphy\u2019s easy-to-use interface. You can choose which part of the video you would like to GIF, set a duration and add a caption. From there, Giphy will create your GIF and add it to its library. <a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/create\/gifmaker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Try it here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>CloudApp<\/b><br \/>\nThis tool is particularly helpful for marketers that work in software. CloudApp enables you to turn screen captures into GIFs. This functionality is great for tutorials and walkthroughs. For each GIF you make, CloudApp will provide you with a unique URL making it easy to share and embed. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getcloudapp.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Try it here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>GIFs and Copyright Laws<\/h2>\n<p>Using GIFs for marketing purposes can be tricky when using someone else\u2019s original content \u2013 like a movie, television show or a music video.\u00a0Repurposing someone\u2019s content for a GIF takes away the copyright owner\u2019s ability to govern derivatives of their work, how it gets shared and any potential proceeds generated as a result of its use.<\/p>\n<p>There have not been any legal decisions made (yet) about whether making a GIF from copyrighted material is copyright infringement, technically, but it\u2019s important to be aware of fair use rules when adapting someone else\u2019s work into a GIF, especially when it is being used for commercial purposes.<\/p>\n<p>The repurposing of copyrighted material is considered fair use when the original material has been transformed for the purposes of parody, education, commentary or criticism \u2013 and does not compete with the copyright holder\u2019s ability to make money off\u00a0of the material.<\/p>\n<p>When creating a GIF from copyrighted material, it\u2019s important to be able to defend:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The purpose of your use of the material, and how it has been remixed into an educational or satirical (for examples) tool<\/li>\n<li>The amount of material being repurposed in relation to the copyrighted work as an entire piece (the smaller the fraction of work being repurposed, the better)<\/li>\n<li>The impact, or lack thereof, that your GIF will have on the copyright holder\u2019s ability to profit from their own material<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And it\u2019s always a good idea to link to the original material to give credit where it\u2019s due.<\/p>\n<p>Confusing? It\u2019s about to get even more complex. Using a GIF that features a person\u2019s face adds another layer of usage issues. The only way to not get into legal trouble when using a GIF that features a famous face is to get their permission to do so. If you don\u2019t have their permission you can possibly receive a cease and desist order from the copyright holder or the celebrity\u2019s management team.<\/p>\n<p>So, GIF carefully and selectively to stay out of trouble and to keep your audience engaged.<\/p>\n<p> }}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is very important to use GIFs responsibly, and sometimes this means sparingly \u2013 especially for the purposes of content marketing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The When, Where &amp; How of Using GIFs in Content Marketing - Pingback<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It is very important to use GIFs responsibly, and sometimes this means sparingly \u2013\u00a0especially for the purposes of content marketing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pingback.com\/en\/resources\/the-when-where-how-of-using-gifs-in-content-marketing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"pt_BR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The When, Where &amp; 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