Efficient emails have interaction the reader and encourage them to take motion. There are many methods to try to try this, however GIFs in e-mail advertising have one thing nearly magical about them.
Why? For one factor, folks don’t actually count on to see transferring pictures in an e-mail.
However it’s additionally as a result of pictures are extra highly effective and extra memorable than phrases. They get consideration. They elicit emotion. GIFs in e-mail advertising can talk a key thought rapidly and successfully.
GIFs aren’t only for social media. Sure, they do properly at getting consideration in that crowded panorama. However the e-mail inbox is crowded too, and when readers scan by an e-mail after opening it, a GIF is bound to catch their consideration and make them spend extra time together with your e-mail.
After all, it’s about extra than simply throwing in random finds from Giphy. You’ll get probably the most out of including and creating animated GIFs for e-mail campaigns if you happen to accomplish that strategically. We’re going to discover some manufacturers which can be utilizing GIFs to make their emails extra impactful.
However first – let’s reply just a few questions on GIFs in e-mail.
Are GIFs in e-mail supported?
You’ll suppose that by now, supporting GIFs could be fairly customary amongst e-mail shoppers. And you’d be appropriate… aside from some variations of Outlook.
Desktop variations of Outlook (2007 – 2016) don’t assist animated GIFs. Outlook 2019 performs an animated GIF as soon as after which produces a play button to see it once more. Nonetheless, GIFs will work simply fantastic for subscribers utilizing Outlook.com and on the app utilizing iOS or Android.
E mail builders can deal with Outlook GIF assist points with some conditional code that creates a GIF fallback, which shows a static picture as an alternative. The opposite possibility is to verify the primary body of a GIF has crucial info, since that’s what desktop variations of Outlook will show.
Don’t miss our different suggestions for fixing Outlook e-mail rendering points.
A technique round that is to write code that tells Outlook easy methods to deal with GIFs in your e-mail. That doesn’t fully remedy the issue, nevertheless it does present a greater expertise for the reader.
Why use GIFs in emails?
A greater query is likely to be, why not use GIFs in e-mail advertising? Let’s be trustworthy, it’s a terrific (and fairly straightforward) strategy to deliver static emails to life. However that’s not the one cause.
Methods to make use of GIFs in e-mail:
- Create an animated call-to-action (CTA)
- Embrace as a substitute for video in e-mail
- Present how one thing works with an animation
- Add humor to an e-mail marketing campaign
- Draw consideration to one thing necessary in an e-mail
- Showcase a number of merchandise in a single picture
When Dell used GIFs in one among their e-mail campaigns, they noticed a 42% improve in clicks. Extra importantly, they earned a 109% improve in income. Granted, that was again in 2014. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless an instance of how e-mail design modifications could make an enormous distinction.
Let’s have a look at the technique from 5 manufacturers which have used GIFs in emails extra not too long ago.
6 manufacturers utilizing GIFs in e-mail creatively
It’s fairly easy to move over to Giphy and search for pre-made GIFs referencing popular culture, present occasions, animals, and lots extra. And there’s nothing flawed with that — so if you happen to discover one thing that matches throughout the tenor of your e-mail, go together with it.
However by way of advertising that nudges prospects and subscribers to take motion and obtain true worth out of your e-mail, you often wish to make your personal GIF pictures. Let’s have a look at just a few examples.
1. Apple: GIF as how-to content material
Apple despatched an e-mail exhibiting subscribers easy methods to handle and simplify their iTunes subscriptions. The e-mail included a GIF, proven beneath, that walked subscribers by precisely easy methods to find the suitable settings on their gadget.
This GIF delivered worth to customers by giving useful info and fixing a selected drawback many confronted.
2. Adobe: GIF illustrates a function
To unfold the information of one among their coolest product options, Adobe used a GIF to deliver their e-mail to life. Their subscribers may instantly see the ability of the device. For his or her current prospects, this might additional solidify their reliance on and loyalty to Adobe. And for a lot of of their potential prospects, the “wow issue” of this demonstration was probably sufficient to transform them.
3. EPIC: GIF promotes a sale
A standard use of GIFs is solely to attract consideration. EPIC despatched out an e-mail selling large reductions. Folks get these types of emails on a regular basis and reductions alone typically don’t get sufficient consideration. However anybody who opened this e-mail could be drawn to the colourful GIF animation and provides the message above-average consideration.
On this case, EPIC’s e-mail GIF isn’t what most of consider as a typical GIF. The model used the GIF file format so as to add a transferring background to a graphic. There’s no popular culture reference, no merchandise, not even any animated textual content. It’s easy, nevertheless it’s additionally type of… hypnotizing.
4. Loom: GIF as a substitute for video
One other efficient method to make use of GIF animation in emails is to preview or promote an precise video — like what Loom did right here. Movies don’t often play in emails, however if you happen to create a GIF from the one with a ‘play’ button overlaying the picture, it might appeal to extra clicks to the actual factor.
5. Everlane: GIF showcases a number of merchandise
Right here’s an e-mail instance from Everlane the place the GIF does the promoting. This kind of animation works properly for merchandise which can be very related however are available in quite a lot of colours, shapes, flavors, sizes, and many others. On this case, the GIF reveals completely different t-shirts worn by completely different fashions.
So, proper within the e-mail, with out even clicking, the subscriber has already began the purchasing course of.
6. Starbucks: GIF to assist create buzz
Once you’ve received a particular occasion or an enormous announcement, a bit of animation can boost your e-mail marketing campaign, making it extra memorable. Starbucks did this with an authentic animated GIF to advertise pop-up events the place subscribers may get free espresso.
If the information you’re sharing is thrilling, it solely is smart to create a extra thrilling e-mail!
Fast suggestions for utilizing GIFs in e-mail advertising
GIFs are a terrific addition to your e-mail design, however that doesn’t imply you possibly can throw just a few in and name it a day. Listed here are some tricks to get probably the most from utilizing GIFs.
1. Don’t overdo it
Placing a GIF in each e-mail will, in the long run, be like placing a GIF in no emails. In advertising, if you happen to do one thing on a regular basis, it inevitably finally ends up changing into background noise. Use GIFs neatly, strategically, and selectively.
2. Take into account e-mail accessibility
Animations which can be too quick and flashy can truly trigger hurt to individuals who endure from seizures. So go straightforward on the motion.
And if you happen to bury necessary copy throughout the GIF picture itself — as with all different picture — you run the danger of individuals not seeing that textual content if the GIF doesn’t present up for some cause. And for folks with visible impairments, together with colour blindness, you run the danger of them lacking your message.
So watch out when together with key messaging on the precise GIF until you repeat the identical message elsewhere within the e-mail.
3. Embrace fallbacks
Anytime you add complicated parts to an e-mail, you improve the probabilities of it not working. Whereas there’s a lot you are able to do to attenuate this, as you’ll see in a bit, you do wish to embrace a static picture that can present up rather than the GIF if for some cause it doesn’t operate.
4. Use GIFs to tease video content material
You noticed this earlier within the Loom instance. Video usually doesn’t play in emails. It may be executed, nevertheless it’s difficult and never universally supported by e-mail shoppers. There’s probability many subscribers gained’t see it.
So if you wish to ship a video through e-mail, you usually have to simply embrace a screenshot with a play button that clicks by to the video. With GIFs, you may make the video seem like taking part in, which might improve clicks.
5. Watch the file measurement of GIFs in e-mail
This once more is true with any graphics. Giant file sizes improve load time, and subscribers rapidly lose persistence if they’ve to take a seat there whereas the picture slowly comes into view.
Identical to you wish to scale back file sizes for normal photographs and graphics, you’ll want to preserve your GIF file sizes small too.
Optimizing GIFs for the e-mail inbox
Gradual load instances. GIF animations not exhibiting up or not animating (Outlook!). Incorrect picture placement. There are a selection of the way your GIFs and different graphics can present up incorrectly when your subscribers open your emails on the handfuls and dozens of doable units and platforms.
E mail on Acid’s Marketing campaign Precheck automated checklist contains the Picture Validation step, which exams load time for pictures, ensures appropriate borders and widths, and confirms that your GIFs are working correctly.
We even make it straightforward to do the workaround talked about earlier for subscribers who could also be opening your emails in Outlook. You possibly can rapidly select the body in your GIF that you simply wish to present up as a picture for Outlook customers, in case the animation doesn’t operate.
Remember that while you check with E mail on Acid, you gained’t have the ability to see the GIFs in motion, as our previews are static. Odds are the platform will seize them mid-animation, however relaxation assured that is completely regular. It means they’re animating simply fantastic!
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Writer: The E mail on Acid Workforce
The E mail on Acid content material group is made up of digital entrepreneurs, content material creators, and straight-up e-mail geeks.
Join with us on LinkedIn, observe us on Fb, and tweet at @EmailonAcid on Twitter for extra candy stuff and nice convos on e-mail advertising.
Writer: The E mail on Acid Workforce
The E mail on Acid content material group is made up of digital entrepreneurs, content material creators, and straight-up e-mail geeks.
Join with us on LinkedIn, observe us on Fb, and tweet at @EmailonAcid on Twitter for extra candy stuff and nice convos on e-mail advertising.
