The Drum’s social media government Amy Houston appears to high brands to evaluate how they’ll greatest use gifs and looping movies to extend consciousness, market their merchandise and in the end have a little bit of enjoyable in the meantime. The humble gif (Graphics Interchange Format) was first developed by laptop scientists again in ’87, and much like the meme it has come a good distance since then.Gifs are used so as to add some spice to WhatsApp chats or tweets after they are feeling somewhat lackluster, however there’s a lot extra to those humorous quick clips than meets the attention. They actually are the gif-t that retains on giving… sorry, I needed to.Last week Spotify teamed up with Giphy (the world’s largest gif portal) in a brand new partnership that allows customers to find music from artists together with Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat and Post Malone by gifs. The distinctive partnership has excited a neighborhood of music followers on-line who wish to higher join with one another, and their favourite artist, whereas additionally making method for brand spanking new inventive methods of communication on social media. Giphy says it’s “serving 10+ billion items” of “content material” to a each day person attain of 700+ million individuals to “assist them specific themselves and make their on a regular basis conversations extra entertaining”.So how can brands weave the standard gif into social methods?Video methods have seen a surge in recognition in latest years as a result of likes of TikTok and Instagram Reels. Showing persona is pivotal for brands trying to type an engaged viewers, and plenty of have taken to creating distinctive gifs and looping movies to convey their ethos and merchandise, and spark conversations.Mental well being charity Calm obtained inventive with looping movies on Instagram to advertise wellness and meditation, which in the course of the pandemic was a much-needed type of escapism. Tapping into this and reacting to its viewers wants has confirmed to be an efficient tactic.Using gifs and video to focus on merchandise on social media can really feel much less like a traditional advert, which shoppers might reply higher to. Trying too exhausting to duplicate an promoting asset or prioritizing the gross sales messaging above the standard of the inventive is not going to work, and “the primary focus must be on creating content material that shall be loved by the viewers,” Simon Friend, consumer lead at the7stars, tells me concerning the inventive course of. At the top of the day, it isn’t about “hijacking the format to shove a model or product in individuals’s faces”.Starbucks used looping movies and gifs in its 2020 festive vacation season marketing campaign, counting on a combination on animated images and illustrations to focus on limited-edition flavors. Consumers usually don’t have the time or inclination to scroll by menus, so this can be a sensible method of hyping up merchandise successfully.Gifs present brands with a cheap option to present a 360° view of merchandise, however with any technique it’s crucial to maintain your prospects’ wants on the forefront and “be genuine to your viewers,” says Adam Harris, world head, model partnership studio at Twitch. “Learn the language of the neighborhood you’re participating with and thrive in your interactions with them.”Storytelling is an integral a part of marketing, and gifs will be employed to do exactly that. Using visible language permits a model’s voice to shine in a method that textual content on a web page won’t. An amazing instance of that is the best way that Google makes use of gifs on Instagram to advertise numerous occasions. Adhering to its type information, the property are made with the immediately recognizable daring model colorways. Brand id throughout all communication channels is necessary and gifs must be no completely different – social media strikes shortly, and brands want to provide their viewers a purpose to cease scrolling.One of one of the best facets of social media is the chance it supplies us to be inventive. Gifs and looping movies allow brands to speak with their viewers in a extra conversational and enjoyable method. Standing out from the group, being constant and displaying merchandise in a contemporary method are all elements brands want to contemplate in their social technique – and gifs will be a superb option to embody that.Do you might have a favourite model marketing campaign that has used gifs? Join in the dialog on social utilizing #TheDrumSocial
https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2021/07/30/how-brands-are-innovating-gifs-social-media-marketing-campaigns
How brands are innovating gifs in social media marketing campaigns
