How to Put a GIF in an Email and Boost Your CTR

GIFs began as a resource used primarily for personal and leisure purposes, often seen on instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp, blogs, and social media. While this hasn’t changed, more brands are now incorporating GIFs into their various marketing channels to attract and engage customers, including using them in their email marketing. Have you considered adding Gifs to your email marketing strategy?

GIFs are animated images that loop continuously, usually with a humorous touch. The looped segment typically lasts no more than 10 seconds and may or may not include text.

Below, we address some questions about using GIFs to help you decide if integrating them into your email strategy is right for your brand.

How to Use GIFs in Your Emails

Most brands that use GIFs in their email strategies rely on platforms that host a vast number of them. These platforms function like stock photo websites but for GIFs. Some of the most popular ones are Tenor and GIPHY, which have integrated search engines to make finding the perfect GIF easier.

Once you've found the GIF you want, you can integrate it into your email content in different ways:

1. Embedding the GIF: All GIF platforms offer an “Embed” option through which you can copy the GIF's code and insert it into your email using your email platform’s code integration feature.
2. Inserting as an Image: GIFs can also be downloaded as images and then added to your email just like you would with a photo.
3. Email Platform Integration: Some email marketing platforms have integrations with GIF platforms, making it even easier to add a GIF to your email with a simple click.

You can also create your own GIFs. If you're interested, we'll explain how to do that in the last section of this article.

Things to Consider When Using GIFs in Email Marketing

Adding a GIF to your email is easy, but there are some factors to ensure all recipients can view it correctly:

1. File Size: Make sure the GIF size does not exceed 1 MB. Otherwise, it may take too long to load on devices with slower internet connections, causing recipients to lose interest. Like images, GIFs can be compressed using free external platforms such as FreeConvert or iloveIMG.
2. Moderation: Don’t overload your email with GIFs. There isn’t a magic number for how many GIFs to include in each email, so use common sense. It's better to underdo it than overdo it. A good rule of thumb is to use one GIF per section of your email or only include them when they create a humorous moment in combination with the text.
3. Brand Alignment: Ensure the humor in the GIF aligns with your brand image and resonates with your target audience. Different types of humor may not fit your style, so choose GIFs that complement your content and ensure your audience gets the joke. While many GIFs are universal, some require specific contextual understanding, so select ones that your audience will appreciate based on their age or location.
4. Focus: Ensure the GIF does not distract from the main content of the email. GIFs should complement the written content and encourage the desired action, enhancing the written message without diverting attention from what's important.

Benefits of Using GIFs in Emails

Using GIFs in your emails can significantly enhance your email marketing strategy by boosting conversion rates, brand revenue, click-through rates (CTR), and open rates if users expect them regularly in your messages. But why?

1. Attention-Grabbing: GIFs are more engaging than plain text or text with images due to their movement, encouraging users to interact with the content.
2. Brevity: GIFs can convey messages quickly, allowing your emails to be shorter and less overwhelming for the audience.
3. Loyalty: Humor through GIFs can make the audience feel more connected to the brand, perceiving it as more relatable and less serious.
4. Emotional Impact: GIFs convey emotions effectively, and emotions are a powerful tool for increasing brand awareness and maintaining a presence in consumers' minds.

When to Use GIFs and When Not To

GIFs are excellent for many email marketing strategies but aren't suitable for every brand. For instance, if your brand deals with sensitive topics like health, finance, or legal matters, GIFs might not be the best way to engage your audience, who may require a more serious tone. In this case, if you’re a psychology agency, a law firm, or a tax consultancy, it’s advisable to avoid GIFs in your email marketing strategy.

However, if you still want to include them, consider using GIFs in less sensitive communications, such as transactional emails sent when a user completes a specific action, like purchasing a product, booking an appointment, or unsubscribing from the newsletter.

If your business doesn’t deal with sensitive topics, we encourage you to incorporate GIFs into your email strategy and in any type of email communication.

Measuring the Impact of GIFs

The impact of GIFs in your email strategy can be measured like any other element in your emails. Focus on the same metrics you would analyze for emails without GIFs.

Key metrics include open rate, CTR, conversion rate, bounce rate, and the growth of your database. To determine if including GIFs is positively impacting your email marketing strategy, compare the performance of emails with GIFs to those without and see which performs better.

You might find that GIFs are negatively affecting your strategy, as they may not be the right resource for your audience despite their benefits. Marketing strategies aren't always black and white.

How to Create Your Own GIFs

To personalize your email marketing strategy further, you can create your own GIFs, crafting unique animated images. This can impress your audience with GIFs they haven't seen before and tailor them to your brand's context, including iconic phrases or well-known professionals.

You can use external platforms, like GIF Maker, Animated GIF Maker, or Canva’s GIF Maker, to create your own GIFs, all of which are free. You can make them from your images or videos already available online. Just follow the platform’s instructions and start creating.

By considering these tips and strategies, you can effectively integrate GIFs into your email marketing, making your communications more engaging and impactful.