Do you think of GIFs as a format designed to show cats and minions high-fiving to a pseudo-witty caption?

Well, they’re emerging as genuine mode of brand communications.

New guidance from MailChimp aims to help marketers effectively use GIFs in eDM campaigns.

Three good reasons

Three good reasons to use a GIF in your email comms include.

• As simple, visual explainers.

• To highlight key information.

• As an alternative to video.

The importance of the third relates to what shows up in email clients. Support for video is very poor. Support for GIFs is much better.

Three rules to GIF by

MailChimp has also has three best-practice rules for GIFs in emails. Roughly, these translate as.

• Limit your file size.

• Pick an apt first frame.

• Use sparingly.

If your GIFs are too big, your emails will take longer to load. This is a serious issue, especially on mobile.

Support for GIFs is much better than support for video, but it’s still not universal. Some versions of Outlook will only display the first frame of the GIF, so make sure that initial image is fit for purpose.

Yes, they’re now accepted in the mainstream, still, overuse can make your comms seem gimmicky.

Do GIFs in email work for you? Let us know your thoughts on the benefits and pitfalls.

Copy Transmission is a Melbourne-based agency :: Better Brands. Loud & Clear.