When it comes to GIFs, most people don’t think to insert a GIF into an email. After all, GIFs are just for silly things like memes, right? Why would you need to email a GIF animation? However, you may not even realize that there are plenty of reasons to email a GIF, and in fact, you can find many people as well as companies doing this already.
There are many reasons to do so. With a GIF in your email, you can:
- Draw attention to a product
- Put a focus on the most important information in your message
- Add some interesting flair to your email
Either way, we’ll show you some great examples here, and tell you how to embed a gif in an email.
Promotional Emails
Promotional emails are one of the common ways to use a GIF in an email. Oftentimes, a company will send emails out telling potential customers that some sort of promotional deal is going on, in hopes that said customers will be motivated to buy from them if a good deal is going on. There are several ways to use a GIF for this, some of which we’ll look at below:
Neiman Marcus GIF
GIF, used by the Neiman Marcus brand, is a great example of how effective emailed GIFs can be. A customer gets all the most important information right away, without having to read through much text. They are told what is on sale and for how much, as well as for how long, and their eyes are drawn to this info immediately since there is motion. It’s simple but effective.
Kohl’s
Another simple but effective GIF you could add to an email as a promotional. It’s not quite as eye-catching since the movement isn’t as pronounced, but the presence of movement at all will draw attention to itself in an otherwise static email.
With these types of GIFs, it’s not about what part of the image is animated, it’s just about drawing the reader’s eyes to it. Even simple motion can do that.
Ann Taylor Loft
Engagement is important when it comes to promotional material, and a GIF can help with this too. This gig, with its shaking present and instructions, prompts a reader to interact with it, which creates even more engagement than just having to look at something. You can also use this strategy to make it so that clicking on the link leads right to your website, which helps draw people in.
Product Advertisement
GIFs in emails can be a great way to advertise specific products instead of just a general promotion. An animated GIF can let you show off examples of what you are offering, which can entice potential customers to browse your full inventory. Below are some examples of GIFs being used in this way.
Bonobos
One thing a GIF can do is that a static picture cannot showcase the functionality of an object. This GIF, for instance, shows exactly what these tear-away chinos can do compared to regular pants, which provides quick and easy visual information for the reader. They don’t have to read a description of what the pants do, they can see it right in front of them. This makes animated GIFs pretty powerful advertising tools in email.
Kate Spade
A GIF in an email doesn’t have to show the functionality of a product. Sometimes, it can just show off various options. Everyone has different tastes, and showing off one item may not appeal to them. With an animated GIF like the one above, you can show off various styles of one product, or just show off several different products. This is a very effective use of a GIF in emails.
Brief Demonstration Purposes
While this is technically another form of advertising, it’s a little different: if you are trying to show off something that is most notable for its function and how that function can benefit someone, an animated GIF can do this as well. It won’t be as informative as a full video or an instruction manual, but it can give the reader some idea of what the displayed item does and why it could be beneficial to them. Below are some examples of such GIFs.
Sprout Social
Its GIF shows readers just a few things that the app being promoted can do, and how it looks and feels to do them. This is great if you are showing off something that is the most valuable due to its functionality, as opposed to anything else. After all, you can’t advertise an app by its icon alone. In such a case, a GIF like this does this extremely well!
Litmus
Here’s another GIF you could include in an email to show off the functionality of a product. Of course, it doesn’t show everything, but it does show readers the UI and basic usage of the tool in question. When you are trying to advertise something like this, an animated GIF can really do wonders for you.
How To Embed a GIF in an Email
If you want to insert a GIF into an email via Outlook, it’s actually very simple. Just keep in mind that you need to have the GIF you want to insert saved directly to your computer to do this.
- When in the message window, place your cursor where you would like to insert the gif. Then click on insert in the toolbar, then pictures.
- A dialogue box will open. Locate the GIF image you want to insert and press insert.
- The GIF will be inserted into the email. It will be static from your view, but it will be animated for the recipient.
That’s it! After you write your text, you can just send the email. This process is the same for most email platforms.
Conclusion
There aren’t many reasons to send a GIF via email for casual reasons. But there are many ways to use a GIF in an email effectively if your goal is to promote, advertise, or display functionality. There are various styles of GIFs that you can use, but all you have to do to pick the right style is know what your purpose is. If you can do that, it’s easy to make the right choice.