Why You Should Use Custom Gifs in Your Branding
Chances are, if you’ve ever been on the internet, you’ve used a gif. We use them to post our reactions, we use them to share a meme, we use them to just be silly. We use illustrated gifs, and video gifs, and gifs of our favorite tv shows. Gifs are almost ubiquitous wherever you go on the internet.
But have you ever thought about getting a custom gif made for your brand identity? Maybe you have but you’re not convinced. Maybe you just stumbled on this topic for the first time and now you’re intrigued.
Either way, I’m so glad you’ve made your way here. As a self-professed queen of custom gifs (and an IRL custom gif designer), I could go on for days about all the great reasons you should be using gifs in your branding design. Here are my top three favorite reasons:
It’s Easy - You Already Use Gifs
The best part about gifs? You probably already use them.
Most of the online entrepreneurs I work with as a gif designer are on at least a few social media platforms. And gifs are common social currency on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We use them to react, we use them to meme, we use them to express ourselves.
Because of this, it is often super easy to add custom gifs to your brand identity. I’m a firm believer that if your branding assets are easy to use and you like using them, you are more like to do it, and do it often. And as we all know, the more touchpoints you have with your branded graphics and visuals, the better.
Your Competitors Probably Aren’t Using Gifs
Although gifs have been around online and on social media for a few years, many brands have still not realized the power of having custom gifs for their brand.
This makes no sense to me! Not only are gifs a super great way to add unique, emotional brand touchpoints, but they are also natively integrated into most social media platforms already. Even apps like Telegram now allow users to upload and customize their own brand stickers. And you can add a custom gif to any website or website building, including Squarespace, Wordpress, and Wix.
Gifs are an internet standard that aren’t going away any time soon, and yet - I bet your competitors aren’t using them. Being one of the first in your niche to design custom gifs for your branding identity can get you some serious street cred with potential clients and users alike.
“Gifs are a perfect addition to your branding because they create instant, memorable, emotional connections. ”
Gifs Are Endearingly Human
As I’ve already mentioned, gifs have already proven to be a wildly popular way for communities to express ourselves online. And this is because they are so personal, so emotionally connected, so human.
It’s an often-repeated refrain that people buy from people first. If your business connects with your clients through social media or online, you’re almost certainly sharing your human-ness as part of your sale.
As human consumers, we love to bond with someone over a shared love of cats, or share a joke around a new meme. Gifs are prefect to add to your branding because they create instant, memorable, emotional connections. They allow people in your community to connect with you and your brand on a deeper level.
Have I Convinced You Yet?
If I may be so bold, I might even say that gifs are one of the closest distillations of natural human humor, emotion, and connection that we have on the internet. That’s a lot of weight to carry for one file type, but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m really passionate about gifs.
Seriously, there are so many good reasons to start using gifs as a part of your brand design. It’s easy to implement gifs, because you probably already use them across the internet. They are endearingly human and great at creating memorable connections with your audience. And, I bet you’re competitors haven’t even realized that yet. Gifs are a such great way to add branded touchpoints to your social media and your website.
If you’re thinking about adding gifs to your branding this year, know that I’m here, cheering you on with a celebratory gif I made (I had to).
Want to talk more?
I would love to hear your thoughts, rants, or questions about this topic.
Click here and shoot me a DM on my Instagram, or click here to send me an email. I also accept messages communicated entirely in gifs.
