The opportunity and danger of GIFs in email marketing
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 8:46 am
In other articles we have talked about the usefulness of GIFs in email marketing . The debate on their use is still open and with different opinions and this is because not everything is advantageous in the use of GIFs. The use of this resource must be subject to strategic reasons and take into account certain technical limitations.
saving-gif-emailThe GIF can be our ally if it is used creatively, to surprise, to attract attention or to replace the video. However, there is a critical element, which we come up against especially in the latter case: the size of the file . If the GIF is very long or has to cover a lot of video time, the file multiplies in size and can cause loading problems. In principle, it is not a problem that affects deliverability (it is the size of the email file that can trigger alerts in SPAM filters), but the loading time of the email is critical for usability and interaction rates. We only have a few seconds to capture the user's attention, if our GIF takes a long time to download we are inviting the user to abandon us and delete the message.
With current bandwidths, GIFs usually don't cause loading problems except in extreme cases, but let's think about mobile viewing, for example, which already accounts for half of all email openings. Downloading a multi-megabyte image when opening an email won't be very fun if we're not connected to WiFi.
We should also consider GIF support in current email turkey business email list clients . It's fairly widespread in the most used services and only poses problems in some versions of Outlook and Windows Mail, but we should consider what the fallback image will be if the GIF can't be displayed.
In short, when it comes to using GIFs in email, we give you the following tips:
It must have a purpose. A purely decorative gif is not recommended, as it will distract attention. The GIF must have the purpose of showing a functionality, drawing attention to a certain element, replacing a video , surprising, etc. Serving the ultimate goal of communication.
Be mindful of file size. Minimize the size by balancing the length, image quality and size of the gif to avoid long loading times and mobile data consumption.
Set a fallback image. Usually, it is the first frame that will be displayed in email clients that do not support GIF, so it must have a meaning and the message or relationship to the rest of the email must be clear in this single image.
saving-gif-emailThe GIF can be our ally if it is used creatively, to surprise, to attract attention or to replace the video. However, there is a critical element, which we come up against especially in the latter case: the size of the file . If the GIF is very long or has to cover a lot of video time, the file multiplies in size and can cause loading problems. In principle, it is not a problem that affects deliverability (it is the size of the email file that can trigger alerts in SPAM filters), but the loading time of the email is critical for usability and interaction rates. We only have a few seconds to capture the user's attention, if our GIF takes a long time to download we are inviting the user to abandon us and delete the message.
With current bandwidths, GIFs usually don't cause loading problems except in extreme cases, but let's think about mobile viewing, for example, which already accounts for half of all email openings. Downloading a multi-megabyte image when opening an email won't be very fun if we're not connected to WiFi.
We should also consider GIF support in current email turkey business email list clients . It's fairly widespread in the most used services and only poses problems in some versions of Outlook and Windows Mail, but we should consider what the fallback image will be if the GIF can't be displayed.
In short, when it comes to using GIFs in email, we give you the following tips:
It must have a purpose. A purely decorative gif is not recommended, as it will distract attention. The GIF must have the purpose of showing a functionality, drawing attention to a certain element, replacing a video , surprising, etc. Serving the ultimate goal of communication.
Be mindful of file size. Minimize the size by balancing the length, image quality and size of the gif to avoid long loading times and mobile data consumption.
Set a fallback image. Usually, it is the first frame that will be displayed in email clients that do not support GIF, so it must have a meaning and the message or relationship to the rest of the email must be clear in this single image.