Twitter timelines used to be woefully color-devoid up until only a few
months ago when they finally decided to allow users to add images to
tweets. A welcome change,
no doubt. Taking one step further, Twitter has introduced another
feature - support for animated GIFs - something that has been sadly
absent from social media. Facebook doesn't support animated GIFs as yet,
which gives marketers on Twitter one more trick up their sleeves.
You can view (and share) animated GIFs not only on the Twitter website,
but also on Twitter's Android and iOS apps. The feature was announced by
Twitter's support team (@Support) in a tweet.
The Tweet included an animated GIF as well. You can view it by clicking on the Tweet above.
Previously, if you wanted to share a GIF on Twitter, you had to upload
it to a third-party (like Imgur) and then share the link. Starting today
you can upload and view them directly on Twitter.
GIFs won’t animate automatically in your feed like they do on Tumblr,
for example. When a GIF is shown there will be an overlay of a white
play button, simply click on the GIF to play it right in your feed.
What this means for your business?
If you run a blog, or a small business, and advertise it through social
media channels, then the ability to tweet animated GIFs presents new
opportunities for you.
Animated GIFs stand out from the rest of the content just like images.
But GIFs can do more than images can - GIFs stand out from the rest of
the images as well. Twitter is no different. GIFs stand out in the
Twitter feed just like images. Scientifically, moving things catch your
attention much more quickly. Hence, these GIFs can capture the attention
of your audience and communicate your message in a quick and easy way.
GIFs are like videos, but only shorter, smaller and lighter. If you have used videos to market your content,
whether on your blog or on YouTube, then consider creating a short GIF
that explains your business process(es), or come up with a whole new
idea to gather your audience's attention.
GIFs can communicate emotions. If you have spent some time on Reddit,
you know how GIFs can be used to convey the emotions behind a situation.
It's much more difficult to capture an emotion in 140 characters. But
animated GIFs with your tweets can now makes it easier than ever.
Adding a GIF to Twitter works just like uploading any other kind of
image, so there’s nothing new to learn when it comes to using them.
Have you ever used a GIF to market your content? How was your
experience, and how was the audience response? We'd love to hear from
you. Cheers :)