Say it with a gif - images that come to life have strong cut through
Social media has overtaken the marketing world but unfortunately your posts don't last long. To be seen in the stream, you need strong imagery and big statements, otherwise you are buried in yesterdays feed.
Perfect example is how we have marketed our 'Happy Valentine's Day No One' pool party. We used five simple GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) to promote the event and in turn, remind people to buy tickets.
*GIFs are highly compressed image files. Their file size can be reduced significantly (compared with video files or other image files) without degrading visual quality too much. The bonus capability is that GIFs support both still and animated imagery.
How we did it
We created an event group in Facebook, inviting 350 people and sent invitations directly via 'Messenger'. Click-through rates, engagement and conversions using the GIF files are very cost effective. The party was 70 strong which is a healthy one-in-five conversion. Still-images 'brought to life' is a high response marketing tactic which captured the imagination of prospective revellers and set the mood for the night.
With thanks to the very beautiful and talented Hazel Oscko, we did a photoshoot using iPhone and pieced together the six-second gifs. We did not want to over-capitalise on the artwork with pixel perfection and preferred a 'home-made' look ahead of anything too agency slick. These communication pieces were sent out one week apart. In combination, they were intended to allow invitees the time to warm up to the event, ultimately commit to coming and arrive at the party excited.
GIF 1: introduces the party to invitees and explains a relatively complex concept in one image with few words i.e. pool party to celebrate Valentines ... for single people
GIF 2: gets people off the fence and asks them to commit. With so many competing priorities, people like to wait until the last minute before committing to anything. That approach does not suit this type of party with catering at a swanky venue.
GIF 3: affirms fun to those who are already coming while inferring to the rest of the invitees that they will miss out on a great night.
GIF 4: promotes a fun women's 'best ankles' competition to be held on the night, a party favourite circa 1920' and 1930's.
GIF 5: promotes a 'cheeky' men's best backside competition to be held on the night, a party favourite that I invented ;-)
How to GIF
GIFS do not require video shooting or camera crews. You just need a smart phone or decent camera and other still images which will combine to create a simple animation. GIFS will work well for social posts, SMS, direct email campaigns and online advertising. Frankly any service, event or product can be delivered very effectively by GIF.
Giphy seems to boast the biggest bank of fun but variable quality animated gifs. It is hard to find professional looking GIFS's but simple enough to make them yourself. There are a whole heap of websites which allow you to create your own, including Giphy or you can create them (like i do) in Photoshop.
Best regards
Katie
Katie Gold - Principal