Is it pronounced “GIF” or “JIF”?
In social media circles, the answer tells a lot about the person asked. But we all agree that GIFs are high-performing pieces of visual magic. Even the New York Times recently highlighted how to quickly access GIF libraries.
At the same time, uploading your well-crafted creatives across social media platforms can feel like a ton of steps with minimal payoff. It doesn’t have to be that complicated.
At WideFoc.us, we strive to make our client brands memorable, relevant, and engaging in all mediums. We build GIFs for use on Facebook and Twitter, on Instagram, and even on client blogs.
This post will ensure you know exactly how to get your own GIFs in the right place to drive results for your brand, from reputation building to conversions to increased engagement.
Get Your GIFs everywhere.
If you don’t have (Denver’s own) Detour’s visual skills, start simple. One of the best ways to capture fans’ and followers’ eyes is with a little motion, and there’s no easier motion than a well-thought-out GIF. They’re smaller than mp4 files, and they loop, highlighting a specific emotion or moment.
Although you may prefer to build your gifs right on your phone, that’s not always possible. Or maybe you’re one of the 23% of Americans who still doesn’t have a smartphone (crazy, right?). The good news is that there are several ways to create and upload GIFs from your desktop.
Make GIFs on your laptop
If you have a set of photos you want to turn into a GIF, stitch them together through EZ GIF. This website offers multiple tools to create the file you need. First, use the JPG-to-GIF conversion tool or the Video-to-GIF converter. Voilà, you have a GIF file that you can use for Twitter or Facebook Messenger
Next, to post your file on Facebook or Twitter, simply upload it to either platform. We’re thrilled that Facebook now allows GIFs to be uploaded directly! (They used to require GIFs be hosted at another place like GIPHY.
Finally, if you want to share your GIF on Instagram, Snapchat, or Instagram Stories, you’ll need to use EZ GIF’s GIF-to-mp4 conversion tool.
Pro Tip: If you use EZ GIF, we need to stress that you must use high-res images. If your images are small files, they may turn out grainy in the final product.
We made this handy guide (following the above directions!) to clarify format and dimension requirements of various social media platforms:
Make GIFs from your smartphone (AKA The EASY Way)
More good news! It’s super easy to turn your photos, photo bursts, videos, and live photos into GIFs on your phone. Stop what you’re doing and download 5SecondsApp. This app is magical.
It can turn video, images, burst photos, and live photos into GIFs. Even more, it’s integrated with social media platforms, so with a click of a button, you can upload to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Google+, email, SMS, or save it to a file as an mp4, a GIF, or a png.
You can even add text, superimpose stickers, add a filter, repeat GIFs, play them in reverse, and crop them. So ditch your B-F or G-F, because now you have a GIF-F.
Pro tip: You’ll notice that 5SecondsApp only has the option to crop a photo to 1920 x 1080, while Instagram Stories and Snapchat both require 1080 x 1920. How do you get around it?
Rotate your GIF 90-degrees
Crop it as 1920 x 1080
Rotate it another 270-degrees
You’re welcome.
Have any GIF questions or conundrums you’d like us to solve? Comment below or send us an email. Even better, let us know if you’d like us to manage your images and GIFs for your brand. We love finding innovative ways to tell your story.
---- By Paul Bindel
Paul has a lifelong love of sentences, words, and writing. After studying English at Evangel University and the University of Oregon, he taught composition and literature for five years. At WideFoc.us, he is energized by the fast-paced challenge of connecting his clients to real-time conversations.
