Your e-mail designer or e-mail advertising and marketing colleague has approached you with a request: they wish to embrace an animated GIF of their subsequent e-mail. Good! Graphics Interchange Codecs (GIFs) are an simple method of including one thing enjoyable to your digital advertising and marketing.
So what’s the roadblock? Nicely, not all e-mail shoppers, like Microsoft Outlook, totally assist GIFs after they render your emails. Let’s check out why it’s best to use GIFs in your emails, which e-mail shoppers assist GIFs, and the way to make sure a really perfect inbox expertise – even in Outlook.
Why ought to I take advantage of animated GIFs in my emails?
Huge manufacturers are utilizing GIFs to create efficient e-mail campaigns. We’ve mentioned supercharging your e-mail campaigns with photographs and a few greatest practices. However GIFs go above and past your common static picture.
GIFs are an animated lossless format with an 8-bit colour palette. They’re nice for showcasing a number of merchandise utilizing much less room or for calling consideration to vital data utilizing animation. That mentioned, GIF recordsdata are additionally fairly massive, and their 8-bit palette means you’ll be able to count on some colour discount.
Listed below are some advantages of utilizing GIFs in your emails:
Give your e-mail added character
If plain textual content emails are the usual for boring, animated GIFs and movies lie on the opposite finish of the spectrum. Don’t be afraid to make use of a GIF to loosen up your e-mail template or add a bit further pizzazz. We’d advocate sticking to at least one per e-mail, although – you wish to use GIFs tastefully and never overwhelm your subscribers.
Exchange movies that particular e-mail shoppers don’t assist
Not all shoppers assist e-mail GIFs, and never all shoppers assist movies in emails. Take a look at the necessities for every shopper and see if a GIF may resolve your video points.
Get your reader’s consideration – quick
We’re used to the social media onslaught, and our consideration spans are often one Tik-Tok video or Twitter GIF lengthy. Utilizing a GIF in your e-mail advertising and marketing is a strong method to seize your reader’s consideration, even when their eyes glaze over at your intelligent copy.
Stand out from the group
Any e-mail marketer will let you know the key sauce to click-throughs and conversion charges is getting your person’s consideration and maintaining it. Use GIFs creatively in your e-mail template to develop your visible model identification and differentiate your e-mail out of your rivals.
Change it up
All the time sticking to the identical e-mail designs? Design new e-mail templates with GIFs to offer entrepreneurs with totally different choices for his or her campaigns.
However earlier than we run away with this, keep in mind: not all e-mail shoppers assist GIFs.
Which e-mail shoppers assist GIFs?
Most e-mail shoppers assist the usage of GIFs. As the most recent from Can I E-mail reveals us, solely sure variations of Outlook are problematic and have partial assist.
That’s proper. Desktop variations of Outlook are the would-be downside youngster for GIF-support in emails since Microsoft Outlook desktop functions from 2007 and after use Microsoft Phrase to render HTML emails. The truth is, the desktop variations of Outlook 2007+ solely show the primary body of a GIF. With none animation, that just about defeats the aim of a GIF. Outlook 2019 will play an animated GIF as soon as. Then, it shows a play button over the picture, which subscribers can click on to play it once more.
As well as, animated GIF photographs are already supported in Outlook’s cellular apps and their webmail shopper, Outlook.com. Microsoft notes the next for Outlook variations with GIF assist:
- GIFs play mechanically. Looping GIFs play thrice after which pause. Customers can manually click on them to replay.
- There aren’t any file measurement limitations for animated GIF recordsdata.
- Animations are enabled by default however might be turned off within the person’s Outlook settings.
GIF fallbacks in your Outlook subscribers
GIFS are nice for e-mail advertising and marketing, and your entrepreneurs are clamoring for them. Only one snag: your e-mail recipients use a model of Outlook which doesn’t totally assist GIFs.
Be aware: None of those options really permit you to work round Outlook’s lack of GIF assist, however they offer you a method to create efficient emails that are the same-same-but-different variations of their GIF-supported counterparts.
1. Use the primary body of your GIF
Be certain that your call-to-action (CTA), or an important data, is on the primary body of the GIF. That’s probably the most generally provided recommendation for coping with e-mail shoppers which don’t assist GIFs.
It’s not unhealthy recommendation, and it doesn’t require a lot further work in your half, but it surely’s extremely limiting and provides your subscribers a sub-par person expertise. Use this in a pinch, however your customers deserve higher!
For those who select this feature, what you wish to keep away from is an ugly first body. When your animated GIF begins with clean white area, that’s what subscribers will see. If somebody is making a clumsy face within the first body, your e-mail will likely be awkward too.
2. Use conditional code to satisfy your subscribers’ e-mail shopper specs
One other answer is that you would be able to goal subscribers who use GIF-supporting e-mail shoppers in addition to those that don’t.
Use conditional code to point out GIF-supporting e-mail shoppers your animated GIF whereas offering non-GIF-supporting shoppers with a static picture that gives the identical data, look, and really feel as your animation. The conditional reveals Outlook desktop shoppers the static fallback picture whereas all different subscribers see your GIF.
To take action, create a brand new message and embrace the next code:
<!--[if !mso]><!-->
<img class="outlookcomIMG" src="https://www.emailonacid.com/weblog/article/email-development/gifs-and-outlook-what-can-we-do/ANIMATED.gif">
<!--<![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]>
<img src="STATIC.jpg">
<![endif]-->
Now, the vast majority of your Corgi-loving subscribers will see an animated GIF like this:
However subscribers viewing the e-mail on desktop variations of Outlook see the static fallback picture you outlined:
Conditional code permits for a extra focused expertise with out compromising the design or alternative of a GIF in your e-mail advertising and marketing marketing campaign. Discover out extra about focusing on Outlook with conditional formatting on Stack Overflow
Testing GIFs in E-mail on Acid
Once you view e-mail previews throughout e-mail testing in E-mail on Acid, remember that our previews are static screenshots of your marketing campaign. Meaning you received’t see any animations in motion. However it is possible for you to to see if the GIF is displaying.
Odds are, the screen-capture course of will seize GIFs in mid-animation, however relaxation assured that is completely regular. It means they’re animating simply nice! For those who use the conditional code above, you’ll see the Outlook previews exhibiting the static picture you selected for subscribers who don’t have GIF assist.
For those who don’t set a fallback picture, you need to use E-mail on Acid’s Picture Validation options to set the primary body of your GIF. That method, you keep away from having one thing blurry or awkward seem in some Outlook inboxes.
Don’t hesitate to attain out if you happen to want extra assist.
This text was up to date on Might 3, 2022. It was first revealed in September of 2018.
Creator: The E-mail on Acid Crew
The E-mail on Acid content material group is made up of digital entrepreneurs, content material creators, and straight-up e-mail geeks.
Join with us on LinkedIn, observe us on Fb, and tweet at @EmailonAcid on Twitter for extra candy stuff and nice convos on e-mail advertising and marketing.
Creator: The E-mail on Acid Crew
The E-mail on Acid content material group is made up of digital entrepreneurs, content material creators, and straight-up e-mail geeks.
Join with us on LinkedIn, observe us on Fb, and tweet at @EmailonAcid on Twitter for extra candy stuff and nice convos on e-mail advertising and marketing.
