If you’re anything like us, then you know that choosing the right GIF to finish off your tweet is just as crucial, if not more so, than the actual tweet itself. After all, with an average of 6000 tweets posted every second (meaning nearly 500 million tweets per day!) you need to find a way to make your tweet special. GIFs can be the perfect way to do this – along with giving you a little chuckle at how hilarious you are all at the same time, of course. But how do you really know if you’ve chosen the perfect GIF?
Does it make sense?
This one is obvious! If you’re posting a tweet about the latest dancing competition coming up in your area, it wouldn’t make sense to post a GIF of a cat reading a book. As funny as that might be, unless the book is clearly labelled “Dance Moves for Cats” there is little to no relevance whatsoever – whereas a cat with some serious dance moves is definitely something that would work! Choose a GIF that represents your tweet, making it obvious what you’re posting about before they’ve even had a chance to read it.
How does it make you feel?
Well, to answer this question, you first need to ask yourself – “What am I trying to achieve with this tweet?” Are you trying to be funny? Are you trying to be serious? Or are you just trying to be down right weird? Once you know the answer to that question, you’ll know the type of tweet you are looking for. At Creative Pod, we personally love GIFs to add a touch of humour to our posts. Therefore, when we’re scrolling through the long list of GIFs playing before our eyes, we wait until we find that one that literally has us all in fits of giggles. The one where you’re giggling so hard the other people in the office start to wonder if you’re laughing or having a fit. If people aren’t asking you what’s wrong, and your reply isn’t “Oh no, you just wait!” then keep scrolling – you haven’t found your golden GIF just yet!
How long is the GIF?
GIFs are meant to be short and snappy. They’re meant to make the reader stop, watch and laugh, cry or nod in agreement all in the space of about 5 seconds. Any longer than this, then your GIF may be too long and people will not stick around to see the punchline. Choose a GIF that you would stop and stay for if you were a stranger to the tweet.
What is the quality like?
So, you’ve found a GIF that fits the message of your tweet perfectly and is just the right length of time, but as soon as you’ve made up your mind you discover that the GIF is pixelated and poor quality.
No! The world is ending….
If the GIF is poor quality, you will not attract the hilarity or sincerity you are trying to achieve. But, luckily for you, Twitter is flooded with a long list of GIFs – many of which repeat themselves if you continue to scroll. Don’t lose all hope if the GIF is poor quality, chances are you will find it again later on in the perfect pixelation to create maximum effect.
If not… stop, cry and start again!
It’s down to you.
Ultimately, it’s down to you. The perfect GIF to you might not be the perfect GIF for everyone. But if it doesn’t invoke the desired reaction from yourself, you’ll never get the attention of your audience!
So there you have it… Our simple guide to choosing the perfect GIF. If you’d like to find out more about all the creative services we provide, get in touch today through our website: www.creativepod.uk.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
