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How To Make A GIF [Step-By-Step]

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Among the types of images on the internet, GIFs are among the top.

GIFs are again becoming popular among netizens and marketers, as they are an amazing medium to express your unique emotions.

Technically speaking, GIFs are a bitmap image format that is set-on auto-loop.

You can easily use them on your explainers and social media posts and stand out from mediocre marketing efforts.

So in this step-by-step guide, I’ll walk you through the entire process of making a GIF using free online tools so that you can engage with your audience in the best way possible.

Using GIFs For Content Marketing (At A Glance)

Before we dive into the tools and techniques you need to make an engaging GIF, here are some authentic answers to the two most frequently asked questions:

Why are GIFs Popular?

GIFs are an animated image format that makes still photographs come alive and help relish the audience key parts of a viral video without the need to go into the details.

Their audio-visual element with easy shareability aspect is what makes GIFs popular among netizens in 2022.

What Are The Benefits Of Using GIFs In Marketing?

GIFs help you to explain complicated topics using humor and deliver a relatable and emotionally-charged message to your audience.

They can pack a complex feeling or idea in an easily shareable image format.

Compared to memes and bloopers, GIFs are easy to create, as we’ll show in this expert guide.

Top 3 GIF-Making Tools

Here are the three best (and free) online tools to make engaging Graphic Interchange Formats, aka GIFs:

3. GIPHY or Giphy

screenshot of the giphy.com homepage

Giphy is a searchable GIF database serving 10B+ GIFs daily to its’s 700M+ daily active users.

You can easily find and use trending GIFs in your marketing copy or create engaging GIFs by clicking a few buttons.

The cherry on the cake, you can hire top GIPHY artists to make your social media posts class apart.

2. EZGIF.COM

screenshot of the ezgif.com homepage

Ezgif.com is one of the simplest online tools to design and edit animated GIFs free of cost.

You can upload images and videos into its simple interface, and it will provide you with all the options to decide the delay time and loop count to make a relatable GIF in less than five minutes.

3. MakeaGIF.com

screenshot of the makeagif homepage

MakeAGIF.com has free and premium options for serious marketers to include the power of viral visual content.

In the free plan, you can upload different types of images and videos and transform them into engaging GIFs with a wide range of customizable options.

How To Make A GIF: Step-By-Step Instructions

We’ll use GIPHY, one of the most popular GIF image search engines,to show you the complete process of making a GIF from an image and published video file.

You can use an image creator or any of the three top GIF-making tools mentioned above, as the GIF creation process remains similar in different tools with minor changes.

Making A GIF From An Image

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Here are the steps to make a GIF from different image formats like PNG and JPG from Giphy GIF Maker:

  1. Make a free GIPHY account using your Gmail, Facebook, or Apple ID.
  2. Head over to https://giphy.com/create/gifmaker and click on “Choose File” in GIF section on the left to upload an image file from your computer.
  3. Add a caption [in my case, “Good Morning”], customize your style, and select an animation from 8 different choices in the Caption tab.
  4. You may use stickers on your image in the “Sticker” tab.
  5. Select a suitable filter among 12 awesome filters available in the “Filters” tab.
  6. Tap on “Continue To Upload” in the bottom right corner and click on “Upload to GIPHY” to make your finalize your GIF creation.

Once complete, you’ll be able to share your creation on various social media platforms like Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook with a couple of clicks.

In addition, there’s an option to copy embed code to use your GIF file in your guides and explainers.

Make A GIF From A Video

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Here are the steps to make a GIF from a published video on YouTube or Vimeo:

  1. Copy the published video URL into your virtual clipboard to make a GIF file. Ensure that the published video length is shorter than 10 minutes.
  2. Open the GIPHY Create page and paste your video URL under the “Any URL” tab.
  3. Use the start time and duration slider to select and trim the video portion for making the GIF. Ideally, it should be, at most, two seconds.
  4. Click on “Continue to Decorate” and enter your caption like what we did to make GIF from an image file.
  5. Customize your caption style and animation and choose suitable filter options.
  6. Click on “Continue to Upload” and then “Upload to GIPHY” to get the shareable link.

GIFs are subject to copyright laws like any other creative work, so it’s better to use your own videos to make GIFs.

This will keep your messaging consistent while engaging your audience in the right way.

Other GIF For Marketing-Related Tutorials To Check Out

GIFs are one of the many viral content types to add a unique flavor to your social media posts and blog explainers.

Here are some more detailed tutorials to help you create amazing audio-visual content:

  • Image Compression: Pagespeed is an official Google ranking factor, and in either case, you’ll not want your qualified visitors to leave because of a slow-loading page. It’s important to follow the step-by-step instructions on how to compress an image to keep both your visitors and search engines happy.
  • Reverse Image Search: Content theft is widely prevalent in 2022, and the issue becomes more concerning when your customized branded image gets copied without permission. Knowing how to reverse search images will help you find and contact copycats for corrective action.
  • Saving Instagram Photos: Instagram is a widely popular image and video-sharing platform, and you can easily learn how to save instagram photos for repurposing on other social media sites.

Wrapping Up

When used intelligently, GIFs can help explain complex topics with humor and dramatic illustration.

In addition, it shows your audience that your brand cares for them and is willing to take the extra effort to ensure meaningful conversations.

You can use GIFs with other viral content types, like Quotes and Screencasts, to take your content marketing efforts to the next level.

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