As an email marketeer, you may have considered using emojis or GIFs in your emails, but something held you back: the fear of being perceived as unprofessional. Learn more about the use of GIFs and emojis in emails and whether they are worth the hype.
Emoji’s
Smiley faces and little hearts have gone long beyond social media messages and now they can fully be considered a part of the marketing strategy. Still feeling uncomfortable using them? Consider the effectiveness for yourself: open your mailbox and scroll through. We bet you noticed emails with emojis first. Emojis in the email subject lines can easily catch readers' attention. A quick test: which of the emails below grabs your attention?
Chances are, this cute pumpkin emoji caught your attention first. Our advice? Leave prejudice behind and try adding emojis to your emails. After all, if it works, it works, right? When you have an opportunity to boost your email open rates, grab it. One small nuance, though: please don’t overdo it. In the rush to get customers' attention, many forget about the magical tool: relevance. Strive to be both creative and relevant.
GIFs
If you thought GIFs were relics of the past, think again—they've made a vibrant comeback in emails, in all forms and colors. When you think of a GIF, the first thing that pops to mind is a funny moving thumbnail image, but it's so much more than that.
Many brands embraced the power of GIFs in their email communications, and it's no surprise why—they're simple, visually appealing, and highly effective. We all know the power of videos over images, but their large size can affect email deliverability. GIFs are a great alternative that elevates your content engagement without sacrificing the reach. You can use them to showcase your product, to add flair to event invitations or sales announcements and even use them as effective tutorials, simplifying complex information you want to communicate. Maybe exactly an attractive GIF will make your customer stay in the sunset flow, who knows?
To inspire you, here are some awesome examples of GIFs in emails that you can get inspiration from:
The verdict
As a Klaviyo partner, we've teamed up with all sorts of brands, from the sleek and sophisticated to the fun and quirky. And what we’ve learned about emojis is that they’re not for every Klaviyo customer. Before you start sprinkling them into your subject lines, take a moment to think about your brand image. If your company is very sleek or serious it might be a good idea to skip emojis altogether. Otherwise, give them a chance, there are enough to choose from to make your emails both eye-catching and relevant.
Now, when it comes to GIFs, we're all in. We believe there’s always a great way to incorporate a GIF into emails to make it consistent yet engaging. It’s also super easy to add it in the Klaviyo email builder. And it’s a great tool to give your emails an extra pop, go for it!