The greatest GIF of all is fleeting

He’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere. JMatt has made himself a GIF to mankind — and it’s paying off.

The digital program director and mid-day host at 103.7 KISS FM in Milwaukee has created and recreated himself by the dozens, hundreds and thousands. You might not know who he is, but he leaves a memorable first expression almost everywhere you look online.

Technically known as the Graphics Interchange Format, a GIF is a computer file used on the internet to send images, especially moving images. This is where JMatt has stepped in to make himself the medium for others to express their thoughts in a moving way.

Need a thoughtful pose? A big grin? A shrug? JMatt emotes those and much more — all for the price of a click.

The poster boy of posting talked with marketing entrepreneur Madalyn Sklarabout the power of GIFs and — most importantly — the do’s and don’ts.

While a company might want to create GIFs to better connect with its audience, JMatt said not so fast.

“That’s probably not what you expected me to say, but you need to understand your audience before you decide if using GIFs are worthwhile,” he said. “That being said, I think a lot of companies can benefit from customized GIFs. It helps to humanize their brands.

“GIFs are so fun,” JMatt said. “But GIFs can send the wrong message if you’re not careful. Have a strategy in mind.”

Sklar agreed, although the temptation is great.

“It’s not essential, but custom GIFs are a great way to enhance your connection with your audience,” she said. “JMatt does this well with his GIFs. They are attention-grabbing and scream out, ‘Let’s connect!’”

Easy to search

He described how to create searchable personalized GIFs.

“On GIPHY, you need to get your channel approved as either an Artist page or Brand page,” JMatt said. “Once you get that beautiful confirmation email, they’ll give you the rundown and explain that their staff needs to approve your GIF before it’s searchable. That takes a few hours.

“I recommend uploading five to 10 GIFs to give their staff an idea of the content you would create,” he said. “Then submit your channel.”

Some platforms work better than others for GIFs.

“GIPHY counts a GIF view as the amount of times your GIF is populated in the search results — not the loops, like on Vine,” JMatt said. “With that in mind, Twitter probably wins because you can attach GIFs in tweets. You also can add them in Facebook comments and Instagram direct messages.”

For relevant tags that get GIFs discovered faster, GIPHY gives Artist accounts a dashboard. Then they can see their Top 5 GIFs with the rest on a spreadsheet.

“I have a GIF with over 1 million views, which is of me thinking,” JMatt said. “So, tags around ‘thought’ are what people search for a lot. I also have a ‘Thank you’ GIF at №2. Consider location-specific GIFs. What are GIFs you look for and can’t find?

“My recommendation on ‘speeding up’ a GIF: Do all the edits you want to the video itself,” he said. “Get the video ‘GIF ready’ first. This includes adding text if you’d like. Once you have the video ready, send it through your GIF processor.”

Look at you

Aside from analytics, the best GIF creations begin up close and personal.

“Your own experiences can help you with GIF ideas,” JMatt said. “Write out a list of what your go-to reaction GIFs are. Recreate those. You also can keep track of the GIFs that don’t exist — but you wish did.

“At the end of the day, you want GIFs that you’d actually be able to use,” he said. “Plus, if you get an approved — searchable — account, you want to create GIFs that other people would want to use, too.”

Possession is a key factor.

“The big reason to make your own GIFs is that you own the content,” JMatt said. “I often recreate my favorite GIFs and swap them in where I can.”

As simple as GIFs look … well, they are.

“The tools are nothing fancy,” JMatt said. “Just shoot video on your smartphone. Then upload the video to the GIPHY app or directly on the desktop — dealer’s choice. I set my phone on a tripod so I get a steady shot with the non-selfie camera.”

Tech start-ups are prime candidates for creating GIFs as part of their engagement strategy.

“They — and really any business — should find staff who are comfortable ‘on camera,’” JMatt said. “Use them for customer service and reaction GIFs. Consider product showcases and quick software instruction GIFs.

“I’ve also seen brands use a mascot,” he said. “It’s a great work-around to having staff be the ‘face’ of your brand. Let a cool mascot represent your brand. However, this takes a little more effort and a talented graphic designer.”

JMatt and Sklar continued their discussion on Facebook Live. The master GIFer also wrote an article that goes more in depth about his passion and preoccupation.

About The Author

Jim Katzaman is a manager at Largo Financial Services and worked in public affairs for the Air Force and federal government. You can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.