2019 has been a great year for email marketing so far. Two things you might have noticed this year; one, GIFs are now fully animated on your Outlook desktop client and two, your Outlook mobile web app or Office 365 is displaying the mobile optimised version of the template.
We wrote a blog on the latter which you can read here.
Microsoft announced that in early 2019 the long-waited support for animated GIFs was finally coming to the Outlook desktop client. If you’re an Outlook 365 user, you’re in luck as GIFs now fully animate. You no longer need to view the web version of the email or view the email on your mobile to see the GIF animate.
Let’s breakdown some key features:
- Support for animated GIFs is available for all Outlook 365 users.
- Animated GIFs are automatically enabled. No need to change or adjust your Outlook settings.
- The GIF will loop for a total of 3 times before coming to a halt. Users can click on the GIF to replay.
- Animated GIFs can be turned off by the individual from Outlook’s settings.
What does animated GIF support in emails mean and why should you take notice?
To us email marketers, the medium of creating emails is static, especially with B2B emails. With limited support for video, sound and animation email marketers had to think outside of the box to make emails different and standout. With this new update, we can incorporate more animated GIFs in our emails giving them more movement, energy and excitement.
Emails are packed with information, promotions, events and news; with the average office worker receiving around 100 emails per day, email fatigue is genuine. This can lead to the reader skimming through your content missing out vital information. With support for animated GIFs you can now make your content stand out, plus giving the reader a break and presenting the information differently; breaking down key information, concepts and charts into an animated GIF that is visually appealing.
So far this year, Microsoft have set the bar high with two fantastic additional to their email platforms. This has got us excited and we cannot wait to see what’s next!
