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How to Write Better Emails, Tweets, and Blog Posts with GIFs

Last updated on September 5, 2018 By Millennial Boss 9 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you purchase through my links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

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My friend Emily made $375,000 on Etsy in her first 2 years selling digital products. She's a new coach in the E-Printables online course teaching you how to get started with this side hustle too. She's a mom of two kids and does this part-time. Join us?

My friend Emily made $375,000 on Etsy in her first 2 years selling digital products. She's a new coach in the E-Printables online course teaching you how to get started with this side hustle too. She's a mom of two kids and does this part-time. Join us?

In my post Why Woo Girls Are Beating You at Life, I made the argument that people like popular girls more because they are expressive, funny, and SUPER.EXCITED.GUYS. Research shows it’s true.

Well, there is a new trend of woo-girl (or woo-man) that’s sweeping the nation. It’s the GIF user, and everyone likes them.

The quicker you learn to use GIFs, the more popular your communications and you will become.

 

The TLDR: People like GIFs. If you send GIFs, people will like you.

 

What are GIFs?

GIFs are the animated memes that you see all over the internet.

The short video clips are taken from movies, T.V. shows, and other aspects of popular culture.

They can be used to express emotions, reactions, and feelings in seconds.

 

People are Actually Paying for Research on GIFs

GIFs are so big that MIT graduate students are now studying them.

Apparently they can tell us a lot about differences in the human experience across cultures.

In this fancy-titled GIF research study (GIFs as Embodied Enactments in Text-Mediated Conversation), researchers confirmed what all of us GIF lovers already know.

They’re fun and people like them.

 

GIFs Can Improve Your Communication at Work

Some of the best people I’ve worked with use GIFs in their emails.

It’s crazy how much more effective GIFs can be than long blocks of text.

I once received a work email where a complex set of directions was broken down into three simple GIFs.

It blew my mind.

If you want to get your coworkers to pay attention to your email, use GIFs.

 

GIFs boost team morale

GIFs also boost team morale and happiness.

They can bring light and laughter to a tense subject.

Check out this article where an engineer shares how GIFs take the dread out of peer code reviews.

 

How Do I Use GIFs?

Use GIFs to either react to someone else’s statement or to replace your own words.

There are tons of GIFs out there and you can search for what you want by keyword.

You can also make your own.

If you’re wondering how people actually send GIFs in text, don’t.

It’s super easy and you’ll be sending them five minutes from now.

 

How to Use GIFs in iMessage

A GIF keyboard is built into the iPhone messages app. Yay!

If you have an iPhone, open the messages app and starting texting someone.

Do you see the icon on the left that looks like an A? Click that.

gif-keyboard-iphone

A menu will pop up.

Click the red icon for #images.

how-to-get-gif-keyboard

You’ve opened the GIF keyboard.

Start typing a keyword.

I typed in ‘duh’ and this is what was returned.

how-to-use-gifs-iphone

The last step is to select your GIF and send your text!

how-to-use-gifs-text

 

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How to Get Better GIFs

Download GIPHY and GIF Keyboard in the App Store

The built-in GIF keyboard on iOS is pretty good but you may want to install other GIF keyboards too.

In that case, click the “A” icon again in the messages app to open the following screen.

Then, click the “+ App Store” button.

how-to-get-gif-keyboard

Scroll down to the Top Free section.

The top free third party GIF keyboards are GIF Keyboard and GIPHY.  I have both.

Download them.

how-to-enable-gify-messages

To use the third-party apps like GIPHY and GIF Keyboard, just click the “A” icon again in messages and select them.

One tip for enabling GIPHY:

You may need to click the manage tab in the Messages App Store and push the toggle to green to enable.

how-to-enable-giphy-messages

 

How to Use GIFs in Twitter and Other Social Media

Using GIFs in Twitter is super easy.

Once you follow the directions listed above for using GIFs in text, you will see the option to add GIFs into your tweets.

Click the little GIF icon in the bottom left of your screen.

how-to-use-gifs-twitter

 

GIFs improve your reach on Twitter

It’s crazy but GIFs greatly improve your reach on Twitter.

better-engagement-tweets-gifs

I tested this out by tweeting a GIF 4 hours ago.

See below for my “Tweet Activity” stats.

This is the most engagement I’ve had on a tweet so quickly EVER.

gifs-better-reach-twitter

Test this out by tweeting a GIF at me.

Seriously send me a GIF!

@millennialboss

 

How to Use GIFs in WordPress

Giphy has a WordPress plugin that you can use to insert GIFs into your blog posts, called Giphypress.

I used Giphypress to put GIFs into this post.

 

Why Should I Use GIFS?

100 Million people use Giphy EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

Apparently it has two thirds the users of Snapchat.

Get with it and start sending GIFs!

 

Hold up – is it OK to use GIFs?

Companies and brands probably shouldn’t use GIFs without getting consent from all parties involved in the GIF.

Not doing so can open yourself up to legal action.

 

What are the legal guidelines for using GIFs?

There are legal guidelines on using GIFs for commercial use.

 

 

Do you use GIFs?  Have you noticed people at your work using GIFs? What do you think about them?

 

How to send emails that people actually open! Email open rates and blogging tips revealed!

 

Twitter engagement is on my mind and GIFs are Funny. Great blogging tip!

 

If you liked this post, check out our other girl boss posts or sign up for our email list below.

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Julie paid off nearly $100k of debt and is on her way to financial independence. She is the creator of the Make Money with Printables side hustle course where she teaches people how to sell printables on Etsy and blog as a side hustle.
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Filed Under: Career, Getting Ahead, Girl Boss

About Millennial Boss

Julie paid off nearly $100k of debt and is on her way to financial independence. She is the creator of the Make Money with Printables side hustle course where she teaches people how to sell printables on Etsy and blog as a side hustle.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nicole says

    August 1, 2017 at 3:27 pm

    Love how this is purely GIF related. They make the message have a much bigger effect and can lighten the mood. Totally relatable!

    Reply
    • Millennial Boss says

      August 2, 2017 at 7:49 am

      Yup! An Entire post about GIFs.

      Reply
  2. Lanae Bond says

    August 1, 2017 at 5:43 pm

    I have noticed that when doing twitter chats tweets with GIFs get retweeted more often. So I now know that I need to use them especially in twitter chats.

    Reply
    • Millennial Boss says

      August 2, 2017 at 7:49 am

      People like GIFs. Apparently videos do even better than GIFs on twitter but I haven’t tried.

      Reply
  3. Jillian says

    August 1, 2017 at 6:04 pm

    I LOVE GIFS.

    Reply
    • Millennial Boss says

      August 2, 2017 at 7:48 am

      Me too! : )

      Reply
  4. jiselle jones says

    August 2, 2017 at 4:48 am

    thanks for the info always wondered where people got them!

    Reply
    • Millennial Boss says

      August 2, 2017 at 7:48 am

      Right? It’s so easy!

      Reply
  5. Sunny Day Saver says

    October 20, 2017 at 4:13 am

    I love GIFs, but I never thought to use them in a work email until reading this. I kind of want to try that now! Luckily, my co-workers are the type who would get a kick out of it.

    Reply

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About Millennial Boss

Julie paid off nearly $100k of debt and is on her way to financial independence. She is the creator of the Make Money with Printables side hustle course where she teaches people how to sell printables on Etsy and blog as a side hustle. Learn more..

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Please note that Millennial Boss has financial relationships with certain merchants mentioned. Affiliate links may be used and commission earned in this post. While all attempts are made to present correct information, it may not be appropriate for your specific circumstances and information may become outdated. Copyright © 2021. All Rights Reserved.

About Millennial Boss

Millennial Boss is a lifestyle and personal finance blog created by Julie, who paid off six figures of student loan debt and is now on the path to financial independence and early retirement through side hustles. She lives in Seattle and teaches others how to start blogging and sell printables on Etsy.
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