Facebook introduces GIF button in comments – and its impact on brands

Hisham Itani
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Even though its word is one of the harder things to pronounce – which sparks a lot of arguments between people, GIFs are a personal favorite to many and can help you express yourself easily and with a lot of humor. Their introduction into Facebook comments may also change the face of brand interactions with their customers and vice versa.

Introduction of the GIF Button

A little over 24 hours ago, Facebook finally released the GIF button to all Facebook users in the comments section; finally ending the era where you had to go to a different website, copy the link of a GIF and post it into the comments to get it there.

Facebook GIF button comments

Facebook did this as part of the 30th anniversary of the release of the GIF format and also released a poll asking people how they pronounce GIF (even though the creator verified that it’s pronounced as JIF, think “gym, giant”).

In our article a few months ago, we anticipated that video would reign king over social media, especially Facebook; however it seems that all types of interactive media are taking front stage as well, with GIFs being the newer kid on the block bringing all the attention. Some people also argue that video and GIF content are competing with each other; what do you think?

video vs. gif sotrender

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Impact on Brand/Page Interactions

This new addition could have a big impact on interactions with posts/brands/Pages in general. Before, users had to go to a specific website like Giphy and find a GIF, get the link and paste it into the comments section (a big hassle for today’s users, especially if using mobiles). Now, with a click of a button, users can search for their favorite GIF or select one of the trending GIFs in order to express themselves in comments.

  • This can be big since it drives more user interactions, a more personalized and complex message without the users having to read too much and without using the simpler forms of stickers and/or emojis.
  • It can make quite a big impact in terms of customer service and how the Pages interact with their users. The main issue here is knowing how to use them properly and not coming off as offensive or incredibly “unfunny” to put it in a nice way.
  • Brands should also make sure not to over-use the feature, and we hope people won’t either. In short, you don’t want your audience to look like this after seeing your GIF reply:

Britney Spears Cringe - Facebook GIF button comments

  • It could have a great impact on real-time marketing since many GIFs are created after a certain popular event and take off accordingly. Making sure to use that properly and appropriately will be key. Creating special gifs can be also a great part of brands strategy and recognition
  • Users will be faced with/have the option to use more content-rich material such as GIFs and this will likely redefine the way users interact with each other on certain posts as well. Expect a troll to have a great GIF comeback to someone who formulated a well-written long comment presenting their argument and that troll winning people’s hearts more easily than before.

In the spirit of interactive media, here’s a video published by Facebook announcing the introduction of GIF comments and how to add them for you to find out more how this can be done!

No matter if you like them or not, GIFs have taken off greatly in the past years and it seems, for now, that they’re here to stay. We’re thrilled to see how things will look like in the near future!

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Author

Hisham Itani

Junior Marketing Specialist

Engineer, Master's Student and Process Optimization Enthusiast. A fan of data analytics, renewable energies and good bike rides on sunny days.

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