How to Make Simple Animations for Social Media Sharing

Did this image capture your attention?

In a time when visuals and imagery rule on the web, animations are a great way of capturing attention.

Did you know that Twitter recently started supporting animated GIFs, and that Pinterest also does?

In this tech tip post for online marketers, I’ll share one simple tool for making simple animations for social media.

What is an Animated GIF?

GIF is an acronymn for Graphics Interchange Format. An animated GIF is basically an image that has movement.

In more detail, it’s a series of images put together in a rapidly changing sequence to give the effect of a video.

While true video has more options, the one key value of a GIF is that it is a light file, much smaller than a video file in size.

How Do You Create an Animated GIF?

I recommend Giffysnap.com. This is a great online tool that is completely free to you use!

1. Simply go to the website, www.Giffysnap.com.


2. Upload your images and set the size of the final image you want (such as 600 x 315 for great blog post image size).


3. Arrange the images in the order preferred, and adjust the animation speed to your liking. (Note the default speed is often just fine!)


4. Then click “CREATE IT” and the image is generated!


5. Click to “Download” the image file to “Get Code” to grab the embed code (which you can then drop on your blog post or web page if desired).

And your done!

Below is another example of a animated GIF created with Giffysnap.

Where can you use animated gifs?

Animated gifs are supported on Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+ right now, and perhaps more places later.

Use the animations to capture attention or explain a quick concept.

What do you think? Are you liking this quick and simple tool as much as I do?

How to Make Simple Animations for Social Media Sharing