First things first. I can’t write about this topic and not ask…do you pronounce it “GIF” or “JIF?”
Me? I’ve always pronounced it with a “J.”
And in 2013, the actual creator dispelled the long-standing rumor by telling the world it should be pronounced “JIF.”
(So HA! I have been saying it right this whole time ?)
But no matter how you say it, I think we can all agree that GIFs have taken the world by storm over the last few years. From using them in texts to email…they’re pretty much everywhere.
And in B2B, they’re the new wave.
To clarify, I’m not talking about the ones you get from GIPHY. I’m talking about self-recorded, personalized GIFs.
But why do they work?
It’s because they’re one of the best (and quickest) ways to get someone’s attention.
Yes you can do this with video, but GIFs are different.
They kind of force you to be creative and have fun – not to mention they’re also lower pressure to record.
So I’m happy to introduce the GIF maker for sales – now you can create personalized GIFs in two clicks.
You can use GIFs to add a little flair to your emails, stand out with your prospects, and maybe even put a smile on someone’s face.
Here are three plays you can use GIFs to engage with your buyers ?
1. Use GIFs To Show Off Your Swag
We’ve all had prospects who won’t answer any of our outreach. That’s sales. But a great way to engage those people is to offer them swag.
I’m talking about old reliable – give to get.
Before, you’d write them a long email telling them exactly what they’d get if they booked a meeting with you. It probably looked something like this:
Hey Cody,
It looks like my last few emails might have missed you. I’m reaching out because I really think we could really help you achieve your 2020 goals based on how we’ve helped companies like yours in the past, and I’d love to get 15 minutes of your time to talk more about it.
To sweeten the deal, I’d love to send over some swag. Is your address still 222 Berkeley St, Boston MA? Let me know and I’ll get this sent out ASAP.
^ That’s an actual email I got recently. I’m dead serious. Talk about yikes ?
Instead, save yourself some time and send them a much more engaging follow-up. Record a GIF of you actually holding up the swag you want to send them. Take that and drop it in a short email and click send.
Let me show you an example ?
The Swag Play
Hey Cody,
I’d love to send over some new swag the team just got in. Check it out!
The address I have for you is [insert prospect address], is that right?
Thanks!
So much more engaging and no hard ask from the prospect. Not to mention you also get to have some fun with it.
2. Use GIFs To Remind Your Customers Of An Upcoming Meeting
You did it! You booked that meeting with the prospect you’ve been chasing down for months.
But then…they don’t show up. Not cool.
People are busy. Something might have come up or maybe they just forgot ?♂️
So to make sure this doesn’t happen, you might send your prospects an email reminding them of the meeting. After all, you definitely want them to show.
But the problem is that people get so many emails throughout the day that they might just quickly glaze over yours without even realizing it’s your attempt to remind them of your upcoming meeting.
Instead, try recording a quick GIF of yourself and throw that in your reminder email. Bonus points if you have a whiteboard or paper with their name and the meeting time on it.
Here’s an example ?
The Meeting Reminder
Hey John,
Super excited for our meeting. Here’s the zoom link.
See you in 15!
People feel bad blowing you off – especially if they know you. So reduce your meeting no shows by using GIFs in your meeting reminders. The extra 20 seconds it takes to record it will go a long way.
3. Use GIFs To Answer Common Product Questions
Show don’t tell. It’s a tale as old as time.
There’s a time and place for both, but when talking to a prospect or customer about how to accomplish a task in your product, showing them will win every time.
Before, if you got a question on how to do something, you might write up in an email walking them through it (aka tell). It would probably look something like this:
Hey Christina,
Yeah, you can definitely add people to your account. Here are some instructions on how to do it.
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Login to your account here
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Navigate to your settings
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Click on account > team > users
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Open the dropdown and click on add users
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Enter the email addresses for the users you want to add
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Click send
Also, here’s a help doc just in case. Let me know if you have any questions!
This process is fine, but the problem is that 65% of people are visual learners. So instead of writing out all those instructions, just record a GIF showing them how to do it.
Here’s an example ?
The Technical Question
Hey Christina,
You can definitely upload videos to your account. Here’s how it works ?
Let me know if you have any other questions!
One of the best parts about this play is that you can reuse the GIF for questions you’ll inevitably get in the future. So think of it as a one-time investment that will continue to pay dividends over and over.
So what are you waiting for? Try the new GIF maker for sales for free today to start having more conversations with your prospects and close more deals.
