GIFs; you’ve definitely seen them before! They are the animations popular websites like BuzzFeed and Reddit use. If you want to be very specific…GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, and you’ve probably noticed the file extension .gif if you’ve ever downloaded these types of images from the web. GIF animations are created by combining several single images or frames into a single frame to play a looping animated clip, or what others refer to as a short video.

GIFs can be used on social media websites as a reply or comment in conversations, as a form of advertising by businesses, a method of giving a 360 degree product view, a way to solidify your message in blogs, or even to add personality to your company’s brand.

Try it yourself! Add these little clips to your social media postings as a conversation piece, to your blogs to spice things up a bit, or in comments to customers when appropriate! The general census is that people LOVE visuals, especially funny ones!

Below are 4 websites where you can find GIFs to add to your social media efforts:

1. GIFs From Last Night: This website features a collection of pop culture GIFs, ranging from television shows to clips from popular news stories. These GIFs could make a great conversation starter on social media, or can be implemented into your next blog!                            
2. GIPHY: This website is easily the largest GIF database, featuring millions of GIFs for your perusal. The search function allows you to search using any hashtag for whatever your reaction or mood might be, and their social media buttons and IFRAME links allow you to easily embed any GIF into your Tweets, Facebook posts, blogs, and websites in seconds.                                      
3. Reaction GIFs: A very user-friendly database filled with GIFs to complement any mood or feeling you may be having! Simply search by a feeling, such as “excited” and thousands of GIFS will pop up for you to choose from. This website is great for using in comments or replies on social media. 
4. Reddit: Reddit is a source featuring what’s new and popular on the internet. It is basically a forum where individuals post links/stories/media to the website and others vote and comment on the content. If a post receives enough favourable votes, it will rise to the top of other posts and eventually may find its way to the homepage. The website contains various individual communities known as “subreddits” featuring its own subject matter. Reddit has a few subreddits dedicated to GIFs: https://www.reddit.com/r/reactiongifs, https://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/. Alternatively, you can conduct a simple search on Reddit to find content that matches exactly what you are looking for.

Go ahead and explore the millions of GIFs out there and try implementing a few into your social media efforts!