Using GIFs To Lead Students Back To Your Website

About the Episode: In this engaging episode of Talking Tactics, Dayana Kibilds delves into a unique marketing tactic with Dave Tyler, highlighting RIT's innovative use of GIFs on Giphy to drive traffic to their admissions page. Dave shares how a simple yet unexpected approach turned GIFs into a powerful tool for awareness and conversion, resulting in over 1,000,000 GIF view per week and  122 people visiting RIT's admissions page from Giphy in the last 6 months.

Check out RIT’s Giphy page: https://giphy.com/rit_tigers

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Key Takeaways

• Create Shareable, Brand-Aligned GIFs: Simple, useful GIFs or stickers that people want to share can be highly effective for brand awareness.
• Tag GIFs Thoughtfully: Tagging GIFs with popular and relevant terms helps them appear in user searches on social platforms.
• Use Links to Drive Traffic: Linking high-traffic GIFs back to a relevant page, like admissions, can generate unexpected but valuable web traffic.

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Episode Summary

The Inspiration Behind RIT’s GIF Strategy

RIT’s foray into GIFs started with a spontaneous experiment that quickly gained momentum. After uploading a GIF of a kitten from an on-campus therapy pet event, Dave noticed it amassed a million views almost overnight. Recognizing the potential reach and engagement GIFs could have, RIT began developing a dedicated GIF strategy, with the help of their student team, to leverage this medium for brand awareness. The team brainstormed ways to make the content relevant to students and potential applicants by focusing on everyday moments that would resonate across platforms.

GIFs like an animated “A+” paper and other popular stickers became easy-to-share content that RIT’s audience could relate to, while subtly promoting the school. This awareness-focused tactic aimed to blend fun with authenticity, allowing RIT’s personality to shine through in a way that appealed to both current and prospective students.

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Creating and Tagging GIFs for Maximum Reach

RIT’s approach to GIFs is rooted in creating shareable, relatable content that doesn’t feel overly promotional. Their first big hit, an “A+” paper GIF, became wildly popular and has since racked up over 400 million views. Realizing the untapped potential, RIT linked the GIF to their admissions page, which has driven a steady stream of traffic.

For higher education marketers, a big takeaway from RIT’s experience is the importance of tagging GIFs strategically. RIT’s social team researches trending tags on Giphy to ensure that their GIFs are easily searchable. By mixing branded keywords like “RIT” with generic tags like “A+” and “success,” they increase the odds of their GIFs appearing in searches, both on Giphy and on social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, where users commonly add GIFs to their stories and posts.

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Linking GIFs to Increase Web Traffic and Engagement

With so many views on their GIFs, RIT sought to capitalize on the attention by linking their GIFs to relevant pages on their website, like the admissions or campus visit pages. For example, they created a GIF of Ritchie the Tiger, the school mascot, strolling around a campus landmark, which linked back to their visit page. By offering easy-to-access links within their high-traffic GIFs, RIT subtly nudges interested viewers to learn more about the university, capturing potential applicants who may not have been reached through traditional marketing channels.

This tactic shows that even seemingly “light” content like GIFs can become an asset for driving site engagement and fostering brand awareness, especially when crafted with the audience’s needs and interests in mind.

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Tips for Implementing a GIF Strategy

1. Focus on Relatable, Shareable Content: GIFs that reflect the student experience or common college themes tend to gain traction. Simple animations that resonate with emotions like pride, excitement, or relief can be highly shareable.
2. Use Strategic Tagging: To make GIFs easy to find, use popular tags alongside branded ones. Social listening tools can help you identify what’s trending among your target audience, making your content more discoverable.
3. Incorporate Links Where Possible: On Giphy, link popular GIFs to pages that encourage deeper engagement, like admissions or campus visit pages, to funnel interested viewers back to your site.

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About The Enrollify Podcast Network
Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too!  

Some of our favorites include Mission Admissions and Higher Ed Pulse.

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.