The Psychology of Using GIFs, Memes, and Emojis in Your Emails

If you've been anywhere near the Internet or used your mobile device recently, you've probably noticed a few trends in the form of emojis, memes, and gifs. As they multiply and proliferate across every screen, website, and even into your own correspondence, we're faced with the predicament of if and when to utilize them in business situations. Is there an appropriate way to implement a gif when you email your broker or a new client? How about emojis? It feels like you can't send or receive an text message these days without expressing your emotions with several emojis.

First, if you're feeling completely lost, don't worry. We'll break down the differences of all the Internet trends for you. Then we'll prove that there's some psychology to it all, and why utilizing an emoji or meme may be a great choice for the next business email you send out.

Get gif-ing...

Before we start, we'll share our definitions and examples of our Internet trends and sensations so we're all on the same page, here.

GIF stands for graphics interchange format, and it's generally a short video that's captured from a TV show, movie, or pop culture that repeats...endlessly. Generally, they're short clips and you may even see them utilized as an animation on a website that directs you how to do something.