According to the latest 2020 Litmus State of Email Report, it was revealed that a significant 51.28% of marketers are leveraging the power of animated GIFs in their email marketing strategies. While this fact is enlightening, there's a hidden gem of a tactic lurking in the shadows that many marketing professionals are yet to discover.
Surprisingly, this strategy isn't about overhauling your email design, or even tweaking the layout—it's about a seemingly small change to your Google profile picture! Yes, you read that right.
In this quick article, we'll quickly guide you through animating your Gmail or Google Workspace profile picture!
Why add animation to your Google profile?
It's undeniable that success in digital marketing lies in fine margins. There's no magic formula, but the journey to marketing success is paved with ongoing refinements and adjustments.
One simple technique that could enhance your brand's narrative and leave a lasting impression is adding motion. This simple yet minor tweak has the potential to make a positive contribution to your brand's image, and here's how:
- Your email will pop out from the sea of emails in any inbox, thereby increasing open rates.
- Brands with an animated profile picture are perceived to be more modern, cutting-edge, and innovative.
- Your Gmail profile picture will be carried over to any sites or apps you register for, ensuring a consistent and cohesive online presence.
- If you work in email marketing, an animated logo can serve as a testament to your expertise.
- It just looks extremely amazing!
How to add an animated Google profile picture
Step 1: Prep your animated profile picture
Before you dive into your Google account, take a moment to ensure you have an animated image ready to roll as your new profile picture. If all you have is a static logo or image, don't worry, we've got you covered with our SVG to Lottie converter. Here's how to get started:
- Navigate to our SVG to Lottie converter page.
- Click on Browse SVG file.
- Select an animation preset that suits your style.
Presently, the GIF format is supported for animated profile pictures. Therefore, we'll need to download your freshly created animation as a GIF. Once your animation is ready, click 'Upload to Preview' and save the file to your LottieFiles platform.
To convert it into a GIF, click on Download & Export > Other Formats > GIF, and click Export. There you have it - your animation is now ready for the next step!
Step 2: Change your picture to the animated profile picture
There are multiple places where you can change the profile picture from. Here are some of the options
Option 1: Via Gmail
- On your computer, open Gmail.
- At the top right, click your Setting > See all settings.
- Scroll down the General setting, under My Profile.
- Click on About Me.
- Click your Profile picture. Your profile picture displays.
- Choose the animation you have.
- Click Set Profile Photo
Option 2.1: Via Google Account (Home page)
- On your computer, open My Account or click your Profile picture on the top right > Manage your Google Account.
- Click your Profile picture. Your profile picture displays.
- Choose the animation you have.
- Click Set Profile Photo.
Option 2.2: Via Google Account (Personal info)
- Within My Account > On the left, click Personal info.
- On the right, under “Photo,” select your Profile picture. Your profile picture displays.
- Choose the animation you have.
- Click Set Profile Photo.
Option 3: Via the side panel
- On your phone open the Google app, or on your computer open Google Chrome
- On the life corner, find a profile picture icon.
- Click your Profile picture. Your profile picture displays.
- Choose the animation you have.
- Click Set Profile Photo.
Add motion to your profile picture with LottieFiles
If you're in need of more inspiration, we've got thousands of free animations for you to browse through, including a library of free animated logos! Feel free to draw inspiration from as many as you like, or if you can grab a quick animation from our featured Lottie animations, customize it as you please to fit your brand's color palette. If you're more interested in the human representation over a logo, you can also browse through IconScout’s library of Avatars to see if there's one that aligns with your style and brand aesthetic.
We hope this article motivated you to consider incorporating an animated image into your Google profile. If you're seeking inspiration to create your own animated logo, we recommend checking out this article that's filled with examples of animated logos. If, however, animated logos don't quite appeal to you, but you're still interested in bringing some life to your emails, this other article provides insight into various ways of introducing animation into your email communications. Best of luck to you! We're sure that you'll be able to boost your email engagement rates in a matter of no time.
