Facebook finally adds animated GIF support

In May, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has began supporting GIFs in user posts but did not allow businesses to use the modish graphic interchange format all the kids are getting around. So far, Facebook has given Wendy’s, BuzzFeed, and Coca-Cola-owned Brazilian brand Kuat the ability to post GIFs to their Pages.

It looks like Facebook will be phasing out the small, sidebar ads that are more of an inconvenience than anything else, and animated GIF ads might be worth exploring for the social network, although reception by Facebook users remain to be seen. Facebook is now allowing businesses to post animated GIFs in both ads and boosted posts.

However, animated GIFs have seen a dramatic rise in popularity over the last few years, to the point where they’ve become an integral part of how web content is consumed, especially in social media and online communities.

Facebook didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but told TechCrunch it’s testing the GIF ads in posts and boosted posts for a “small percentage” of Facebook Pages.

Facebook depends heavily on revenue brought in by advertisements, and it is possible that the company will prioritize its business with its partners rather than worrying too much about some users’ experience since most will not even notice the difference. Here is an example of Wendy’s utilizing an animated GIF. Facebook also has made moves to support GIFs to build on the success of autoplay video. However, they can be very annoying for a user who is not interested and facing connection issues.