Animated GIFs have become a staple in digital communication, bringing a splash of motion and personality to messages and social media. For small businesses, they offer an engaging way to capture attention, explain products, or add a fun element to your brand’s online presence. Here are the 14 best animated GIF makers that can help your small business stand out.

1. GIPHY Create – GIPHY is arguably the internet’s GIF headquarters, and its creation tool allows you to quickly turn videos or sets of images into GIFs.

2. Adobe Spark – Adobe Spark provides a suite of design tools that includes the option to create animated graphics easily.

3. Canva – Known for user-friendly graphic design, Canva allows you to create GIFs by adding animation to any element in their design tool.

4. EZGIF – This straightforward online GIF maker and image editor allows you to create, resize, crop, and optimize GIFs.

5. GIFMaker.me – A simple and versatile tool for creating GIFs, slideshows, and video animations with music.

6. PicsArt – With its powerful photo editing features, PicsArt enables you not only to create GIFs but also add stickers and text overlays for extra flair.

7. Giphy Cam – Made by GIPHY, this app is great for creating GIFs on the go using your smartphone’s camera.

8. Imgflip – An online tool that lets you make GIFs from videos, images, or text with numerous customization options.

9. Crello – Similar to Canva in ease of use, Crello offers animation templates that make creating eye-catching GIFs a breeze for anyone.

10. ScreenToGif – This app allows you to record a portion of your screen and then edit it into a trim, smooth GIF.

11. PhotoScape X – Though known as a photo editor, PhotoScape has robust features for creating GIFs from images or video clips.

12. GIF Toaster (iOS) – An iOS app that converts almost anything (photos, videos, bursts) into a GIF right from your iPhone or iPad.

13. LICEcap – Unique for its simplicity, LICEcap can capture an area of your desktop and save it directly as a .gif file.

14. Instagiffer – This tool creates smooth looping animations with options to add text and fine-tune timings for great-looking results.

Choosing the right tool largely depends on your business needs – whether it’s simplicity and speed or advanced features for branding. These tools offer varying degrees of control over the final product’s look and feel; each has unique strengths that make it valuable for different scenarios within a small business’s content-creation process.