How to make your own Instagram GIF Stickers

Undoubtedly, we all love using GIFs on our social media platforms in order to add a pop of personality and interactivity to our content. We know what these fun, animated stickers are, but we don’t really know how Instagram GIF stickers are created and curated for us to use! Want to know how to make a GIF for Instagram? Keep reading below. ‍

What are Instagram GIF Stickers?

GIF stickers are looping animations which are different from a regular GIF because they do not have a background. GIF stickers are used to decorate photos and videos on our favorite platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.

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How do you use GIF Stickers on Instagram?

To find Instagram GIF stickers, use the local search engines on social media platforms (Tinder, Facebook, Messenger etc). To access the GIF search, you will need to open your Instagram camera and take a photo or video. Once you have done that, you can add a GIF to your story by tapping the square smiley face icon in the top right corner. This will open a menu of interactive embellishments to add to your Instagram story. Tap the ‘GIFs’ bar and it will bring you to the GIF search where you can type in any keyword to find the design that suits your use case.

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GIPHY as a Platform for accessing Instagram GIFs

Have you ever wondered where all these different Instagram GIF stickers come from? Well, you can find then on a platform called GIPHY, which is a giant database filled with fun GIFs. This platform syncs with the backend of many apps, allowing for in-app animated GIF shares.

Creators from all around the world can design unique content, and upload it to GIPHY for all to use. GIPHY is an unpaid platform, meaning that if you are a brand wanting GIFs, all you need to invest in is getting the artwork made.

In May 2020, GIPHY was acquired by Facebook for a reported $400 million dollars, formally adding the media platform to their portfolio. This makes sense, as Facebook-owned sources like Instagram, Messenger, and Whatsapp generates the majority of GIPHY’s traffic. With this acquisition, it is expected that reporting and data insights for GIF stickers will increase for the better as Facebook adds its own touches to the platform.

GIPHY Channels

A GIPHY channel is where you can see all GIFs uploaded by one creator or brand.

Within a channel, you can find information on total GIF sticker uploads for the channel, as well as total views that those GIFs have accumulated. Click on specific GIFs to discover its individual view statistics. As you can see, well-designed and tagged Instagram GIF stickers can easily reach over a million views.

These fun animations not only add personality to your story posts, but can also have a significant impact on organic search. As well, since GIPHY is such a huge platform (700 million users daily), simply having a channel and content on the platform allows your brand to leverage their high search engine optimization (SEO) rankings. As well, new customers or fans can find your brand through your custom Instagram GIF stickers.

GIPHY Channel Application

You can’t just sign up to GIPHY and post GIFS and expect them to be available on Instagram stories. To make GIFs for Instagram (and other socials), you need to go through a GIPHY Channel application process. The application process can take up to two weeks. In addition, and you must have at least five GIFs on your channel. Those are the basics, but there are also several other requirements. You can do this all yourself… or we can do it for you. Get in touch with New Future Creative for your very own custom GIFs and GIPHY channel.

Want custom GIFs or Instagram augmented reality face filters of your own? Reach out to us at info@newfuturecreative.com! Check out our other articles here, and see our past client work.

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