How to Make GIFs on Instagram

Adding a GIF to your Instagram Story or Reel is one of the quickest ways to inject personality and motion into your content. This guide covers everything you need to know, from the simple, one-click method using Instagram's sticker library to the more advanced strategy of creating your own custom-branded GIFs that anyone can use.

Why Bother With GIFs on Instagram?

In a feed crowded with static images and polished videos, GIFs are a breath of fresh air. They serve as a powerful tool for visual communication, helping you stand out and connect with your audience in a more authentic way. They're not just for fun, they serve a strategic purpose in building a brand and growing an engaged community.

Here’s how they give your content an edge:

• They Grab Attention Instantly: Our eyes are naturally drawn to movement. A well-placed GIF, whether it's a floating logo or a funny reaction, can instantly stop scrollers in their tracks and pull them into your story.
• They Inject Heaps of Personality: GIFs are the language of the internet. Using them shows you're in on the culture and don't take yourself too seriously. They let you communicate emotions - humor, excitement, empathy - far more effectively than text alone. Are you launching a product? A celebratory confetti GIF fits perfectly. Sharing a relatable struggle? A facepalm GIF says it all.
• They Boost Engagement: By making your content more dynamic and entertaining, GIFs encourage viewers to stick around longer. You can use arrow GIFs to point to polls, quizzes, or question boxes in your Stories, directly guiding users to engage with your interactive elements.
• They Reinforce Your Brand Identity: When done right, especially with custom GIFs, they act as a subtle yet effective branding tool. Seeing your logo or signature phrases pop up in animated form can strengthen brand recall in a fun, non-intrusive way. Imagine your own customers using *your* branded GIF in *their* stories!

Think of GIFs as a secret weapon in your content toolbox. They’re low-effort to use but deliver a high impact, making your Instagram presence more memorable and interactive.

How to Add GIFs to Instagram Stories & Reels (The Easy Method)

If you're looking for a quick and fun way to upgrade your content, Instagram's built-in GIF library is your best friend. Powered by GIPHY, it gives you access to millions of animated stickers that you can add to Stories and Reels in seconds. This is the most common and straightforward way to use GIFs.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

Step 1: Create Your Story or Reel

Open the Instagram app and swipe right to access the Story camera, or tap the "+" icon at the bottom of the screen and select "Reel." Record a new video or upload an existing photo or clip from your camera roll. Before you share it, you'll be taken to the post-production editing screen.

Step 2: Access the Sticker Menu

Look for the square smiley face icon at the top of your screen. This is your sticker tray. Tap on it to open a menu filled with interactive elements like polls, location tags, music, and - of course - GIFs.

Step 3: Select and Search for a GIF

In the sticker tray, find the option labeled "GIF." Tapping it will open up the GIPHY search library. You'll see trending GIFs, but the real power is in the search bar at the top.

This is where you can get specific. Type in keywords related to the emotion, topic, or object you want to display. Here are a few search tips:

• Be Specific: Instead of "happy," try searching for "dancing," "celebrating," or "cheering." Instead of "dog," try "sleepy dog" or "funny corgi."
• Try Variations: If you don't find what you need, use synonyms or different phrases. Searching for "good job" might give you different results than "applause" or "congrats."
• Look for "Stickers": If you want a GIF with a transparent background that will overlay neatly on your content, add the word "sticker" to your search. For example, search "arrow sticker" instead of just "arrow."

Step 4: Position and Resize Your GIF

Once you’ve tapped on a GIF, it will appear on top of your photo or video. From here, you can customize it:

• Resize: Use two fingers to pinch in or out to make the GIF smaller or larger.
• Move: Tap and drag the GIF to any position on the screen.
• Rotate: Hold two fingers on the GIF and twist them to rotate it to the desired angle.
• Reverse Direction: Simply tap the GIF to flip it horizontally.

You can add multiple GIFs to a Story or Reel. Just repeat the process. Once you’re happy with the placement, you can share your masterpiece with your followers.

Step Up Your Game: Create Your Own Branded GIFs

Using trending GIFs is fun, but creating your own custom, branded GIFs is a true game-changer for your social media marketing. Imagine your customers and followers searching for your company name or slogan in the GIF library and being able to drop your animated logo, a product shot, or a branded catchphrase directly into their own Stories. It’s an organic way to turn your followers into brand ambassadors.

Making your brand’s GIFs searchable on Instagram involves a few stages, but it's an investment that pays off in brand recognition and organic reach.

What Kind of Branded GIFs Should You Make?

The possibilities are endless, but here are some effective ideas to get you started:

• Animated Logo: A simple, looping animation of your company logo is a must-have.
• Branded Text/Slogans: Animate your brand's tagline, slogans, or common phrases (e.g., "New Post Alert," "Shop Now," "Link in Bio").
• Product GIFs: If you sell physical products, create simple animated stickers of your bestsellers.
• Illustrations and Icons: Create animated versions of icons or illustrations that are part of your visual brand. An arrow in your brand's font and color is a simple but highly effective tool.
• Reaction GIFs: Make short, looping videos of team members making funny or relatable expressions. These are highly shareable.

How to Design a High-Quality GIF Sticker

For your GIF to work as a sticker on Instagram, it needs a transparent background. Here are a few key design tips and tools to help you create polished, professional GIFs:

Design Best Practices:

• Keep it simple: Complex animations can be distracting and may not render well at small sizes. Focus on one clear movement or idea.
• Go for bold colors: Use high-contrast colors from your brand palette to make sure your GIF pops against any background.
• Ensure a seamless loop: The best GIFs are the ones that loop smoothly and endlessly. Make sure the last frame transitions perfectly back to the first.
• Ditch the background: For stickers, transparency is non-negotiable. Export your animation as a GIF file with the transparency option enabled. A GIF with a solid white or color background will show up as a clunky box on Instagram Stories.

Tools for Creating GIFs:

• For Beginners - Canva: Canva's Pro plan has user-friendly animation tools that allow you to create simple animated text and graphics. You can export your designs as GIFs with transparent backgrounds, making it a great starting point for anyone new to animation.
• For Intermediate Users - Procreate: If you're using an iPad, Procreate has powerful animation features that can help you animate illustrations. It can export your creation into one file.
• For Professionals - Adobe Photoshop & After Effects: For full creative control, the Adobe Creative Suite is the industry standard. Photoshop can be used to animate frame by frame, while After Effects is perfect for creating complex motion graphics and slick logo animations.

Get Your GIFs on Instagram: Apply for a GIPHY Brand Channel

Once you’ve designed your suite of awesome branded GIFs, you can’t just upload them to Instagram directly. You need to get them into the GIPHY database that powers Instagram's GIF search. To do that, you have to apply for and be accepted into GIPHY's Brand or Artist program.

A GIPHY Brand Channel is an official home for your company's GIF content. It verifies that you're a legitimate entity and makes all your public GIFs searchable across the GIPHY network, including within apps like Instagram, TikTok, and X.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

Step 1: Create a Regular GIPHY Account

Start by going to GIPHY.com and signing up for a standard, free account. Make sure to use a professional email address associated with your brand (e.g., yourname@yourcompany.com), as this adds to your legitimacy during the application process.

Step 2: Upload Some Initial GIFs

GIPHY wants to see what kind of content you’ll be sharing before they approve you. Upload at least 5-10 of your custom-made GIFs to your new account. Make them public - private GIFs won’t be visible to the review team.

Step 3: Apply for an Upgrade

Once your GIFs are live, find the application form to upgrade your account to a Brand Channel. You can usually find a link that says "Join as an artist or brand".

The application will ask for details like:

• Your contact information.
• Your company name and website. Your website must be professional and active. URLs based on a username (e.g., username.tumblr.com) are generally not accepted.
• Your social media profile links (especially Instagram).

GIPHY's approval process can be selective and may take several weeks, so be patient. They’re looking for high-quality, original content from legitimate businesses and creators.

Step 4: Tag Your GIFs for Discoverability

This is arguably the most important step. Once you're approved, how will people find your GIFs on Instagram? The answer is *tags*. Every GIF you upload to your GIPHY channel needs to be tagged with relevant keywords.

When someone searches for a GIF in Instagram Stories, they are searching the tags you added on GIPHY. To make your GIFs easy to find, you need a strong tagging strategy:

• Include Your Brand Name: Tag every GIF with your company name, variations of it, and any personal brand names involved (e.g., "postbase," "postbaseseo").
• Add Relevant Keywords: Think about what users would actually search for. If it’s an arrow GIF, tag it with "arrow," "point," "this way," "click here."
• Cover Themes and Emotions: If it's a celebratory GIF, use tags like "celebrate," "party," "hooray," "congrats." If it’s a coffee sticker, add "coffee," "caffeine," "good morning," "tired."
• Think Broad and Specific: Use a mix of broad terms ("love," "happy") and niche terms ("social media manager," "entrepreneur life"). Aim for 10-20 relevant tags per GIF for the best results.

After your GIFs are tagged and public on your approved Brand Channel, there might be a short delay, but they should soon become searchable in the Instagram GIF library!

Final Thoughts

From grabbing quick, trending reactions to building an arsenal of custom-branded stickers, GIFs are an invaluable tool for any creator or brand on Instagram. They make your content more visually exciting, communicate your personality, and even create opportunities for your own audience to share your brand organically.

Creating engaging content like GIFs is awesome, but it’s only half the battle. Consistently planning and scheduling that content - especially across multiple platforms and formats like Stories and Reels - can get overwhelming fast. This is where having a simple, modern social media management tool comes in handy. With our visual content calendar at Postbase, we make it easy to see your entire content strategy at a glance, so you can plan ahead, spot gaps, and build a consistent brand presence without pulling your hair out.