If the competition between social media platforms ever felt like a race, then Instagram has shot its way up the scoreboard, offering some serious competition for the top 3 in terms of size and marketing potential.
This is a step-by-step guide for making your own GIF stickers. We are not just giving advice. Our stickers have actually been used by over 120 MILLION users worldwide:
Elementor's Giphy PageLaunched in 2010, Instagram now boasts over one billion monthly active users, second only to YouTube and Facebook (who have owned Instagram since 2012).
Instagram is popular because it’s simple and fun to use. We could also argue that it appeals, more than others, to international users as most of its content is pictorial (as opposed to text on other platforms such as Facebook) and lighter (unlike heavier content such as YouTube videos).
From a purely business perspective, Instagram has become the New World of social media marketing. Not because of the number of users but because of their behavior.
It’s this behavior that has made Instagram a major influencer in its own right.
Over 60% of users log into Instagram daily, most of them to post stories. This makes it the second most engaged social network after Facebook.
You may recall that last week, we explained the significance of Google’s decision to favor mobile versions of websites/pages in search results, making mobile responsive design more important than ever. Needless-to-say, Instagram, predominantly used on mobile and by adults, played a big part in this shift.
And we’re only starting to get the picture.
Reach seems to not only be easier to obtain on Instagram than on Facebook, once obtained, but it is also more valuable.
80% of users follow at least 1 business or brand, which means that it’s the platform where most users are likely to continue doing so.
Businesses that have realized this and have already begun marketing on Instagram claim that they get up to 37% of their total impressions from Instagram Stories.
You would think that Facebook would have similar marketing potential, when in fact the opposite is true. Instagram boasts 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook.
There are claims that Facebook is oversaturated with advertising and marketing content, and there could be truth to it. Facebook users seem to have learned to filter out advertising and marketing content.
As consumers, we’ve always needed to be reassured, at the very least, of the quality, dimensions, and current state of a product.
A visual aid has proven to be very convenient for this purpose, and furthermore, it encourages users to take action and buy that item. Kinsta recently pointed out that “about 60% of Instagram users say they’ve discovered new products through the app, while 72% of users say they have purchased a product they saw on the app.”
Most of the businesses we’re discussing are related to things that are visual to include web design, and…, yes, like Elementor as well.
We’ve been running our own experiments with Instagram stories. Of course, we’ve been having a lot of fun in the process, but who said that you couldn’t have fun to get results?
And, boy, did we get results.
Our Instagram account is currently at 18 thousand plus followers and rapidly growing.
Creating stickers like these allowed us to strengthen our brand identity further while expanding our creative assets. In fact, one of our stickers got over 25 million views!
But wouldn’t it be better to share the knowledge of how to similar results? After all, isn’t that what makes a community great?
We want to share how we used GIF stickers on Instagram to generate social impact so that you too can benefit from our knowledge and experience, and by following the same process, perhaps expand your following to similar numbers, if not more!
A Graphics Interchange Format or GIF is a type of digital image that also allows us to create short animations with multiple images.
Imagine the layers being the pages in a book, and flipping through those pages quickly to create an animation, and there’s no limit to the level of animation you can achieve with these GIFs.
Which wild explain why GIFs are mostly used for short animations these days.
When you share a photo or video to your Instagram story, Instagram lets you can add stickers to express yourself in creative ways.
These are little superimposed graphics that add elements of expression to your stories, adding fun, excitement, and character. This makes the stories more interesting and engaging to viewers, which inevitably contributes to the greater reach of your stories, and you know the rest.
The following is the exact process we use to create the GIF stickers for our stories on our social feeds.
Elementor’s Social Media Manager, Lisa Raz, has gotten so good at creating them, she can produce a nifty GIF faster than you can say “animated GIF stickers for Instagram stories”.
Of course, there are numerous ways to create stickers, such as those explained in this wonderful tutorial by Elementor user Lisa Bardot.
But this is how we make ’em!
For this process we will need the following:
Once you’ve uploaded at least 5 GIF’s, you’ll be eligible to apply for a Brand/Artist account on GIPHY. This will allow your GIFs to become available to the public, and your Instagram account. You can read more about Giphy’s requirements for having Brand/Artist accounts here.
Once your Brand/Artist account is approved, make as many GIFs as you want and upload them!
Let’s Get Started With Gif Stickers.
Open up the Procreate app on your iPad (or another suitable device).
Create a new file by tapping on the plus icon (+) in the top menu bar. When creating a new file, you will be prompted to select the size of what will become your GIF.
We’ll be recreating our WordCamp Europe sticker, made up of the Elementor logo, the WCEU logo, and the @ sign.
This assures the proportions remain the same regardless of any adjustments we make to the textbox.Essentially, what we have now are four layers, one on top of the other, that will be flipped through like the flipbook, we mentioned.
The final step
Once we’ve created our GIF, we’ll upload it to Giphy.com, which acts as a host for our online GIF assets.
Giphy reviews each and every GIF to make sure they follow all their guidelines and also look good. Alas, this means that you will not see your GIFs in the stickers search immediately.
However, once Giphy approves our GIF, we’ll be able to find them on Instagram and add them to our stories.
Like we did when we placed them on the images that we were taking at WordCamp.
While you’re at it, feel free to search for Elementor’s stickers on Giphy and use whatever sticker you like!
We’re only too happy to see others using our stickers on their own posts.
Posting stories on Instagram is more like fun than work, and adding animated GIF stickers to make your stories stand out, really is as simple as we’ve shown here.
Use it to generate awareness and expand your reach. Start making the impressions, that will encourage users to follow through your funnels.
We feel that Instagram is the New World of social media marketing. Some of us may have gotten off to a later start than others, but don’t let that discourage you. Instagram’s marketing and creative potential is still a long way from peaking.
Every picture tells a story, so get started and make some great stories of your own.
Want to add your GIF Stickers on Instagram Stories? In this post I share 3 easy (but lesser-known) ways to create your own GIF Stickers and share them on your posts.
You might be surprised by the potential of GIFs and GIF Stickers for your brand!
Woman with Lollipop Hearts by Rohappy (Shutterstock)BY DONNA MORITZ | 1 FEBRUARY, 2019
Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links, which means we receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase through a link.
If you've been using Instagram for a while now you would have met GIF Stickers. They're the fun GIF images, videos or illustrations that you can use as overlays to place over your Instagram Stories – made possible by their transparent background.
They let you add personality and interest to your posts, making them more engaging!
The main way you find GIF Stickers on Instagram is to search for them via the Sticker menu on Instagram Stories. To find them you choose the Sticker icon:
Here's a list of GIF Stickers that you can access on Instagram. Some of them are Instagram's in that they are features of Instagram that they make available in the sticker section. Some are available through Giphy Search where you can access 1000's of GIF Stickers via Instagram's GIF search function:
And here is an overview of the Sticker selection including the stickers listed above:
Most people don't even realize that you can add your own GIF Stickers to Instagram. But you can!
Now, of course, you can go the easy route and use GIF Stickers made by other brands – and by Instagram themselves – and that's a totally valid option, especially if you don't have much time.
Here's a post I wrote all about using Poll Stickers for instance. It walks you through how to use them for engagement.
So, there's loads that you can do with the Stickers available to you in Instagram already.
But there actually is a way… 3 ways in fact.. that you can add your own custom stickers to Instagram Stories.
I've shared them all below.
When you add your own GIF Stickers you can be a little more strategic about your branding and content.
And you can make your stickers your own.
And add value to your community who can potentially use them too.
One example of a brand that does this well is Target. They're always adding new, engaging Stickers that their fans and customers love to use to express their fandom on Instagram Stories:
So let's jump in and take a look at how you can create and share your own GIF Stickers on Instagram.
I'm going to start with the simplest method that involves the least amount of “work” to add your own Stickers on Instagram Stories right down to the option that involves a little more work but also gives you the most options.
You're not limited to just one option. You can use all 3 in your marketing!
Note: all of these methods involve adding Stickers with transparent backgrounds or PNG format images or animations. So make sure when you create your Stickers that you have them in this format.
There should be some transparent “white space” around your actual image or GIF in transparent format.
Here are the 3 methods:
This one is a simple trick that I hadn't discovered until recently. Here's how it works on my iOS smartphone:
Please note: Some people are saying that this is not currently working. And I am not aware of a workaround for Android as yet. If this is the case for you, then skip to No 2 (below) as you can share a GIF sticker from a Giphy account, so the alternative is to host it there and share from Giphy. Ahhh Social Media… the only thing we can rely on is change!
1. Open up your Instagram Story in Instagram and prepare to add a Sticker.
2. Save your completed GIF Sticker (image or GIF Sticker with transparent background) to your Camera Roll. You can do this from Dropbox, Google Docs or via Email. In this case I'm copying this flip-flops GIF over from email. It's a simple GIF that shows the flip-flops moving from side to side.
3. I then choose the Download icon in the top right corner:
4. A screen will pop up with options for you to save and share the GIF Sticker. Click “Copy”.
5. Then open up Instagram again and your Instagram Story will still be there ready to go. An option to add the Sticker you just copied will pop up! Tap the “Add Sticker” Icon.
6. Voila! Your Sticker will be added to your Instagram Story, just as if you had added it from Instagram's selection of Stickers. Cool, hey?
7. Finish off your Story as you normally would. That's it! A few simple steps and you've added your own custom sticker from outside of Instagram Stories into your Story.
While you get excited about the creative potential of that little trick, let's take a look at another way you can share your own custom GIF Stickers into Instagram Stories.
This takes a couple of extra steps but I'm building you up to #3 where you can really do some cool stuff with GIF Stickers for your brand.
In this second option, you're going to set up a Giphy Channel to store and share your GIFs and GIF Stickers.
Honestly, I think this is a great move, and I highly recommend you do it, even if you are not ready for Step 3 (applying for a Branded Giphy Channel) yet.
Why? Because it allows you to:
Then, when you're ready, you can apply for a Branded GIF Channel, but for now let's get you started with a regular GIF Channel.
Setting up a Giphy Channel is easy. You just simply sign up for a Giphy Account here.
I won't go into the how-to's of creating and uploading GIFs in this post, but suffice to say Giphy has some cool tools to enable you to create GIFs from images or videos and to edit and upload them.
If you're looking for other articles about creating GIFs, head to the end of this post, where I'll share some.
You can create GIFs from images or video using Giphy's GIFMakerOnce your channel is set up, all you have to do is start creating and uploading GIFs. Then you can share any of your channel GIFs to Instagram using the following method:
This is super simple, and takes just a few clicks, just like #1 above.
1 Firstly, open up your Intsagram Story ready to add your Sticker.
2. Then go to your Giphy account and find the GIF you want to share. In this case I am going to find the “Marketing Besties” sticker from my Socially Sorted account. You'll need to open up Giphy on your phone and open your account. You'll see a selection of GIFs and GIF Stickers that you have uploaded.
Note that even though I have a branded Giphy Channel, this works for regular Giphy Channels too.
3.
Tap to choose the sticker you want to use, ready to copy. The following screen will open up, with the single sticker you choose:
4. Tap and hold as directed to copy the GIF to your camera roll. Then open up your Instagram Story again in Instagram – just like the example above. The GIF Sticker you just copied will appear in the corner of your story ready to tap:
5. Now you're ready to roll, with your GIF Sticker added and pumping. In this case, the heart is literally pumping as the sticker animates. You can check it out here.
I've kept the background simple to show you how it works, but obviously I would add this to a photo of me and my speaker friends or marketing team – however you want to use it. Scroll down to see a fun example below.
And feel free to use this one if you work in Marketing .. you can find it on Instagram by searching the hashtag #sociallysorted to see my stickers.
You can also do this with GIFs that are regular GIFs (without the transparent background that makes them “Stickers”) or even regular PNG static images.
Here's a regular GIF without any transparency that I can share to an Instagram Story by copying and pasting in the same way:
Basically this will work for any GIF, image or transparent image that you want to share into an Instagram Story. All you have to do is copy the image and then add it as a “Sticker”.
Note: the above examples are all from an iOS phone. I am not sure if it works on an Android but if you know a process for making this work, please share in the comments and I'll add it to the post. Note that Intsagram has been playing wiht a Sticker feature that allows you to instantly add a sticker from your camera roll, but so far it is only available to a small number of users. I'm not sure if it will be rolled out to everyone but fingers crossed that it will be!
Now it's time to look at the Holy Grail for adding Stickers to your Instagram Account: A branded Giphy Channel.
I have had a Branded Giphy account for a while now and it has many added benefits:
I'll get into how you can apply below, but first, here's my channel:
You can check out my Branded Giphy Channel here or click the image below.
At the time of writing this post, I have 12.3 million views of my stickers. Partly because they are viewed a lot on Instagram Stories.
My account got off to a great start when the Ellen show used one of my early GIF Stickers on their Instagram Story. That one Sticker alone now has over 3 million views. #TrueStory.
Ellen's team used my Sticker to get Y'all to Swipe Up ;o)So far I am using my channel to experiment with reach and to experiment with the potential of GIFs for myself and also so that I can advise the brands I speak for and consult with.
I'll be adding more GIFs over time, and in the meantime you can access them by searching on #sociallysorted via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter search. You'll also see regular GIFs too that you can use in social media engagement.
Anyone can simply open up Instagram Stories and search (via the GIF Sticker) for the GIF Sticker that they want. For example, I could search “Excited” and a whole bunch of GIFs open up for selection.
Here's a few ways this works really well:
1. It means that your audience or anyone random can find your stickers via search (Hello, Team Ellen). It's Instagram + Giphy, so the potential numbers are mind-boggling.
Let's take a look at the image above for example. Ellen's team usually have their own Sticker overlay for “Swipe Up” but I am presuming that they wanted to post something quickly so searched and selected by Sticker under the search for #SwipeUp.
2. You can also search for your own GIF Stickers and use them in branding. So I can open up Instagram Stories and search for my own GIF Stickers by using the hashtag #SociallySorted – as I have added that hashtag to all of my stickers for search in Giphy.
I can alternatively search on keywords that I know will bring them up, like “Swipe Up” or “Queensland” for my pair of Flip Flops. Yes, they rank for high search terms, because… well… not many people are doing this as yet!
Now I can add my stickers easily to my Instagram Story, in this case a post about getting excited to speak at Social Media Marketing World… and one of my favourite photos of fellow speakers and attendees from previous events!
Shout out to some of my marketing besties, Azure Collier (TripleSeat), Viveka Von Rosen (Vengresso), Elena Verlee (Tech Marketing Strategist), Steve Dotto (DottoTech) and Ian Anderson Gray (iag.me). Shenanigans.
3. You can also give your audience the search hashtags or particular search terms for them to find your GIF Content in Giphy Search.
For example, if you are “Target” you might tell your Instagram audience to go crazy with their #Target #Valentines Day Stickers. Oh, and look… they show up on search!
Target has perfectly optimized their GIF Selection for Valentine's Day, knowing their fans will love to share the Target love on Instagram.
The Target GIFs are branded, yes, but they are also super fun and some of them will suit any generic post (aka GIF Stickers for “relationship goals”).
It may not always be super branded, but it is super target with an ROI in mind but it is entertaining to their audience. They are giving their Instagram-loving, Target-loving audience another reason to love them. Check out their Brand Channel here.
I could go on about the potential of this, but let's jump in to how you can apply for a branded Giphy Channel:
Applying for a Giphy Branded Channel takes 3 simple steps:
If you are lucky to be accepted you'll get a welcome message, something like this:
Giphy recommends that to be successful with your application you need to:
My application was accepted quickly but others have taken longer or even two attempts. Some people have not had any luck at all. How it all works is not entirely clear, so it's hard for me to dive difinitive advice.
However, Giphy are providing more and more tips for getting accepted so I would I would follow their recommendations and add a mix of branded and non-branded GIFs that your audience would love to use and share .. and cross your fingers!
I believe it's worth applying if you already have a Giphy Channel set up. It takes just a few minutes to do the form and apply. Unfortunately it's getting harder to get accepted as more and more people apply, but it's worth a shot!
You can read more about GIFs in these posts:
How to Create Animated GIFs that Stand Out
How to use Cool GIFs in Marketing to WOW Your Audience (Infographic)
Our calendar posts for each month of the year – find them here.
How to bring Still Images to Life – Social Media Examiner Podcast
If you want some tools for creating GIFs, I use:
Easil (for creating my graphics)
EzGif (for editing my GIFs)
Giphy (for hosting and sharing my GIFs)
While not always connected to direct returns or sales, GIFs and GIF Stickers can be great branding tools for replying and engaging on social media channels.
They can also be fantastic for creating content for your audience to use – that taps into your brand and helps them to tell your brand story. That's the potential I am excited about.
Are you excited about the creative potential of GIFs and GIF Stickers?
Are you creating or sharing GIF Stickers? Let me know in the comments below.
Woman with Lollipop Hearts by Rohappy (Shutterstock)The following two tabs change content below.
Donna is a Visual Content Strategist and founder of Socially Sorted, listed by Forbes as a "Top 5 Social Media Blog You Need to Know About". Donna helps brands leverage the power of visual storytelling and content strategy in their business. Her content has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Inc. & Entrepreneur and she is a speaker and trainer on visual content for the marketing and tourism industries internationally.
The question of how to make your own stickers on Instagram is asked by many active users of the social network. In stories, as a rule, they do not think about the beauty of the photo, but only show the audience life events.
Stories are made a little more expressive with stickers. The standard set is not enough for manipulation. A special program like Any Sticker helps in solving the problem. Let's talk about sticker programs, gifs in private messages, and the rules for editing stories.
Content
Instagram stickers are not always suitable for photos.
The Any Sticker program comes to the rescue, where stickers with icons and inscriptions are created. For example, users select arrows for navigation, write the place where they are going now. Knife and fork tags are a way to indicate restaurants or hint that you are going out for dinner.
First, enter the text in the input box in the program, select the shade that will be used to color the label. Find the main image, crop it, adding the work to the story. The social network has built-in graphic editors that resize, move sticks, and so on. The principle of working with self-created content in Any Sticker is practically no different from working with a standard sticker pack.
With the latest updates to the social network, there is a feature called a selfie sticker. The function allows you to take a photo by saving it as a stick. Further, a self-created sticker will be saved and can be used in the future. The update appeared simultaneously on all devices, regardless of the operating system.
In the editor, other inscriptions, labels are added to the content, and the stickers themselves are attached to photos, videos.
As we found out earlier, stickers for Instagram are created using the built-in social network editors from a photo. To work, follow the instructions:
Instructions on how to make your own Instagram stickers work for all devices on different operating systems.
New update features allow you to attach sticks, selfie stickers to videos based on the Boomerang function. To do this, attach the stick to the roller, follow the instructions below:
Done, now the selfie stick will be present on the Boomerang, moving according to your preferences.
Additional tips for working with stickers and managing them:
A popular question asked by social network users is how to make your Instagram stickers using Gif. Gif - a looped picture with animation, a looping video without sound. Files were originally invented for the exchange of bitmap images. The format compresses frames without degrading the original quality.
Despite the fact that so far the social network does not provide the ability to share gifs with the audience, they are sent in private messages as stickers in instant messengers. Let's talk about how to attach a GIF to a story, make a personal sticker pack and what applications will help with this.
How to create your own sticker on Instagram using a GIF? Since 2017, the social network has been modernized - animated sticks have appeared. Since that year, dancing rabbits, sad dogs, and so on have appeared in photographs. Standard animated stickers are added according to the following instructions:
Interesting fact! A separate Giphy service is collaborating with the social network to deliver new animations. Stickers similar to me on Instagram are also added and created using this service.
Also read: Instagram removed views of other people's likes: when likes are removed - will it be canceled in Russia on instagram
If you do not like the initial sets provided by the social network, create personal animated stickers.
Three ways to make animated Instagram stickers will help you in your work:
Number of repetitions, select "Constantly". Save the final result on your smartphone. Let's move on to the main problem that users face - the stick is not uploaded to Instagram. Since the social network does not accept animated pictures in the desired form, you will first have to change the file formats. This is done in three different ways, depending on the operating systems of the mobile or desktop device. So, let's look at how to add stickers on Instagram to stories.
When working through desktop computers or laptops, use the desktop version of Instagram.
The instruction will help with the work:
Instagram posts are published from a personal computer using delayed postings and emulators. Work with delayed hosting is carried out in the standard way - log in to the social network by attaching a video from the gallery, setting the right time.
It is easier for Android smartphone owners to create a video from a GIF. To work, follow this small instruction:
iPhone owners are advised to follow these instructions:
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Communication between people is very wide. There are those who say a lot with a few words, and those who need a lot of words to say a little. However, one of the best ways to communicate in this news is technological era consiste à use visual effects. With the help of pictures, gifs or stickers, many people manage to say everything they feel and think.
Based on this, stickers were wonderful items that we can't stop using. On Instagram, stickers have gained a lot of prominence and become a big trend in their use. For example, an account sticker à countdown to notify your followers of an important event that will happen soon.
However, we cannot ignore the fact that these stickers also brought him some Applications communication and socialization such as WhatsApp , where we can use them for any conversation, no matter what.
Have you ever wondered how to make DIY stickers for kids? Histoires Instagram ? In this small but useful tutorial, we will teach you how to use your imagination and thus create the stickers you want. You will no longer have any restrictions, and what you want to express will be said in the best and most creative way.
One of the easiest and most dynamic ways to create stickers and customize them to your needs. the messages you share on your Instagram stories is to use the AnySticker app. Thanks to this, you can realize all your ideas to the maximum and use these stickers on multiple platforms. To start creating a sticker, follow these steps:
Few people know that the stickers used in Instagram Stories mostly work with Giphy. This site is a huge repository of gifs that we see regularly. Whatsapp and other social media charters.
Since there are hundreds of gifs here with which you can create your own stickers, this is a great tool for this task. To create your own stickers with this tool, you just need to follow these instructions:
