Using GIFs in Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories offer a powerful way for you to establish a personal connection with your Instagram followers. Those who view stories of businesses, especially are more likely to send them direct messages based on stories viewed. Because Instagram is a massive platform that is constantly evolving, it is necessary for you to emotionally arouse your audience if you want to create a lasting impression and boost business growth.

The addition of the GIFs feature to Instagram Stories in January 2018 made it possible for brands to grow their number of real Instagram followers by helping people to establish a personal connection with the brand. Consumers today are looking for more than just a product or service to buy. They want to connect with a brand that speaks to them. They want more than just a sales message promoting a product or service. They want brands to showcase their personality in a way that moves them.

GIFs are one of the many Instagram features that can help you connect with the right audience and build a loyal base of Instagram followers. More Instagram followers will eventually translate into more comments, Instagram likes, and other engagement metrics that can boost your business growth.

What are GIFs?

A GIF or a Graphics Interchange Format was first introduced in 1987 by Steve Wilhite, although its growth in popularity today makes it seem like something that is far more recent development. GIFs are short, animated images used across devices and media. They’re typically used to represent a particular state of being and are packed with humour.

Instagram’s GIF features in Stories has been made possible through a collaboration with GIPHY so that there’s a library of animated stickers and moving images that you have the option of choosing from.

How to add GIFs to Instagram Stories?

Posting GIFs to your Instagram Stories is extremely easy.

First, take the picture or video you want to upload to your Instagram Stories and click on the sticker icon you see at the top right hand corner when you open the Stories section. Clicking on the sticker icon will open up a menu where you’ll be able to see hashtag, poll, question, location, as well as the GIF feature.

Clicking on the GIF feature will give you access to a library full of GIFs made available through GIPHY. A search bar will pop up where you’ll be able to see all the trending GIFs and type in a more specific GIF you’re looking for to share with your Instagram followers.

Choose a GIF you like and then drag and reposition it as per your needs. You can even resize your GIF or pin it to a position by tapping and holding it if it’s being used in a video.

That’s it – it really is that simple!

Why you should use GIFs for your brand

Connect better with your audience

GIFs bring in the much needed personal touch and emotional connection that Instagram followers of today are looking for. Through GIFs, you can communicate the personality of your brand. This will help you attract the attention of your audience and build a larger base of real Instagram followers who can contribute to more Instagram likes and other engagement metrics.

Remain digitally relevant

GIFs have shot up in popularity as the latest trending feature to be used across several media. Using GIFs will help you remain relevant in the ever changing digital world and show your audience that you care about keeping up with the changing trends. They’ll also help you showcase a little bit of fun and make your Instagram followers fall in love with your brand. In the long run, this will help you boost sales and overall growth of the business.

See a growth in engagement

When your Instagram followers feel more connected to you, they’re likely to engage with your brand on Instagram and off of it. On the platform, this would translate into more comments, Instagram likes and other metrics which will only be interpreted by Instagram’s algorithm positively. Such engagement is likely to increase your discoverability on the platform.

Retain your Instagram followers

When you creatively engage your Instagram followers using GIFs, you’ll be able to retain them in the long run. Text heavy content isn’t comprehended well by people. It’s also more easily forgotten. GIFs make use of movable images to attract and retain your audience. You’ll be able to have a greater impact on your real Instagram followers in this way.

Save time and effort on making creative graphics

With Instagram’s GIFs, you get access to thousands of ready-made GIFs that you can use meaningfully to boost business growth without having to spend a lot of time working on creative graphics. You can save your efforts for other aspects of your Instagram marketing strategy.

hey can add to the story telling process

Take your Instagram followers on a journey with the content you post on the platform and level it up by adding the right GIFs. Whether it’s a GIF to signal a celebration, represent an emotional state, or a reaction GIF, adding it to your stories can be a game changer for your brand.

How you can use GIFs to boost growth

Promote products or events creatively

Using GIFs with your Stories can help you glam up your brand’s products and services. They’re more engaging and are likely to capture the attention of your Instagram followers so that you can show off the nature of your products or services.

Create multiple effects

If you’re tired of using the same old effects available on the platform, you can make use of GIFs in your Instagram Stories and explore some effects. You’ll be able to resize the chosen GIF and even invert it to adjust it to the story you’re posting. Whether it’s a winter snowfall effect or rain, you can pick what you want and add it to your story.

Direct the attention of your audience to CTAs

A lot of people just swipe through Stories on Instagram without paying any attention to their content. You don’t want that to happen for your brand. CTAs are important in any marketing message, but they can only achieve their desired results when your audience’s attention is directed to the CTA. GIFs can help you direct the attention of your audience with a CTA. They stand out from the rest of your story and can successfully grab the attention of your Instagram followers.

Bring text to life

If you’re planning to post a story that’s text heavy, you’ll want to add a GIF to it to increase its engagement. Adding tiny sparkles, stars, or other shiny content to your text can help it stand out and ensure that you grab the attention of your Instagram followers. They’ll be more likely to read what you have to say this way and may actually remember it instead of your message just getting lost in a pool of text.

Get your audience involved

You can even make use of GIFs to get your audience involved and get access to user generated content. Post a trending GIF that’s in line with the theme of your brand or marketing message you want to convey and ask your Instagram followers to join the trend.

React with GIFs

GIFs on Stories can also be used to post brand reactions. Whatever mood you’re in, you can make your Instagram followers a part of your journey by posting reactions along with your Stories. It could be a dance, a celebration, or an emotion, whatever it is that you’re looking for, you can be sure that GIPHY will have it.

Pin GIFs to Stories

If you’re planning to post videos to your Stories, you can keep a surprise for your Instagram followers by pinning a GIF to your video so that it appears only during the portion of the video that you’ve selected. To do this, tap and hold the GIF and pin it at the portion of the video you want to. You can even resize it as per your liking.

Take your photos up a notch

You could even use GIFs to make your selfies and other pictures more interesting on your Stories. While this shouldn’t be used often, it is a good way to take your Instagram followers behind the scenes and show off your quirky side. Your Instagram followers will appreciate the personal connection displayed through such content and will be more likely to engage with you in the long run.

Conclusion

GIFs can help you change the game for your Instagram Stories. They’ll be able to grab the attention of your Instagram followers a lot faster and help them connect with your brand in a fun, humorous way. With the appropriate placement of GIFs on image or video stories you post, you can communicate an overwhelming emotion, state of mind, or even just add a humorous touch to your Stories. Try out the GIFs feature for your Instagram Stories and see the difference it makes to your marketing efforts on the platform.