Branded GIFs are a powerful marketing tool that can help your brand connect with your audience on a deeper level. They can add personality and humor to your Instagram Stories while promoting brand recognition.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss the best practices for using branded GIFs on your Instagram Stories to help increase engagement and drive more traffic to your profile.

What Are Branded GIFs?

Branded GIFs are the ones that are created to advertise a business or brand. Therefore, it must be engaging, has some humor, and is incredibly shareable. The best thing about a branded GIF is that it is created with a subtle touch of branding, although it is intended to spread awareness about your brand or product.

The reason for subtle promotion is that there is a higher chance of people sharing the GIFs in their references if it has minimal branding. On the contrary, if it is too much, people may get irritated or only use it when referring to your brand.

Why are Branded GIFs Important for your Instagram Stories?

The branded trend has paved a new strategy for the media and marketing industry. It is an easy, interactive, and effective way to teach people about your brand and increase your reach.

Using branded GIFs as your Instagram stories can benefit you in ways like.

1. Creating and uploading a branded GIF as an Instagram story reflects your product or brand.
2. The more people like your branded GIFs, the more they will use them in their references, ultimately increasing your brand’s awareness.
3. The realistic depiction you portray in the GIFs can compel users to learn more or try your product or brand. 70% of Instagram users say they purchased the product they saw on Instagram.
4. This subtle entertainment with great content keeps users interested in your brand.
5. Almost 80% of Instagram users follow at least one business or brand. Therefore, it can predict that brands or businesses must use the most interactive strategies to be popular on Instagram, and 67% of users say they visit the links in Instagram stories.

These are just a few tips that you can adopt to leverage the power of Instagram stories for your business.

How to Use Branded GIFs on your Instagram Stories?

There are numerous benefits to using branded GIFs to create engaging Instagram stories. Now let us grow through how to add them to the Instagram stories.

1. First, go to “Your Story” and then click on Create on the left bar.
2. Tap the search icon to search for any GIPHY you want to add.
3. But to add your own branded GIF, you must create and add it to GIPHY.

Tips for Creating Your Own Branded GIFs

You can use multiple free software to create your own branded GIFs.

1. Create a free creator account on GIPHY. This process may take some time.
2. You will first need to upload five GIFs first to get approved.
3. Then you can create your own branded GIFs there, and remember to set the sticker format for it because it is the only format a GIF is supported on Instagram.

Remember, if you want your GIFs to get the proper reach and engagement.

• First, upload your branded GIF to a platform like GIPHY and let it gain some recognition.
• While making a GIF, you must remember that it must portray your business or brand and have versatility. So it is not limited to your brand use only and can also be used in other circumstances.
• Consider adding character faces or expressions in the GIFs to get more engagement.
• Do not use provocative references in your GIFs that might offend the users.

By remembering these things, you can create great branded GIFs and get the recognition you deserve.

Best Practices for Using Branded GIFs on your Instagram Stories

It’s easy to create branded GIFs now that we know how to create them. Here’s how you can use them in Instagram stories.

Use Branded GIFs Sparingly

It is best to have branded GIFs for your business or brand. But in no way it means that you overuse them in your Instagram stories. Overusing the GIFs can irritate or bore the viewers, and they might end up unfollowing you or exiting the screen that you would not want.

Maintain the Brands Aesthetic

Using irrelevant or unnecessary GIFs in your Instagram stories may seem like you are stuffing. However, keeping your message and using the GIFs according to them seems more natural, engaging, and compelling for users to follow.

Also, it is a great way to present your brand in a fun way to your customers. They also like it and forward it to other users, thus gaining more reach.

Don’t Use Irrelevant GIFs

Whenever you are using branded GIFs, ensure that they are relevant to what you are posting. Or users might also think that you are over-promoting your brand. So, you must be specific about using them. Only use the relevant ones when needed.

Use branded GIFs to enhance your Story’s message.

When using your GIFs, present them creatively to make your story message pop up. For example, if your story has some text, you can choose from various effects to add sparkle or focus on them. You can also use directive arrows to stress your CTA or link etc.

There are plenty of ways to use GIFs creatively. It is up to you which one you choose. You can then schedule your Instagram stories using SocialBu, saving time and extra effort.

Conclusion

Branded GIFs are a fun and effective way to connect with your audience on Instagram Stories. Using these best practices strategically increases engagement, drives traffic to your profile, and strengthens your brand’s image. So, start experimenting with branded GIFs today and watch your Stories come to life!