Although almost everyone is using GIFs nowadays for witty quips in private messages, comments, and posts, some people still don’t know what they are exactly. GIFs have become a trendy way for people to express themselves in a way that wasn’t ever possible before.
Sure, GIFs existed online, but it wasn’t until recent years that it became easy to share them in the day to day. Even Facebook was slow to implement a GIFs feature so of course the same goes for Instagram.
GIF stands for Graphical Interchange Format, invented by Steve Wilhite in 1987. He wanted to create an animated image format with the smallest possible size. White is a controversial figure for his pronunciation of the word GIF, insisting it has a J sound like the peanut butter.
Simply put, GIFs are small-sized video clips that have no sound. They are played automatically and, without pressing any button, played on an infinite loop.
Before social media platforms implemented GIFs natively, they were mostly known by their early usage on Geocities, AngelFire and MySpace. In 2015, Facebook added support for GIPHY, a free-to-use search engine specifically for GIFs. Following Facebook’s lead, Twitter adopted the content format, and today, there have been more than 100 million GIFs posted on the platform.
Today, we see GIFs being supported as cool stickers that can be dropped on top of video content like on Instagram Reels or TikTok videos.
Unlike Twitter and Facebook, Instagram has no direct search engine for posting GIFs. However, you can manually add GIFs to your posts via GIPHY. Here are some simple steps to help you learn how to post a GIF on Instagram.
You can also use GIPHY alternatives like ImgPlay, Giphy Cam, GIF maker, Songclip, and Momento to create GIFs from videos and photos. These apps are all available for both IOS and Android. You can also share these self-made GIFs on Instagram and other social media platforms.
Pro Tip: GIPHY allows users to upload their own GIFs to the platform, allowing use for custom GIFs in Instagram content.
Millions of users interact on Instagram everyday, and GIFs are an excellent way to respond to content. Social media growth is all about standing out from the rest, and if you do something different, people will start noticing you.
GIFs are great for providing instructions to viewers. You can use them to explain step-by-step instructions or guides more easily. They add a unique twist to your content, making it much more consumable and entertaining.
GIFS make your content visible and noticeable on Instagram. Among thousands upon thousands of creators with similar sentiment, you can stand out with your pictures and videos by using relatable GIFs.
If you want to release a new product or service, you can use GIFs to create a sneak peek and make your followers curious.
Besides being a source of information, GIFs can also be a source of entertainment too. You can create humorous posts and engage in fun conversations using GIFs on Instagram.
GIFs are a great tool to make boring text and stats more catchy for broad audiences. You can add colors and animations to make your data appealing.
Here are some simple ways that can help you to make a GIF.
GIPHY is the largest source of GIFs. It allows you to create your own GIFs and share them with your friends across all social media platforms. GIPHY is also a great source of unique stickers for your visual content. It is easy to use, and you can find stickers and GIFs using the search bar. All you have to do is share them with one click on various platforms.
WhatsApp has its own built-in GIF maker. If you want to make GIF from WhatsApp, click a video from your phone while using WhatsApp messenger, and on the top right corner, tap on the GIF icon. This will turn your media into a GIF.
The iPhone camera roll allows you to take live photos and turn them into GIFs through the built-in photo editor app. To make a GIF, open a photo on the camera roll and scroll down to find suitable effects. Tap on the Loop option at the end to make a premium GIF. You can share this GIF to other social media apps or in private messages.
Making GIFs is relatively easy with Google photos. Just open the app and select the photos you want to add to your GIF. After selecting, tap on the + button at the top. Click on animation to create a GIF out of the selected photos. Google photos also allow you to share GIFs with other apps by tapping on the share icon.
Once you’ve found (or created) your favorite GIFs through the methods explained above, share them and watch the engagement roll in! Your content will become much livelier and more personal with them.
Remember these key points to make your Instagram profile stand out!
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