GIFs are a great way to catch your followers’ attention on social media.
People say that a picture tells a thousand stories, and so can the perfect GIF for any context.
The Instagram platform is the leading social media network for visuals – photo and video content sharing, with a feature called Instagram Reels leading all other short-form video apps in user engagement.
Adding GIF stickers to stories and reels on Instagram is a subtle pro-tip to making them more relatable and engaging to see.
About 1 billion Instagram stories are shared daily across the world, and people have many favorites to choose from the collection of GIFs on the Instagram app.
Outside the Instagram app, you can find GIFs and sticker icons or create one yourself.
How To Add GIF Stickers To Your Story Or Reel
Adding GIFs and animated stickers to your Instagram stories is pretty straightforward.
In the few simple steps below, you will have a cute GIF or more looping on your story roll or reels.
- Open your Instagram app on your phone
- Tap the “add” icon in the top right corner of the home page
- Choose either story or reel, depending on what you want
- Select a video or photo from your camera roll
- Tap the smiley sticker icon at the top
- In the search bar, type “sticker” or “giphy”
To add sticker to your reel, you have to follow the same process.
After you choose the content you want to add your sticker to, you tap the “next” button, and then you can add the sticker the same way as in the story.
20 Best Instagram GIFs To Use In Your Stories And Reels
I have put together 20 favorite GIFs you can use in your story and reel posts next time to make it more fun.
All these GIFs are from the Giphy library that is integrated into the Instagram app.
The stickers are not always easy to find, so I’ve added the search query you can use in the search bar to find them.
Also, if you are using the Giphy on your desktop, use the link I’ve attached to each.
Simply add them to your favorites to find and use them later, or embed them in other content form.
If you want to use them outside of Instagram, you can simply download the GIF file and upload it, e.g., in your blog post as I did here.
Food And Drinks GIFs
The best of all, let’s start with some funny food and drinking stickers.
Dancing Pizza
Pizza lovers would fancy this one– a happy, groovy pizza slice to grace your post.
Simply click here or search “dancing pizza” in the Instagram app.
Creator: AshleyBlanchette
Funny Burger
It would be fun to see a dancing burger while you scroll by.
Search for “dancing burger,” and it should pop up, or use the link for the Giphy website.
Creator: yolkypalky
Cocktail
This cocktail GIF sticker is a cool one to go for, perfect with the ice cubes and citrus slices.
Use the phrase “Sainte Therese Party” if you want to search it out.
Creator: santateresafest
Coffee Time
What better way to enjoy and share your coffee moment with followers than with this “Good morning coffee sticker” GIF?
Enter “Good morning coffee sticker” as your search term if you want to use this.
Creator: pinchejoje
Happy Fries
It would be amusing to see an eye-catching jumpy fry with the right amount of ketchup on it moving on your next foodie post.
Just look for “Happy French Fries Sticker” in the search query to bring it up.
Creator: LaPageDeCam
Travel And holidays GIFs
Taking some days off on the beach or in the mountains?
Let’s check this list of funny travel and holidays GIFs.
Traveler Cat
Off on a vacation or trip? You don’t need to spell it out; let the traveler cat GIF do the talking for you.
Search for “funny walking away” to find this kitty on the move to use on your next travel story or reel.
Creator: unknown
Gingerbread On The Beach
Two gingerbread cookies sizzling away on the beach– that’s a great way to show what you’re up to on vacation with no words.
Search for the “Christmas Vacation” GIF, and embed it on your reel or stories.
Creator: squishable
Sunset
If you type “Los Angeles Fashion” and search for it, you should find this lovely sunset sticker with the palm trees swaying.
It is a lovely sticker to show beach vibes on your own Instagram stories.
Creator: aldo_shoes
Duck, The Boss
Let your followers know you are having a good time with this “Summer Beach Pocoyo” sticker, showing a cool little duck sipping a drink and relaxing.
The search term for it is “Summer beach Pocoyo”.
Creator: Pocoyo_Official
Exotic Scull
This summer vibe sticker by Russell Taysom is bold and colorful.
It is artistic and draws some attention too.
Simply look for “Rusell Taysom summer” to find it.
Creator: RussellTaysom
Working GIFs
“Work”
This one is a happy motivating GIF telling whoever sees it to “work”.
You can easily search for it by typing “work broski” in the quick search bar or access it here.
Creator: brittany_broski
I Am Tired
It’s okay sometimes to be as tired as the little coffee-drinking pizza slice in this cute GIF. You will find it when you type “Jon burger man tired” in the search bar.
Creator: JonBurgerman
At Work
Are you getting some work in? This jeca martinez work GIF sticker is just the perfect one to let your followers know!
To find it in your Instagram app, type “jeca martinez work” in the sticker search bar.
Creator: jecamartinez
The Business Man
You would love this cool, suited-up businessman GIF for your next fitting Instagram story or reel.
Simply type “outgo work” in the search query, and there you have it.
Creator: outgooficial
Practice Makes Progress
Want to motivate the viewers a little?
Then this text GIF is quite the one to go for.
You can also find it easily with the keywords “progress practice” in the search bar.
As easy as it may look, this GIF is a low-effort way to appeal to the viewer subconsciously and motivate them a little while they scroll.
Creator: monetizead
Celebration And Party GIFs
Dancing Player
This sticker of a dancing player from the EA Sports FIFA Giphy channel is an amusing sight.
You can also use it if you are celebrating a goal from your favorite team!
Simply use the search term “ea sports Paris”.
Creator: easportsfifa
Funny Ponies
Out on a girls’ night and want to put it up on your Instagram feed?
This sticker GIF of two dancing ponies would excellently grace your story posts or video content.
A quick way to find this is to search for “dancing pony”.
Creator: equestriadaily.com
Happy Cactus
This happy cactus shaking two colorful maracas is a cute choice for a party or festivity-related posts.
Simply input “Cinco de Mayo” in the gif search to find it.
Creator: christimmons
Dancing Gingerbread
Whatever celebration you post, the dancing gingerbread man is in high spirits with you too.
Use the “Happy Gingerbread” search to find this animated GIF, and embed it on your next celebratory reel.
Creator: att
Party People
On a night’s out or at a party?
Let the party people GIF spice up your post about the fun you are having– simply search for “dance celebrating” to use it.
Note that this work only on the dark backgrounds.
Creator: stadtbocholt
FAQs
Can I create my own GIF stickers for Instagram?
Yes, it is possible to create and customize your own GIFs using apps like the Giphy app or others from your app store. There are plenty of apps available that let you create your own Instagram stickers.
The best way is to install them on your phone, but some of them will work also on your laptop or pc.
What are the best GIF creator apps?
As mentioned above, there are many apps you can use to create your own sticker. The best GIF creator apps are Giphy Sticker Maker, Gif Me! and Gif Maker.
Giphy Sticker maker app
Giphy is one of the popular sticker creator apps and is easy to use.
The best part is, it is free to use and has a large GIF library, but you can make yours with the app in a few easy steps:
- Go to the Giphy sticker maker app
- Select “sticker” from the options
- Upload a file, either a .jpg or .png
- Explore the sticker tools like lasso tool, magic wand, eraser tool, brush tool, and others to adjust your sticker
- Click continue and choose a motion filter to animate your sticker
- Select “continue to upload,” and add tags, adjust privacy settings before downloading the GIF
GIF me!
GIF me! is another easy way to make your own stickers.
You can use some features on the app at no cost, however, to get the most out of GIF me! without the watermark and pop-up ads, it costs about $1.49.
You can animate, control the loop speed, and try out filters on your GIF.
GIF maker
GIF maker is also one of the top-rated sticker creator apps in both Android and Apple app stores.
On Android, there is the free version and the paid app- GIF maker pro, which costs $2.99 to download.
A premium subscription model is available on the Apple app, for $9.99 monthly, following a 3-day free trial.
You can also pay yearly at $59.99 or $99.99 for a lifetime subscription.
What is the best place to search for GIF stickers?
The best places to find the perfect GIF stickers include giphy.com, gifer.com, tenor.com, dribble, and gfycat.com.
These sites offer a truckload of GIFs and in high quality for the most part.
You can find trendy stickers to use and type in whatever feeling you are trying to express in the search query, and it will automatically select perfect matches for you.
Conclusion
The Instagram social network is primarily based on visual appeal, and people look at posts to feed their eyes. One of the easiest ways to avoid a bland-looking post on Instagram is to take advantage of the stickers, animations, and GIFs at your disposal.
A good GIF that relates appropriately with the context will draw people in over merely posting.
Also, the loop nature, colorful look, and different effects of GIFs call for attention to the viewer.
Some people may not take the time to read a caption, but the right GIF is a way to convey your message.
GIFs add some life to your content, instructs followers in a very informal way, and help form an emotional link for that moment, however subtle.
