Want to step up your social media game? It’s easy – just add animation.

But while Instagram comes with its own animated stickers, customization options are limited – you can’t change colors to fit your brand or visual aesthetic. On the other hand, with LottieFiles, you’ll have tons of customizable (and free!) Lottie animations at your fingertips. And best of all, you can do it right from your mobile device.

What can you do with animations and Instagram?

Are you a marketer, a social media influencer or just someone who wants to share interesting content with your friends? Animation can make your Instagram stories (or IG stories, if you fall into a certain age range) and posts more engaging. For example, you can use animation when you’re creating ads for social media marketing, event invitations, seasonal greetings…or even just to add pizzaz to your lifestyle content!

How to add Lottie animations to Instagram on mobile

So how do you make animated Instagram posts and stories? Here’s how with the LottieFiles Mobile App.

1. Install the LottieFiles Mobile App

To get started, head to the LottieFiles Mobile App page, and download the app on the App Store or on Google Play. Or if you’re viewing this on your desktop, just scan the QR code below. If you don’t already have a LottieFiles account, create an account in the mobile app or on LottieFiles.com.

QR code to download the LottieFiles Mobile App

2. Find a Lottie animation

  • Open the LottieFiles Mobile App.
  • Search from thousands of free animations in the app.
Search function in the LottieFiles Mobile App
Search from thousands of free animations in the app
  • Click the animation you want to add into your Instagram post or story.
User clicks on an animation in the LottieFiles Mobile App
Click on any animation in the search results

3. Customize your Lottie animation

If you’re already happy with the Lottie animation you’ve chosen, you can skip to the next step. But if you’d like to customize the colors of your animation, tap the Edit button to open the animation editor.

The 'Edit' button highlighted in the LottieFiles Mobile App
Tap the Edit button

Here, you can change the animation colors using:

a) Color palette

Use Color Palette to automatically change the color scheme of the entire animation.

  • In the animation editor, click Color Palette.
  • Choose a color palette from the available choices that are provided, or create your own palette.
  • To create your own palette, tap + to create your own palette. You can create a palette by taking a picture, uploading an image or selecting individual colors.
  • Tap Apply to make the color changes to the animation.
User taps 'Apply' to make color changes to the animation
Tap Apply to make color changes

b) Grouped Colors

Use Grouped Colors to change the color groups in the animation.

  • In the animation editor, click Grouped Colors.
  • Select the color you want to change, and pick a new color.
  • The new color will replace the original color wherever it is applied in the animation.
User selects a color to change in the animation
Select the color you want to change in the animation

c) Background

Use Background to change the background color of the animation.

  • In the animation editor, click Background.
  • Pick a new color – the background will instantly change.

If you ever want to reset the changes you’ve made, just click Reset.

User picks a new color for the animation's background
Pick a new color to instantly change the background

4. Share your animation on Instagram

Finally, once you’re happy with your animation, you can share it on Instagram.

  • In the animation editor, tap the Share button.
  • Tap Stories to share as an Instagram story, or
  • Tap Instagram to share it on your Instagram feed.
The social media sharing options displayed in the LottieFiles Mobile App
Share as an Instagram story or post
  • Tap Start recording for the app to generate the animation for sharing.

You will be redirected to Instagram to share your animation with your friends and followers. If you’re posting as an Instagram story, you can even add other elements – such as text, audio or other animated GIF stickers – within the Instagram mobile app.

Add elements like text, audio or animated stickers in Instagram
Add elements like text, audio or animated stickers in Instagram

And there you go, it’s that simple to create animated Instagram stories and posts.

Do more with the LottieFiles Mobile AppSharing animated Instagram content is awesome, but that’s not all you can do with the LottieFiles Mobile App. You can convert static SVG files into Lottie animations, send free animations in messaging apps with the LottieFiles keyboard extension for iOS, test animations for viewing on mobile and more. It’s never been easier to experiment with motion on mobile.

QR code to download the LottieFiles Mobile App