The Beginner's Guide to GIPHY Upgraded Channels

GIPHY, the go-to platform for sharing and discovering GIFs, has become an essential part of digital communication. With over 10 billion pieces of content served every day and a daily reach of more than 700 million users, it has firmly established itself as a household name.

Since launching in 2013, GIPHY has built an extensive library of animated GIFs, stickers, short videos, and clips. Seamlessly integrated with platforms like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, and Reddit, it enables users to express humor, emotion, and personality in everyday conversations.

In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at the different upgraded channels available on GIPHY and help you determine which option is right for showcasing your work.

Upgraded Channels: What You Need to Know

GIPHY offers three primary upgraded channel types: Brand, Creator, and Artist. These upgraded accounts are vetted by GIPHY’s team to ensure authenticity and quality.

Artists, Brands, and Creators must apply and go through a review process. Once approved, they’re expected to publish original, high-quality content that aligns with GIPHY’s standards.

Let’s break down each channel type and what makes it unique.

Brand Channel

Brand channels are best suited for companies, celebrities, organizations, musicians, and public figures looking to showcase branded content, enhance their online presence, and engage with a larger audience.

For example, Pepsi, Coach, and the World Health Organization all have brand channels on GIPHY that feature branded GIFs and stickers. Musicians like The Weeknd also use GIPHY to release stickers and GIFs related to their music and tours, including their latest show and their first live album, “After Hours Live at SoFi Stadium.” They take clips from music videos, such as those featured in their album “Dawn FM,” which contains collections of GIFs and stickers from music videos such as “Gasoline,” “Out of Time,” and “Sacrifice,” among others. These clips are organized into collections that fans can easily access and share with friends.

Companies like Netflix use GIPHY to organize and share content from their various shows, such as Bridgerton, The Queen’s Gambit, YOU, Selling Sunset, and many more, creating collections of GIFs and stickers that feature memorable scenes and characters. By using GIPHY’s Super Cut tool, (more on this later), they can also create custom GIFs and stickers that highlight specific moments from their shows.

Creator Channel

A Creator channel on GIPHY is best for artists, designers, filmmakers, game developers, creative coders, and other creative professionals to showcase their work and share it with the world. A Creator channel is the first step in becoming a GIPHY Artist and gaining recognition for your unique and creative content.

Artist Channel (GIPHY's Artist Program)

GIPHY’s Artist program is an exclusive opportunity designed for digital and visual artists. By invitation-only, the program’s team directly reaches out to eligible candidates who have been identified as potential fits. To be considered, you must first have an approved Creator channel. Some notable GIPHY Artists include Megan Motown, TRIPPIESTEFF, Nora Fikse, Sarah The Palmer, and Jon Hanlan, among others.

Additional perks for artist channels include the ability to add a “Hire Me” button, which will be visible exclusively to GIPHY’s official partner network below your bio. To assist you in getting started, GIPHY has compiled a Freelance GIF Artist Guide with helpful tips.

Upgraded channels have access to features that elevate content creation, including channel analytics (with enhanced insights for verified accounts), GIPHY Stories, and GIPHY Clips — which allow users to create GIFs with sound. The Bulk Editor also makes it easier to organize and tag content efficiently.

In addition, upgraded channels benefit from expanded search visibility. Once approved, your content becomes searchable across platforms like TikTok, Facebook Messenger, Instagram Stories, Snapchat, and WhatsApp — significantly increasing its potential reach.

Before applying for an upgraded channel on GIPHY, it’s highly recommended that you take a look at GIPHY’s tips for submitting an application. Keep in mind that you are limited to one application per GIPHY account. This means that if you submit an application for an upgraded channel and are denied, you cannot reapply using the same GIPHY account.

Verified Badges on GIPHY

GIPHY offers verified badges to eligible upgraded channels, providing increased credibility and visibility for their content. A verified badge grants access to additional features beyond those of an upgraded channel. For instance, you can use GIPHY Super Cut, a tool that uses scene detection technology to create multiple GIFs and clips in bulk from your existing video content. This enables you to generate large amounts of content and upload them directly to your verified GIPHY channel.

Verified channels on GIPHY have access to enhanced channel analytics, including engagement rate metrics and search insights. This allows you to monitor audience engagement, identify highly searched terms that lack content, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your channel’s performance.

Verified channels can also take advantage of the suggested tags (beta) feature, powered by GIPHY’s machine learning technology. This feature suggests relevant tags based on your content, leveraging metadata from GIPHY’s extensive database to increase your content’s discoverability.

As a result, verified channels benefit from increased visibility and improved search results, as they appear as a priority in Giphy.com’s search ranking. Being a verified channel on GIPHY gives you a competitive edge, allowing you to leverage advanced analytics and tools to maximize your channel’s impact.

Channels that have been upgraded but do not yet have a verified badge may apply for verification. It’s important to note, however, that having an upgraded channel does not guarantee that you will receive a verified badge. GIPHY reviews all requests for verification and determines whether they meet their verification criteria, which is not publicly disclosed at the time of writing this article.

GIPHY also provides creators with helpful resources, such as its Content Calendar, designed to highlight high-traffic moments throughout the year. While it’s best to focus on events that align with your brand, there’s always an opportunity to create — on GIPHY, every day can feel like a holiday.

Overall, GIPHY’s upgraded and verified channels offer meaningful opportunities for creators and brands to expand their reach, strengthen credibility, and connect with wider audiences. By leveraging its tools and resources strategically, you can position your content to stand out in an increasingly crowded digital landscape.