How to create engaging Instagram carousels
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Instagram as a platform is committed to enhancing user experience and engagement, regularly adding new features and formats to ensure this remains the priority for both those using the platform and those browsing on it.
This is why in February 2017, Instagram developed the carousel format, a way for users to share more images, and therefore more stories and insight, in one post without spamming their followers’ feeds, and potentially harming engagement.
Since its launch, this format has become an increasingly popular way for not only individual users to post more, but also for brands to push their products, USPs and general messaging to audiences in a more engaging way, both via organic social media and paid social.
The art to Instagram carousel engagement for brands
On average, a carousel receives 154 more interactions than a single image equivalent, and research shows they’re often more engaging than Reels. But what’s the best way to make use of the Instagram carousel format?
Encourage the swipe
Scrolling through the feed and swiping left on carousel posts is second-nature for people who use social media. We talk all the time about how important thumb-stopping copywriting for social media is, but once they’ve stopped, we also want the user to swipe. By swiping through your carousel, the user is more likely to physically engage with your post, and therefore remember your brand.
Your first image on your carousel, and the copy you put with your post, should give the user a little more context on what your post is about, but not enough that they have all the information they need, and don’t need to swipe through.
A strong example of this is Six Stories who encourage the swipe within their copy, and leave the main part of their post to the very last slide so the user has no choice but to swipe.
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Make the most of multiple slides
Instagram now allows for up to 20 slides in one Instagram post, doubling from the previous allowance of 10. With a carousel, you can always see the very edge of the next image, making it obvious there is more to see so whilst you need to make the first image the persuasive cover slide, your second image should be equally as engaging too.
A good example of this, if you’re using your carousel to post assets as opposed to pictures, is to include a rhetorical question in your first slide that makes the user want to swipe to read or learn more, with a little more information on slide two, again on slide three and so on.
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Keep the branding consistent
It goes without saying that your Instagram carousel slides must be on-brand but also consistent, whether you’re posting two slides or 20. By keeping the messaging, colours, and overall branding the same across all your carousel slides, you’re keeping the attention of your user by showing them thought-out, well-planned content, of which they’re more likely to engage.
A powerful way to showcase your messaging via consistent (and engaging!) branding is via an Instagram Carousel Splitter. Platforms like Canva can help with splitting one long asset into multiple different squares which you can post in a carousel format.
Instagram carousel best practices
Once you’ve nailed the understanding of what makes an Instagram carousel engaging, it’s time to think about what types of content you can push via this format. By having a diverse mix of content and messaging through an Instagram carousel, you’ll naturally keep your audience engaged and receptive to more posts from your brand.
Showcasing your products
Both organically, and via paid social, Instagram carousels are a great way to showcase your product range as you can show either different angles and views of a product, i.e. the front, side and back, or you can use them to showcase different, but similar category, products.
Via paid social media, this can be done both by manually uploading images of products, or by using dynamic shopping ads to pull through your feed images and allow users to click straight through to buy.
Outlining your USPs
With the option to post multiple slides, comes the opportunity to post multiple different messages. If your brand has a strong set of USPs that you know would be interesting to a user, you can push these via each individual slide.
Reposting user-generated content
User-generated content is a powerful online marketing method and an effective way to grow your business. If your brand is often tagged in posts, and you have users actively snapping pictures of them either using or wearing your product, you may want to repost these as part of your social media strategy. Posting UGC content in an Instagram carousel is an ideal way for you to showcase not only the images, but that you’re actively engaged with your customers and online audience. Plus, this format saves you spamming your Instagram grid too much.
Sharing step-by-step guides
As mentioned, Instagram carousels are the perfect way to break up your messaging in a more easily digestible way for your audience. Which is what makes them the perfect format for sharing guides, recipes and other step-by-step guides in a broken down way.
Telling a story
Producing video content for TikToks, Reels or Shorts can be time-consuming, and in some cases where higher production levels are required, costly. If you have a story to tell, using carousels to do so can be a much simpler, and in some cases more effective way of getting that story across.
We often see this tactic with charities who share statistics, insights and real-life stories in this format for their followers.
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Carousels are no longer just an Instagram format. You can also post a Linkedin carousel, the format is available on Facebook as part of the Meta group with Instagram, and we’ve even seen TikTok introduce photo carousel ads to the platform.
If you’re looking for help in developing your social media strategy, get in touch with our award-winning paid social team. Where it’s guidance on paid social budgeting, the difference between Facebook Advertising or Linkedin Advertising or simply insight into TikTok vs Instagram, we can help.
