One of the most interesting ways for marketers to leverage Instagram is through carousel postings. Carousel posts from Hootsuite’s social media team generate an average of 3.1 times as much interaction than single-image posts on Instagram, and 1.4 times as much reach.

Instagram carousel: what’s the deal?

Instagram carousels may include up to 10 media files. Instagram users on mobile may swipe left to browse carousel posts, while desktop users can click the arrow button on the right side of a post to continue.

How to Make a Carousel on Instagram

Develop a central idea before you begin making your Instagram carousel. Consider the benefits of posting a series of images or clips rather than just one single collage, video, or Instagram story.

When and how to upload carousel images on Instagram

Whether you use Creator Studio, Facebook Business Suite, or the online version of the Instagram app, you may preschedule your posts, including carousels. (Here, we’ve outlined how to schedule Instagram carousels with Meta’s built-in features in detail.)

However, a social media management tool like Hootsuite might be useful if your company is also present on other social media sites. All of your material may be scheduled in advance from a single, intuitive interface.

The benefits of Instagram carousel posts.

Photo dumps may seem like a passing fad, but you can’t ignore carousels when planning your Instagram marketing strategy.

Sure, the odds of getting a high interaction rate from a single post rises when more photos or videos are included. However, uploading interesting carousels is another way to gain favour with Instagram’s algorithm.

Users spend more time on carousels than they do on regular Instagram posts because of their interactivity. This signals to the algorithm that the individuals who are most likely to be interested in your material are finding it, which may increase the likelihood that your posts will appear in their feeds.

Dimensions and details for Instagram slideshows

Instagram carousels, like ordinary posts, are available in square, landscape, and portrait orientations.

Remember that thread diameters should be consistent throughout. The carousel’s subsequent slides will take on the same outline as the initial slide.

Instagram slideshow layouts at no cost

Looking to upgrade your carousels to something more than ’10 photographs from the same vacation’? Get started quickly by editing one of our five premade Canva Instagram carousel templates.

Here are 16 marketing applications for Instagram carousel posts.

Need some ideas for your Instagram carousel? Here’s an example of how companies are leveraging picture carousels to advertise their wares on Instagram.

Relate a tale

When it comes to weaving a good tale, nobody does it better than Random House Children’s Books. See an example of a carousel post from Instagram below.

Share information

Which of these carousels is Rare Beauty advertising? To discover out, you’ll have to swipe about.

Suggest items or services that are comparable

The Instagram carousel at Coachella is sure to be a hit if the first band showcased is one you’re into.

Flaunt the finer points

Free Label, a clothing company, uses an Instagram carousel to provide sizing details for one of their best-selling items. The Canadian company used the medium to promote its wares and generate interest in forthcoming sales.

Show a scale

Mona Chalabi, a data journalist and cartoonist, makes excellent use of Instagram’s carousel feature. In this case, the swiping effect is superior to a single image in conveying the sense of size and disproportion.

Exhibit your procedure

Through a series of slides, illustrator Kamwei Fong brings her audience closer to both the end result and her creative process.

Disseminate crucial data

Just the facts, ma’am. In this and other Instagram carousels, Welfact use straightforward and easy-to-read slide designs. Make sure each post stands on its own as much as possible. A tenfold boost in the likelihood that someone will include your post in their Instagram story may be achieved in this way.

Give us a how-to (cooking or otherwise)

If you want to make Cleanfoodcrush’s Greek chickpea salad, you don’t need a cookbook when you can just look to her Instagram carousel for guidance.

Make a funny face

Chipotle made a novelty product out of a popular customer complaint

Provide a How-To Guide

The Canadian company Kotn posts Instagram carousels with product maintenance advice.

Inform others about your best-kept tricks

Wendy’s challenges you to resist clicking through to their hidden menu carousels, where they reveal “secret” food tricks.

Make a bold proclamation

Nike’s announcement coincided with Ben Simmons’s Rookie of the Year award from the NBA. It demonstrates how to use Instagram’s carousel feature effectively. In the words of one commenter: “I love how it uses the slide to change perception.”

Inspire Participation

It’s easy to see that the Instagram carousel is working well for McDonald’s India just perusing the feed. A “swipe left” call to action is useful in every situation, and this post is just one more example of that. In reality, research from Socialinsider shows that the CTA improves participation.

Testimonials to Publish

Use a variety of visuals to create little “sound bites” from longer narratives. This is a great approach to publish interviews with customers, brand ambassadors, craftspeople, and partners.

Maintain a steady visual style across your stream.

Instagram carousels are used by Patagonia to simulate magazine gatefolds. This is a great method to keep your feed looking uniform, especially if you only want to post images but yet want to include some text.

Emphasise key findings

This Hootsuite Instagram carousel summarises the key lessons and statistics from the 2022 Q3 Digital Trends Report.