A few months ago, an app update introduced Instagram Carousel posts for users as one of its diverse ways of sharing media on the platform. Let’s learn more about it!

Instagram Carousel Posts: Show More, Post Less!

Instagram is a media-sharing platform that millions of users everywhere use to post pictures and videos with their loved ones. Creators and marketers use the platform to engage with their audience and make them aware of what’s happening with the brand. It has opened up new windows of opportunities for people looking to collaborate with others and support people from all walks of life!

Instagram already offers so many ways for us to engage with our followers. These ways are stories, in-feed posts, reels with distinct features that have various functionalities.

But all the different posts on Instagram have one thing in common – they don’t provide the user with multitudes of content in a single post. All post types on Instagram concern a single type of content per post. Be it a story, a reel, or a simple in-feed post.

It is where things get interesting. Several months ago, Instagram put out an update that let users upload ten (10) pictures or videos together in a single post to share with their followers. Users can swipe left and right between different media in a single post and interact with it. These posts are Instagram Carousel posts, and you might just be missing out on all the engagement they provide!

Instagram Carousel posts enable users (marketers, content creators) to put out more information through a single update which might take 5-6 posts if shared individually. If used efficiently, carousel posts achieve 1.4x  more reach and approximately 3x more engagement than other posts on Instagram.

Instagram Carousel posts have quickly ranked themselves above all the other posts when it comes to posting engagement. It is astounding how underused carousel posts are on Instagram. They have some of the highest engagement rates but still only conquer 19% of all the posts on the platform. If you are not implementing Instagram Carousels into your social media marketing strategy, you’re missing out on a powerful feature.

Let us take a deeper look at them and see what sets them apart from other posts on the platform!

Taking A Closer look at Instagram Carousel Posts:

What is an Instagram carousel post?: A post featuring several images or videos that can be viewed by swiping or clicking left is known as an Instagram carousel post!

It is visible as a single post on the feed and can contain up to ten images or videos! Each image in your carousel may include a caption, alt-image text, a geotag, and account and product tags, just like any other Instagram post. Like any other post, people may like, comment, and share your carousel post.

A small icon on the top right corner of the post is visible as soon as an Instagram carousel post is live on the platform. Users may swipe left to go through the other images and media available in it. The icon on the top right corner changes into a counter displaying the number of media in the post. Small dots appear at the bottom to convey to the user the sequence.

Instagram carousel posts are one of the most engaging tools for achieving your Instagram goals. You can increase interaction, attract new audiences, and drive product sales with the proper social media strategy.

Now that we know what the hype is all about for Instagram Carousels! Let’s learn how to create them!

How to Create an Instagram Carousel Post:

When it comes to curating content for Instagram (or any other platform), it is better to conceptualize your post first! Different types of posts work well for varying content. Check if Instagram Carousel posts are the best way to showcase your content to your followers or if posting a story or a reel would do better for that particular content.

Carousel posts have the power to disguise your content with a magazine look or have a storytelling feel to it with the story going forward with each swipe. Evaluate how many pictures fit in one carousel to impact your followers who interact with the post.

After all of this has been straightened out, we can go ahead and create ourselves a nice Instagram Carousel post!

Here is how to make a carousel post on Instagram:

• Add the media you want to post in your carousel post in your phone gallery. The maximum limit is ten videos or pictures right now, so make sure to fit all of your content within ten or fewer images/videos.
• Open the Instagram app and press the + sign.
• On the new post window, you will find a square icon with a layer on it. Click on it to turn your post into a carousel post.

• Select up to ten (10) pictures or videos. Keep in mind that as you tap on the media you want, they are put to sequence in the same order later on when you upload it.
• Tap Next. In this window, you may choose to put one filter on all the media selected, or you may edit them individually.
• When you finish editing your media, click on next will take you to the caption window. Write an engaging caption with the right hashtags suited for your content, add geo-tags and tag the people in the posts.
• All set? Press Share to publish your new Instagram Carousel post!

Note: There are a couple of things to consider while using carousel posts for your Instagram!

• Ensure the order and the edits once before pressing share. You will not be able to change the order and the modifications after publishing the post on your Instagram feed.

• Carousel images do not support pictures of different aspect ratios. The orientation and aspect ratio of the first image/video of your carousel post dictates the Instagram carousel size. Cropping may occur to the other media according to the dimensions of the first picture.
• If you are having difficulty structuring your carousel posts, there are services online that provide Instagram carousel templates so you can pick out the one perfectly suited for you!
• A vital thing to consider is the dimensions that carousel posts support. For images: 1080 x 566 pixels for landscape, 1080 x 1350 pixels for portrait, and 1080 x 1080 for square pictures.
• For posting carousel videos, the length of each video should be within a minute and in the supported file format (.MP4 or .MOV). The maximum file size is limited to 4GB, and the dimensions are the same as the pictures!

Now that we know how to make an Instagram carousel post, we should look into how they can benefit a brand trying to make it big on social media!

Why You Should Be Using Instagram Carousel Posts!

Instagram Carousel posts might be just another way to engage with your followers, but pros know their value and how much they can contribute to the engagement and the impressions they farm.

Instagram carousels skyrocket your post’s reach because users on the platform spend more time engaging with your post than they do with other posts because there is more content to consume in a carousel post than a usual Instagram post. Learn more ways to make innovative ads here!

This significant feature has set Instagram carousel posts a class apart. When users spend more time on them, their engagement increases exponentially more than a post with one image or a video. Because these posts offer more content to consume, people end up spending more time with them and may take action more efficiently than a single picture post.

Here are all the ways (and reasons) you must use Instagram carousel posts for your business! Click here to learn about other ads you could be making for your business!

• New Product Promotion: The promotion of new products is one of the main reasons you should be using Instagram carousels! All products online get sales based on how lucrative their products look and convince the users to buy them. Variations or different pictures of one product may be put together in one single post along with an engaging caption to make your followers aware of it.

• Transformations: Skincare companies and fitness companies alike post before and after pictures of their customers using the products to highlight the results after using them. It generates legibility in the claims of the product that boosts sales. These followers discuss them on online forums increasing brand awareness too!

• Highlight several use cases of your products: Products having several use cases benefit from Instagram Carousel posts! All the various use cases are in a single carousel post, and your audience may swipe to know more about all the ways to use it differently!

• Appreciate low-quality content: Thanks to carousel posts, the first media of the post may be in tune with the aesthetics of your feed, but you can always share any pictures related to the product. Even if they are grainy or low quality, as long as they are under the first post, they will not disrupt the look of your feed.

• Event Recaps: If your brand had a live event recently or a virtual event online, share the recaps for the event with an attractive cover picture! It will ensure your followers know what to expect from the next event and drive attendance there! At the same time, it will provide an experience for everyone else who could not attend the event, and users on social media appreciate that!

• Tutorials: Content creators and brands alike post tutorials for their niche. Instagram carousels are a great way to do so! It enables them to make posts with each picture in the carousel as one step in the tutorial. It is an effective way of conveying instructions to your audience in a visual manner!

• Generate actions on your post: Carousel posts enable you to engage your customers much more than they do on a usual Instagram post. Coercing users to take action like commenting on their favorite picture in the carousels or purchasing on the website through the link in the bio drives more engagement towards your website.

• Sharing stories: Instagram carousels are a great way to share your stories on the platform! Brand stories, the tales of your employees, and other creative stuff must be put out in front of your followers so that they learn more about your brand! It helps build customer relations and brand loyalty in the industry!

• Data and Statistics: Data and statistics are often put on display by marketers in the industry for their customers to see. They are put in sequence on different images and provide more information in a single post. Brands should use Instagram carousels for sharing instructional information. Make a sequence of pictures to teach a subject, go over some history or facts.

These are all the ways you may use Instagram Carousel posts for your brand! But there are a few things to keep in mind while posting these, so they get the traction they deserve!

• Upload High-Quality Content Only: As with any other post on any other platform, high-quality content is a must-have standard! Users must upload videos and pictures of the best quality as the algorithm pushes this content more than the average content, so it is better to work with the top-notch quality only. Because these posts contain multiple media, the first one should be of high quality. Tell your followers to check all the images: Users might scroll down without swiping the entirety of your carousel posts. It lessens the engagement of the post! When your followers spend more time on your posts, they get recommended more of your content, increasing the impressions on your other posts!
  
• Be consistent: Instagram carousel posts are very engaging when users post them consistently over some time. Do not expect results in the first or the second time posting on your page. The algorithm looks for consistency and rewards it accordingly!

Now that we know everything about Instagram carousel posts. Let us look at how marketers everywhere use them to generate brand relevance, thanks to PowerAdSpy!

Also read:
Outlook of the Year 2021 – PowerAdSpy
Ad Impressions: Views, but for Ads!
The necessity of Facebook Ad Spy and how do you spy on competitors’ Facebook ads?

Peeping into Your Competitors’ Strategies: PowerAdSpy has your back!

PowerAdSpy is the most efficient social media analytical tool to ease your life as a social media marketer! With the data of millions of ads from more than 15 countries, the ad database is constantly growing, having ads added to it daily!

See the ads your competitors are using for their ad campaigns and check their insights in real-time, thanks to our intuitive dashboard! Let us look into carousel ads on PowerAdSpy!

After subscribing to PowerAdSpy, the homepage looks like this:

Go to the search bar and type in “carousel ads” to see all the ads of the type that are trending online!

PowerAdSpy’s smart search engine offers various filters so you find precisely what it is you are searching for in your ad campaign!

Follow the analytics of the highest-performing ads! Look into all the available insights of the ads that you want to decide if you wish to absorb its tactics into your strategies!

Find and locate all the URLs the ad directs to and its original position on the brand’s landing page, straight from our interface! Other relevant details like when the ad was last seen and first seen are also available to take notes!

Locate the demographics and obtain relevant information about the target audience of the ad by simply scrolling down. The age, location, marital status, and other details engaging with the ad are displayed intuitively throughout the app!

Check on the social engagement metrics and see for yourself how to improve your ads to reach the audience you desire! The dashboard provides this information in an easy-to-understand graph, so you spent time doing and less time learning!

Know where your audience is from, and curate tailored content for them. Thanks to our analytics for providing you with information about the whereabouts of your audience. So you know in which parts of the world the public already knows about your products!

Just like this, PowerAdSpy provides several other functionalities for you to improve your Instagram game and get ahead of your competitors!

PowerAdSpy provides support for major social networks too! From email marketing to putting yourself out there on platforms like Quora and Reddit, PowerAdSpy will provide you with insights that would make your ads irresistible to look at!

Check out PowerAdSpy and up your ad game today!