Sometimes less is more. On Instagram, that may not always be the case! Instagram carousel posts (posts with more than one image or video) are an easy way to promote engagement on your brand’s Instagram page that your followers will love. Here are a few things to know about Instagram carousel posts to get you started!
Instagram carousel posts can have up to 10 photos or videos.
Instagram caps its carousel posts at 10 photos or videos. Posts can have less than 10, but 10 is the max. We like that there’s a limit, because it forces users to curate their content more carefully. For example, whereas on Facebook you can post an album of 50 photos, on Instagram you would have to ask yourself, “Which 10 of these 50 photos will best tell the story?”
Carousels can have a mix of photos and video.
Just to reiterate, carousel posts can include a mix of photos and video. So, your post can be all photos, all videos, or a mix of the two mediums. This gives you options when it comes to how to best present your content.
Filter them all the same, or edit them individually.
When creating an Instagram carousel post, you’ll have the opportunity to add a filter to each photo or video in the carousel. You can select one filter and apply it to all of the images/videos in the carousel, or individually select filters for each photo or video.
The idea is to get people to keep swiping.
One of the reasons carousel posts are so great for brand engagement is they keep people’s attention on the content for longer periods of time. Carousel posts are indicated by dots below the content, showing that there is more to be seen. Users swipe left to scroll through the post—meaning more opportunity for engagement with your brand content.
Carousels can function on Instagram’s mobile app or desktop version.
When using Instagram on desktop, that swipe becomes a click—but the idea is the same.
Instagram’s algorithm likes them.
For the reasons we just described, Instagram’s algorithm favors carousel posts. Because users actively swipe through them, carousels are interactive by nature, which means more time spent on the post and in turn more time spent on the platform overall.
They serve as a space to tell a story.
Perhaps one of our favorite things about Instagram carousel posts is they give you a platform to tell a story. Set up in a sequence format, one graphic naturally leads into the next, and there are tons of creative ways you can use this setup to your advantage in brand and product promotion.
That being said, the order of your images or videos matters! Think about your story’s beginning, middle and end when choosing which graphics go where.
Summary
We love an opportunity to get creative, and Instagram carousel posts give us the opportunity to do just that. The fact that they get more than three-times the engagement on average of regular posts? Just an added bonus!
McNutt & Partners is a full-service advertising and digital marketing agency. Contact us today for your marketing needs! Call 334-521-1010, or visit our contact page.
