How to Create High-Performing Carousel Posts on Instagram
- What are Carousel Posts on Instagram?
- What are Instagram Carousel Requirements?
- Tips for Creating High-Performing Instagram Carousel Posts
- Plan Your Carousel Post Strategically
- Ensure that it is Eye Catching
- Must Evoke Feelings of Desire for What You are Selling
- Have a Creative Call to Action
- Take Advantage of All the Ten Slides
- Use First Image as Scroll Topper
- Incorporate Both Images and Videos in Your Posts
- Remind Your Audience to Swipe for More
- Keep in Mind the Visually Impaired
- Do Not Bore Your Audience with a Lot of Information
- Pro Tips for Better Carousel Posts on Instagram
- Find Out If Your Marketing Strategy is Working
When Instagram first emerged as a social media platform, it was all about photo sharing but like most successful apps, it has evolved. Today, users rely on this digital arena to shop, discover new experiences, and, more importantly, create engaging and top-performing carousel posts on Instagram. Marketers worldwide rely on Instagram for marketing and selling their products.
However, as with most social media marketing aspects, you have to do more than randomly post pictures. Successful carousel posts on Instagram require thoughtfulness, creativity, and proper timing to achieve the desired effects. You have come to the right place if you are new to Instagram carousel posts or want to improve what you already know.
What are Carousel Posts on Instagram?
Instagram Carousel posts refer to the old-fashioned “album-style” posts that the social media platform's users can use to share up to 10 photos at a time. The main difference between the Instagram carousel and the regular posts on users' feeds is that carousels can show up again if they don't engage as much as they hope to. The carousel shows a different picture every time it appears.
What are Instagram Carousel Requirements?
Creating Instagram carousel posts requires that you keep some things in mind. They include:
- Posting at least two photos or videos at a time
- The videos you post should not last more than a minute and should be less than 4 GB in size
- As much as hashtags are important when sharing Instagram posts, carousel posts allow up to 30 of them, as long as they are relevant to what you stand for
- Captions make posts interesting and engaging. However, carousel posts allow up to 2200 characters only, which should be enough to pass your message
Tips for Creating High-Performing Instagram Carousel Posts
Whether you are relying on Instagram carousels for marketing purposes or are just posting for your audience, doing so in a digestible and engaging way can help you achieve your goals quickly. Here are some tips to get you started:
Plan Your Carousel Post Strategically
Before creating Instagram carousel posts, you need to figure out what you want to achieve and how you can do it. You need to have all the videos and photos you want to post in advance. Even though the Instagram platform has its own editing tools, editing your content in advance will save you some time and keep you from making mistakes.
Ensure that it is Eye Catching
Instagram users will scroll to the following user within a split second if they don't find anything interesting about their posts. With that in mind, strive to create a carousel post that attracts users and keeps them yearning for more.
Must Evoke Feelings of Desire for What You are Selling
If you are looking to sell through your platform, ensure that your products are desirable. You can do this by editing your pictures accordingly and placing them strategically in your carousel posts.
Have a Creative Call to Action
A Call to Action, CTA, is used to direct users into taking specific actions. For instance, you might post some of the products you are selling, and at the end, post details about your physical location where interested customers can pick their products. You can also use CTA to ask users to subscribe, like, or follow a link for more information.
Take Advantage of All the Ten Slides
As aforementioned, the Instagram carousel allows for up to 10 videos, photos, or mixture simultaneously while the minimum is two. Now that you have chosen this option, you might as well stretch it to the limit. There is no problem posting more photos or videos about your products or services.
Interested customers will look at all the 10 pictures, especially if they want to know if you have various products with different prices that suit their needs.
Use First Image as Scroll Topper
Using the first image as a scroll topper increases the chances of your audience seeing all the posts. Also, assuming your initial post did not engage as much as you wanted it to, it will reappear in the users' feeds, this time with the second image as the scroll topper.
Depending on what you want to achieve, the scroll topper should be what you consider your best. Some users might unconsciously move to the next person's post, but if your scroll topper was eye-catching, they can go back and view your other posts in the carousel.
Incorporate Both Images and Videos in Your Posts
Instagram allows users to share both images and videos in their posts. By taking advantage of this, you give your viewers various options and different angles to consume your content.
Remind Your Audience to Swipe for More
Having a carousel post is not enough in itself; you must prompt users to swap to see more. As much as it is evident that there might be other posts in your Instagram carousel, reminding your audience to swipe increases their chances of doing so.
Keep in Mind the Visually Impaired
Not every Instagram user has perfect eyesight. Considering images and videos that can easily be viewed by the visually impaired is a perfect way of reaching out to every possible user in your feed.
Do Not Bore Your Audience with a Lot of Information
Instagram is mainly for sharing videos and images; concentrate on that. You can create a separate link that redirects the interested parties to your content to provide more information.
Pro Tips for Better Carousel Posts on Instagram
Additional tips on how you can create high-performing Instagram carousel posts include:
- Take advantage of the behind the scenes moments
- Create a story
- Share some before and after scenes
- Repurpose older content
- Use content of followers using your products or service
Find Out If Your Marketing Strategy is Working
Finding out their marketing strategies are working is significant for most businesses, but they don't know where to start. Viral Solutions is here to help; we can take your business to the next level with a full-service marketing agency.
We know how social media marketing works, including Instagram's carousel posts. If anything, the components to a successful Instagram carousel post are more accessible than you think! It just takes strategy and planning.
Contact us to find out how we can help with a free audit.