Instagram carousel posts get, on average, 1.4x more reach and 3.1x more engagement than regular posts on Instagram. Use a template to start.
Instagram carousel posts are one of the most engaging formats on social media right now.
Hootsuite’s own social media team finds that, on average, their carousel posts get 1.4x more reach and 3.1x more engagement than regular posts on Instagram.
The temptation to swipe left, it seems, is hard to resist—especially when there’s a persuasive cover slide. Give your followers the chance to stop doomscrolling and start swoonscrolling with thumb-stopping carousel posts.
Bonus: Get 5 free, customizable Instagram carousel templates and start creating beautifully designed content for your feed now.
An Instagram carousel is a post with multiple photos or videos that can be viewed by swiping or clicking left. Up to 10 images or videos can be added and shared as a single post on the feed.
Just like any other Instagram post, you can include a caption, alt-image text, a geotag, and account and product tags on each image in your carousel. People can like, comment, and share your carousel post, just like any other.
When a carousel is published, a small icon appears in the upper right corner. As someone flips to the second image, the icon is replaced with a counter that indicates the number of frames. Small dots also appear at the bottom of a post to mark progress through the carousel.
Why choose an Instagram carousel? Give your brand the “magazine treatment” with double-slide spreads, close-ups, and shots from different angles. Provide step-by-step guide instructions or parse out information. Build intrigue and unveil a surprise or before and afters. Or use the format to convey scale.
Much like a regular post, Instagram carousel can be published in square, landscape, and portrait formats.
But keep in mind that all posts must be uniform. Whatever shape you choose for the first slide will apply to the rest of the frames, too.
Don’t be afraid to post a mix of videos and images.
Find up-to-date social media image size requirements here.
When it comes to creating an Instagram carousel post, it’s best to start with a concept. Determine why the carousel is the best fit for your content, instead of a standard post, collage post, video, or Instagram story.
With this question answered, you’ll likely have a good sense of the type of content you plan to use. Sketch out a storyboard to get an idea of how many frames you’ll need. Decide if your carousel will jump from one image to the next, or have a continuous, panoramic effect.
Here’s how to make a carousel post on Instagram:
1. Add all relevant photos to your photo library.
2. Open the Instagram app and click the + icon from the navigation bar.
3. Tap Library in the lower left.
4. Tap Select Multiple, located in the bottom right of the image preview window.
5. Select up to 10 photos in videos in the order that you would like them to appear.
6. Tap Next. If desired, apply filters or edits to each frame. Tap on the photo to open Edit tools. When finished, or to skip this step, tap Next.
7. Add your caption, geo-tag, account tags, and product tags. Swipe through to tag the appropriate photo.
8. Tap Share.
Tip: Double check to make sure all your frames are in the correct order before you publish. You can’t reorder or delete single slides after you share.
Want to take your carousels beyond “ten pictures from the same vacation”? Start by customizing one of our five free, professionally designed Instagram carousel templates in Canva.
1. Get access to the templates by clicking the link below:
Bonus: Get 5 free, customizable Instagram carousel templates and start creating beautifully designed content for your feed now.
2. Above is the first page you will see upon opening the template URL. Click Use Template
3. This page will open. All templates are shown. Choose one.
4. You can swap in any photo by clicking Uploads in the side menu and clicking Upload an image or video and selecting whatever image you want off of your machine. Once the image is uploaded, just drag and drop from the menu into the frame you want the image to replace.
5. Change the text boxes by selecting the text and pasting in the new copy you want in your post. Using the circles on the corners of the textbox. You can make the box taller or shorter as necessary. Text color, underline, font options, size options, font alignment and line spacing options appear above when a text box is selected. Highlighted in this screenshot is where you can change text color.
6. Selected above is where you can change the font size.
7. Selected above is the font type.
8. If you click on the template background, you can change the background color by clicking the colored square beside animate in the top menu and color swatches will appear on the left menu.
9. To change colored blocks/shapes, same as above. Select the shape and the colored square will appear in the top menu. Click the square and color swatches will appear in the left menu.
10. To export: Click Download and save as a png.
11. If you want to save only one template of 5, open up Select pages and select the corresponding template by clicking the square to the right, and then select Done.
12. To split your image up for the carousel: go to https://pinetools.com/split-image and you’ll see the above window, then select Choose file.
13. Select the file you just downloaded from Canva
14. Once your file has been imported, select horizontal split, output as JPG or PNG (personal preference) and split by Quantity of blocks (equal width) and put 4 into the Quantity of blocks, then select Split image.
15. This is what you’ll see after you click Split image, and under download pieces (images) are now the four pieces of your instagram carousel split to size. Click on each row 1, column 1, row 2 column 1… etc button to download back onto your machine.
16. And now you have your four separated images to upload onto instagram using the multiple-image upload. Just make sure you select in the proper order, or else your carousel will be posted out of order from the template!
1. Go to Planner and tap New post to launch Compose
2. Select the Instagram account you want to publish to
3. Include your caption in the Text box
4. Go to Media and tap Select files to upload. Select all the images you want to include in your carousel. All selected images should appear under Media.
5. If you haven’t linked your mobile device to your Hootsuite dashboard, a popup will appear saying Publish via mobile notification and prompt you through the necessary steps for connection.
6. Include any necessary instructions in the Notes to Publisher section.
7. Select a date and time to schedule your post for.
8. Tap Schedule. The post will show up in your Planner at the time you have scheduled it for.
9. At the scheduled date and time, you will receive a mobile notification that your post is ready to publish.
10. Tap the notification, which will open your notification centre in the Hootsuite App.
11. Tap the top notification in the list, then tap Open in Instagram.
12. Your caption will be copied to your clipboard automatically.
13. Tap the + button and select the correct images (the ones you selected in Hootsuite should load automatically as the first images in your gallery).
14. Add any filters to your images, as you would publishing a normal Instagram post.
15. Paste your caption.
16. Tap OK. And voila! Your Instagram carousel has been published.
Draw inspiration from these brands and creators on Instagram.
The children’s publishing arm of Random House knows a thing or two about spinning a story. Here’s how they do it with an Instagram carousel post.
What’s inside the travel suitcase of jewellery designer Louise Damas’ brand manager? You’ll have to swipe through to find out.
If you like the first band featured in Coachella’s Instagram carousel, chances are high you’ll want to see the musicians featured.
Explore the textures and fabrics of Kotn with this Instagram carousel. The Canadian brand uses the format to show off and editorialize its apparel.
Data journalist and illustrator Mona Chalabi uses the Instagram carousel to brilliant effect. In this example, the swipe effect conveys both scale and disproportion than any single image could.
This carousel offers a glimpse at the art and hygiene protocols Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal has put in place to combat virus spread.
Illustrator Kamwei Fong shows you the final product in print and frame, as well as her process—bringing viewers closer to her art one slide and a time.
Bonus: Get 5 free, customizable Instagram carousel templates and start creating beautifully designed content for your feed now.
Get the templates now!
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Kitty No.39. New #limitededition prints on my Etsy. Link in bio. Cheers 🍷😃⚡️
Nothing but the facts, in simple and understandable slides in this and several other Instagram carousels shared by Welfact. To maximize shareability, treat each post as a self-contained unit. That increases the odds (by up to 10!) that someone will share your post in an Instagram story.
Who needs a recipe book when you can follow Cleanfoodcrush’s Instagram carousel as instructions for her loaded bean soup.
Chipotle’s timeline of burrito eating uses the Instagram carousel to comical and relatable effect.
Adobe saves #TeddyBearDay with this Instagram carousel tutorial.
Wendy’s secret menu carousels dare you not to click through and discover “secret” food hacks.
Timed with Ben Simmons’ NBA Rookie of the Year award win, this post from Nike shows how to use the Instagram carousel to make and punctuate a statement. As one commenter notes: “I love it uses the slide to change perception.”
Take a quick look at the McDonald’s India feed and it’s clear that the Instagram carousel has been a winning format for the account. This most, among others, is a good reminder that a “swipe left” call to action never hurts. It helps, in fact. Socialinsider’s study finds the CTA improves engagement.
Why not give the in-flight magazine the “magazine effect.” This Instagram carousel lets you flip through the pages of a mag, just like you would on the plane or in a store.
Break interviews into “sound bites” with Instagram carousels. This can be a good way to share testimonials, employees as ambassadors, artisans, partners, or other interviews you’d like to share.
Patagonia creates a magazine gatefold effect with Instagram carousels. The example demonstrates how carousels can also be used to maintain a feed aesthetic. If you want your feed to only contain images, but also want to share text, here’s a good workaround.
This Hootsuite Instagram carousel parses findings from the 2020 Q4 Digital Statshot Report into easily digestible stats and takeaways. Instagram carousels also make for good case study formats, and more.
Manage your Instagram presence alongside your other social channels and save time using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can schedule and publish carousels, edit images, and measure performance. Try it free today.
Easily create, analyze, and schedule Instagram posts with Hootsuite. Save time and get results.
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