6 Ways to Create Engaging Instagram Carousel Posts

Carousels are like a slideshow of pictures or videos you can upload at once, in one post. Users can ‘swipe’ through the slides of content, which can be a combination of photos and videos.

You can upload a minimum of two photos/videos, or a maximum of 10 photos/videos in one carousel. These will show in the standard 1:1 format on your feed, you cannot create carousels with Reels (9:16).

To actually create a carousel post, click the ‘plus sign’ in the upper right-hand corner of your profile. Select ‘post’ and your gallery will pop up. Click the icon on the right-hand side, which shows two squares. This will allow you to select multiple pieces of content. Once your photos/videos are selected, you’ll be able to edit them one by one and post them as normal. Make sure to check the sizing of your photos, as they will all auto-fit to the cropping settings of the first photo you select.

Great news! You can also schedule Instagram posts in advance, through Facebook’s Creator Studio, or on Flick’s scheduler. To schedule a carousel using Flick, upload the content you’d like to feature to your library. Tap and select the frames you’d like to use, and drag them into the date and time you’d like them to go live. This will open up the option to arrange your carousel and add your captions, hashtags, location and more. Select schedule and the post will automatically go live for the time you’ve selected. Read our article on carousel schedule here!

Carousels can be effective when they are used correctly because they can help communicate value to your followers, and keep them interested in following your content. You can also use them to show snippets of your day, life or even outfit details, in a collage-type style, so you don’t have to post multiple pictures/videos of the same thing on your feed. The key to creating an effective carousel post is making them engaging.

Instagram is a visual platform, and this goes for carousel posts too. The first slide of your carousel will act like your ‘hook’ and will determine whether users continue to look at the rest of the pictures/videos you upload or look through the rest of your feed. If you are opting to post a carousel that teaches someone something, you’ll have to directly design the carousel, and if you don’t have a graphic designer to hand, this can be tricky. The best port of call for creating carousels with little design experience is definitely Canva.

Canva features templates for carousels (or if you’re feeling creative, you can design something from scratch). Not only are the pre-designed templates aesthetically professional, but you can also customize them to match your branding or feed, swapping out images, colors, animations and more. Also, if you’re stuck for ideas, the range of template examples can offer good food for thought to work from.

💡 Need help planning out your feed? Click here!

You’ll need a compelling first slide to make people stay on your posts, and one of the most common carousel formats for brands and services is the ‘text carousel’. Often these teach or solve a problem, so not only should you nail your imagery, but also your headline. Treat this like a YouTube thumbnail (don’t worry, we’re not telling you that you need to clickbait), and think about what you would usually click on. Make your headline clear and concise, so that users know exactly what they are going to be learning, and make sure it’s something that makes sense for your audience. If you regularly post about food on Instagram, it might be something like ‘How to recreate McDonald’s Special Sauce Recipe!’, or ‘The types of chef’s knives you need and why’.

If you strictly post images and videos and stay away from the graphic design style on your feed, you can still create engaging carousel posts on Instagram. The key to doing so is by making sure your collection of content is cohesive, and your topic is communicated in your captions and hashtags. You may compile a monthly diary with snaps of what you’ve been up to if you’re a lifestyle creator. A fashion creator might make a carousel that starts with an outfit and follows with closer images of the details from jewelry and accessories, to shoes and hems.

Before you post a picture, think about how it could be broken down into different components, to create a carousel that keeps people engaged. Another idea is to treat this type of carousel like a blog post. Let’s take it back to our food Instagram example. Think about what people in your niche might search for, like ‘top burger places in the world’ or ‘best food I’ve ever tried in London’, and create a carousel with images from each of those places, calling out the title of your compilation in the caption. This also allows you to get discovered by brands or locations, as you can tag them in each image.

Social media is all about trends, and you’ll know this especially if you are posting to Instagram Reels. The same can apply to carousels, as you can jump on a trend or come up with an idea based on current news within your space. If you apply the right hashtags with your post, because people are already talking about this topic, your post will be much more likely to be seen and interacted with. For example, let’s say you post about social media strategy, and Instagram releases a new feature or update. Create a carousel based on how to use that feature/update, and hop on the trend!

Instagram is a fast-moving platform, and it’s likely that people will not want to read a huge amount of text when they swipe through carousels. It can be overwhelming if you include too much text, so think about what points you want to get across before creating the carousel. Note these and edit them down, until you have a small amount of text for each slide, making sure it is still legible for users to read on a small screen. Keep text clear and consistent – if you have more to say, you can always include it in your caption, or prompt users to click out to a blog post or webpage for more information.

Sometimes, users need to be reminded that they can take different actions to support you. Much like YouTubers will remind their viewers to subscribe to their channel or like a video, you can also encourage your followers to save your post, or click through to your bio for more information. You can directly add these to your posts in an engaging way, just swipe through the example below!

Now it’s time for you to start planning out and creating your Instagram carousels. Need help with creating the best carousel posts for your content? Test out our AI Social Media Assistant to brainstorm content ideas in seconds along with the best on-brand captions for your social media posts. Click the banner below to get started with a 7-day free trial of Flick!