Carousel posts. The trend that we’ve quickly grown to love on Instagram. In fact, as we’re currently writing this, most people have hopped on the bandwagon of posting what they call ‘photo dumps’. We know. It’s not the most appealing combination of words. But everyone loves them. And they’ve become one of the most engaging social media formats out there right now, making them the best way to reach your target audience through more than one image.

For those of you who don’t know, a carousel post is known to be a series of images or videos that are all posted at the same time, in the same post. You swipe left and right between photos to see the whole series and just like any other Instagram post, you’re able to include your caption, a location tag, and other product or personal tags on the images. And don’t worry. The audience is still able to like, share and comment on your post so you’re not limiting yourself to anything. Unless you’re wanting to post more than 10 images and/or videos – that’s the only limit. But, the gist of this is that it’s a great way to create a visual story.

Just a few reasons you should be going ‘round the carousel

More Engagement = More Saves

Let’s just start with this. When you see an interesting post on Instagram as one image, you might screenshot it to save for later, right? Now, let’s think about a carousel post. Have you ever taken all that time to screenshot ten of the images? Probably not. Most likely because you can’t be bothered. So, the solution? To hit the save button and come back to it later. This action creates so much more engagement and that’s exactly what your audience will do when you begin posting funky carousel posts.

Showcase Reviews

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Humans trust the opinion of other humans. And before making purchases, we all read reviews. They help us decipher whether we should take that leap of faith in the product or service we’re thinking about, so choosing to showcase them on your Instagram page is a great idea. The best part? You have the option to post up to ten testimonials at one time instead of just one. In an instant, your audience has been inside the minds of ten other people within the space of 30 seconds. Take a look at the Instagram of JS Health Vitamins for instance. You might have already heard of them, because they seem to pop up everywhere. But they’re big players in the reviews-on-carousel-posts game. And it’s one of the best ways they promote their product.

360° View

We all love the in-shop shopping experience. Why? Because we want to look at, feel and fully inspect the product we’re thinking about purchasing. Well, through the use of carousels, we’re now able to have a full 360 view of the product without leaving the comfort of our homes. Let’s put ourselves in another lockdown situation *touch wood*. You’re stuck inside. You can’t leave your radius. You can’t head down to your local Hairhouse Warehouse to take a look at that brand-spankin-new blow dryer you want so badly. They’re not essential, so they’re closed. But luckily, the carousel (if used wisely) gives you multiple views of that blow dryer you so desperately want. Giving your audience numerous views of one product makes it easier for them to take the plunge and finalise their decision on the purchasing of said product.

Before & After

There’s something so satisfying about seeing a transformation. And posting a carousel on Instagram has proven to be one of the best ways to showcase the actual impact that your product or service has had on a customer. Whether you have a weight loss journey, a skin journey or even a property demolition journey, it’s a great way to show the before and after of a project or achievement you’ve undertaken. Let’s go back to JS Health Vitamins. If you have a squiz at their page, you’ll see they regularly post before and after images of people all around the world who have reduced any skin inflammations, grown and thickened their hair and strengthened their nails. It’s a perfect promotional avenue.

Funky n’ Fresh Content

The flexibility to post different types of content gives your audience that variety that they may sometimes want. For example; not everyone will be on a weight loss journey. But they may be on the hunt for some healthier food recipes. So, mixing your posts up between some inspiring before and after transformation photos and different healthy recipes will appeal to two different audiences. The two go hand-in-hand with each other but the ability to mix up the content will keep the viewer engaged. It also gives you that creative freedom to come up with interesting, colourful, and informative posts. You just need to work out what will grab your audience’s attention.

Carousels have proven to have the most engagement over any other post on Instagram.

Here are a few handy tips on how you can make the most of a carousel post.

• Think about a topic that you’re passionate about and turn what you know into an educational, infographic slide. Your message will be a lot clearer.
• Think outside the box and let yourself get creative with the post. Let that creative flair do it’s thang.
• Make sure you grab your audience’s attention in the first image. You want them to get to the end right? So make sure they start swiping from the beginning.

There you have it. Just a few of the reasons you should hop on the carousel. If you haven’t used the carousel feature before, why not give it a go? It won’t hurt to try. And who knows, you might even notice your engagement increase. If you’re wanting to improve your social presence but you’re not too sure how or where to even start, feel free to get in touch with the team here at Picos. We don’t bite. We promise!