How to Create the Perfect Instagram Carousel Post
Lex Martin
Table of Contents
Have a lot of photos you want to share with your Instagram followers? Want to share a complete narrative within a single Instagram post? Look no further than Instagram carousel posts! Gone are the days of single image posts: now you can share your company’s origin story, engaging how-to content, or a behind-the-scenes look at what you’ve been up to recently, all using Instagram carousel posts.
Carousel posts and ads allow you to share photos with your followers in a convenient, condensed way. They also give you more opportunities for engagement, providing your followers with up to 10 slides of images, videos, or information that they can engage with. Below, we’ll take you through what these posts are, how to create them, and more.
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What is a Carousel Post?
Instagram carousels are Instagram posts that include multiple images or videos in a single post. This feature enables creators to tell a more comprehensive story or showcase multiple products, services, or aspects of their brand in one cohesive post or ad.
When carousel ads or posts appear on a user’s Instagram feed, they’ll see one of the pictures in the series, and will be able to swipe to the left or the right to view the rest of the content in the post. After the carousel has been posted, the first image or video in the carousel will appear on the poster’s Instagram account, but with a small stack icon to distinguish it from a regular, single-photo Instagram post.
One of the most significant advantages of carousel posts is their potential for increased engagement. The Instagram algorithm tends to favor content that receives high levels of interaction, such as likes, comments, and shares. By providing users with multiple pieces of content to engage with in just one post, carousels increase the likelihood of receiving interactions from viewers, increasing the post’s relevancy in the eyes of the algorithm.
Additionally, Instagram carousels offer brands to get creative with their content presentation, which can diversify their feed and cater to different audience preferences. Whether they’re being used to showcase before-and-after transformations, provide step-by-step tutorials, or show product demonstrations, carousels empower creators to deliver engaging and informative content that resonates with their target audience.
How to Make a Carousel on Instagram
If you’ve never made a carousel post or ad, it can be a bit overwhelming to try and figure out. Below are some step-by-step instructions on how to create an Instagram carousel post both in the Instagram app and on the design platform, Canva.
Using the Instagram App
Below are the steps for creating a carousel post within the Instagram application:
- Open the Instagram app and log in to your account.
- Tap the “create post” button, or “+” button, which you can find in the center of your navigation bar at the bottom of your feed, or at the top right of your screen when viewing your account.
- Select the image that you want to appear on the first slide of your carousel.
- Size the image how you would like it to appear on the screen. This aspect ratio will be applied to the rest of the images you select.
- Tap the layered square icon, which you can find under the lower left corner of the post preview.
- Go through your photo library and select the rest of the photos or videos you want to include in the carousel post. The number in the top right corner of the image thumbnail will indicate which slide the image will appear on in the final post.
- Tap “next” in the top right corner of the screen.
- Edit your pictures or add filters to them. You can add the same filter and apply the same edits to every post, or you can double-tap an individual image to edit or add a filter to that one image.
- Tap “next” in the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Add your caption, tags, location, hashtags, and anything else you want to include in the post.
- Tap “share” and you’re done!
Remember, whatever photo you choose first will appear on the first slide on your carousel and will appear as the post thumbnail when viewing your account.
Using Canva
Using the Instagram mobile app to make carousel posts can be a hassle. Luckily, desktop users can also create Instagram carousels through Canva, the online graphic design platform. To create a carousel post for Instagram using Canva, you can follow these steps:
- Open Canva and log into your account.
- Create a new design using the “Create Design” button in the top right corner of the screen.
- Create a design using the aspect ratio and the number of slides you want to post. Instagram lets you include up to 10 slides in a carousel post.
- Upload the media files that you want to include in the carousel.
- Begin designing your carousel post using photos, videos, and/or Canva design elements.
- Add the photos or videos you want to include in the post to the various pages on Canva. Be sure to place them in the order you want them to appear in.
Once you’ve finished your design, you can either export your files or post them directly to your Instagram account through Canva. To export your photos and upload them to Instagram yourself, you can:
- Download your design by clicking the “Share” button, which you can find in the top right corner of the screen. Then click the “Download” option in the dropdown menu. It’s recommended that you export them in a PNG format.
- Adjust your download preferences then click the purple “Download” button.
- Open Instagram on your desktop and log into your account.
- Follow these steps on how to post on Instagram from PC.
To post your design directly from Canva, you can:
- Click the Instagram logo option in the “Share” button dropdown menu.
- Select either “Immediately post from the mobile app” or “Schedule post from desktop” depending on your preference.
- Follow the instructions from Canva and share your new post with your followers.
Instagram Carousels Help
In order to create Instagram carousel posts, you might need a little bit of social media know-how. Below are some tips and tricks to help you on your way toward making a carousel post or advertisement for Instagram.
Instagram Carousel Post Size
The size of your carousel post will depend on how you want the carousel to look. If you want the post to appear square, make your post 1080 x 1080 pixels. If you want it to appear taller or shorter, your post can be 1080 pixels wide and anywhere between 566 pixels and 1315 pixels tall. Be sure to look at the post preview before you share your carousel to ensure it looks exactly
Instagram Carousel Post Template
If you want to create a creative-looking carousel post, or want to make your post appear seamless and have the images bleed over from one slide to the next, you can use Instagram carousel templates.
You can either use pre-made templates from sites like Canva or make your own Instagram carousel templates on the platform of your choosing. These can also ensure that your future carousel posts look consistent and are in line with your account’s aesthetic or branding.
How to Add Music to Instagram Carousel
Before you go to post the carousel, you can add music by tapping or clicking on the “add music” button. You can search for a particular song or you can scroll through the features and recommended songs and find the one you like most.
It’s important to note that whatever song you choose will play throughout the entire multi-image series, so you’ll only be able to select one song for your post using this feature. Additionally, if your carousel has any videos in it, Instagram won’t give you the option to add music to your post.
How Many Photos for Instagram Carousel
Instagram carousels will only allow you to post 10 slides, so if you have one image per slide, you’ll only be able to post 10 images or videos. However, if you create a seamless carousel or collage images, you may be able to include additional images into your carousel.
How to Post a Carousel on Instagram
In order to post your new carousel post, you can either hit the “share” button in the app or on your desktop, or you can post it through a third-party posting site, like Canva or Kiopi. If you post your Instagram carousel through Kiopi, you can schedule your post and track its engagement through our social media analytics software.
How to Schedule Instagram Carousel Posts
If you don’t want your carousel post to go live immediately, you can also schedule your Instagram carousel to post whenever you want it to. Below are some of the different ways you can schedule Instagram posts like carousels for a later date.
Schedule Carousel Post With Facebook Business Suite (Meta Business Suite)
One way to schedule your carousel post is through the Meta Business Suite, which makes it easy for anyone to schedule their future posts. This will allow you to make and schedule carousel posts for both Instagram and Facebook, which can be helpful if you have multiple social media accounts for a single person or brand.
Schedule Carousel Post With Kiopi
Kiopi is another great social media scheduler you can use for your carousel posts. Kiopi will allow you to schedule your posts and can even help you visualize your upcoming social schedule using our social media calendar tool.
Why Schedule Instagram Carousel Posts With Kiopi?
Planning your posts and scheduling them to go live should not be difficult, which is why Kiopi makes it so easy. You can schedule a single carousel post to publish on another day, or you can schedule multiple carousel posts in advance, ensuring your posts go live exactly when you want them to.
Whether you’re a social media manager looking to schedule posts for multiple clients at a time, or you’re a small business looking to up your social media game, Kiopi is here to help. We can help you track your past engagement to determine when your target audience is most likely to engage with your content, allowing you to strategically schedule your posts to boost engagement.
Want to learn more about how Kiopi can help you create, schedule, track, and analyze your carousel posts? Start your 14-day free trial of Kiopi today and experience the difference it can make in your social media strategy.
Creative Ways to Use Instagram Carousel Posts
Instagram carousels give users a lot of freedom to be creative and make incredibly engaging content for their audience. Below are some of the most creative ways you can use Instagram carousels to make the most of your posts.
Seamless Instagram Carousel Post
One of the most interesting ways to utilize carousel posts is by creating a seamless carousel post, which is when the images in your carousel carry over from one slide to the next. This makes your carousel post on Instagram much more interesting and can even encourage users to swipe through the carousel to see the rest of the graphic or image from the last slide.
As we’ve mentioned before, you can actually use seamless carousel post templates to add more than 10 images to your carousel. Additionally, If you’re sharing multiple text images, you can have a graphic or image at the end of one slide that bleeds into the next slide, making your post appear–you guessed it–seamless.
Photo Dump
Many users use Instagram carousels to share “photo dumps,” or multiple images from recent events in their lives. These often feature images that might not warrant a normal Instagram post themselves, but work together to create a snapshot of what their lives have looked like recently.
For business Instagram accounts, photo dumps can be used to share pictures from recent events or normal business operations. They can even be used to share a lot of great user-generated content all at once.
Behind the Scenes
Using Instagram carousel posts to showcase behind-the-scenes moments is a brilliant way to give your audience a glimpse into your brand’s inner workings. It can be a little unreasonable to create a regular post for all the images you want to share from behind the scenes. A carousel allows you to consolidate multiple photos and videos into one single post, decreasing clutter and keeping your behind-the-scenes content together for people to look through.
Carousel Posts in Reels
Recently, Instagram has integrated carousel posts into Reels, allowing users to create Reels that feature multiple static images. Brands can use the carousel ad format or post format within Instagram Reels to share images in the midst of other Reels video posts, causing them to pause their scrolling to pay attention to the static content on the screen
Types of Carousel Posts on Social Media Platforms
In addition to Instagram, other social media platforms allow you to post multiple images in a single post, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Incorporating carousel posts into your social media campaigns can help boost engagement with your brand across multiple platforms.
Facebook Carousel Posts
Facebook carousel posts are usually only available for paid advertising on the platform, but Facebook carousel ads can be just as effective as Instagram carousel ads, allowing you to share multiple products within one, easy-to-view ad.
Twitter Carousel Posts
Like Facebook, Twitter only allows users to create carousel advertisements rather than organic carousel posts. However, these ads can still provide users with the ability to share multiple photos of their products or brand in one advertisement.
LinkedIn Carousel Posts
As of December 2023, organic carousel posts on LinkedIn were removed from the platform. However, brands and users can still create carousel ads. Additionally, users can still share more than one image in their LinkedIn posts, they just will not appear in the same format as Instagram carousel posts.
Kiopi: The Tool Social Media Managers Love
Now that you know how to make Instagram carousel posts, it’s time to get to work! Kiopi is here to help make it easy for you to make carousel posts and use them to boost engagement for your brand. We even have an AI caption generator built into our platform, helping ensure you have attention-grabbing captions that capture the essence of your post.
Additionally, we have a variety of other features that can help you manage your Instagram account, plan out your posts, collaborate with your team, schedule your posts, and much more. Want to learn how Kiopi can help you? Start your free trial of Kiopi today!
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