Carousel posts are a powerful visual format for creating engaging, dynamic and educational content that encourages interactivity with audiences. This allows users to scroll through a series of images and/or videos combined to form one singular post.
As the social media landscape becomes more heavily saturated, carousel posts provide an effective tool to help stand out and connect with your target audience.
What Is A Carousel Post?
Carousel posts are a post type available on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest and unlike static images or videos, they contain multiple pieces of content in one post.
They can be made up of multiple images or videos that the user can scroll through and are a fantastic tool you can add to your content creation arsenal.
What Makes Carousel Posts Engaging?
Carousel posts are considered to be ‘engaging’ for multiple reasons. Firstly the interactive experience whereby users aren’t sure what comes next encourages them to scroll through the post. This in turn means more spent viewing the content, which therefore increases the posts effectiveness.
Secondly, utilising multiple images or videos means it is easier for brands or services to tell a story. This narrative process means audiences become invested, and are more likely to engage.
Carousel posts are the perfect format to use a call to action (CTA). CTA’s clearly communicate what a user can expect when they click a button or take the next action, which can improve engagement, click through rates and conversions.
Carousel posts are also extremely effective in educating audiences. Breaking information down across multiple slides means it is more easily digestible and visually appealing, making it easier for audiences to understand what they are reading, watching or hearing.
Guide To Carousel Posts On Different Social Media Platforms
As mentioned above, carousel posts can be used on a variety of social media platforms. However it is important to optimise these posts for the specific platform you wish to share them on.
On Instagram, carousel posts can be shared in the following formats.
- Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio)
- Portrait: 1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5 aspect ratio)
- Landscape: 1080 x 566 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio)
On LinkedIn the recommended size is 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio). Alternatively you can opt for 1200 x 627 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio).
On Facebook, carousel posts can be shared in the following formats:
- Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio)
- Horizontal: 1200 x 630 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio)
Twitter/X
On Twitter/X, carousel posts are recommended to be 1200 x 675 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio). Alternatively you can use square images which are 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio).
If any of these platforms are part of your social media marketing strategy then carousel posts are a must use feature.
Tips To Make The Most Of Your Carousel Posts
If you want carousel posts to be an effective part of your social media strategy; you need to follow these tips.
First Impressions Matter
To grab attention and encourage users to scroll through your carousel post, ensure the first slide is visually appealing whilst also effectively conveying the theme of the entire post.
Tell A Story
Format your slides to guide the audience through a journey with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Use sequential messaging to maintain their interest and keep them swiping rather than scrolling on.
Use Text to Enhance your Carousel
As people are less likely to read entire captions, using text in carousel posts can convey key messages in a visually appealing way. It is important to ensure text is kept concise whilst also being clear and easy to read.
Add Value
Delivering informative, actionable, or inspiring content encourages users to engage, as it resonates with their interests or needs.
Carousel Post Ideas
Carousel posts are versatile, which is why all brands should be using them across social media. Here are four social media carousel post ideas that can be customised to suit any brand or service.
- Step-by-Step Tutorials
- FAQ Series
- Customer Testimonials/Reviews
- Behind-The-Scenes
Summary
Carousel posts are an effective way to showcase multiple images or videos in one post on social media. This makes them perfect for storytelling, providing detailed information designed to educate or displaying a series of related visuals.
Using carousel posts allows brands to optimise the level of value driven from a singular post, boosting engagement rate and subsequently strengthening their social media presence. This will ensure you stand out from the crowd in this highly saturated and competitive space.
If you want to learn how CEEK Marketing can transform your business through social media marketing, get in touch today.