How To Build The Perfect Carousel Post

Let’s talk about carousel posts.

First, what is a carousel post? An Instagram carousel is a fancy term for a post containing more than one photo or video. Users can view each image or video by swiping left on a post. These posts can have a ma of 10 “slides” but any post containing 2 or more photos or videos is considered a carousel post.

Now that we got the definition out of the way, I’m going to share my best carousel tips and tricks.  Ready? Let’s go ⤵️

I want you to think of carousel posts like a book. Books are intentionally designed and written to make readers want to open the book and then to keep turning the pages. The same goes for carousel posts. Here’s what that looks like for successful carousel posts: 

We DO judge a book by it’s cover: Make sure your first slide catches your audience’s attention and makes it clear what the post is about. This should include a hook that grabs them and makes them feel like they NEED to swipe.

Slide number 2 is just as important as slide 1. This is the back cover of the book where you give readers more insight into what they can expect if they keep reading. Agitate the pain point or desire highlighted on your cover slide.

PAUSE for an important note about how carousels are shown to your followersWhen you post a carousel slide and your first image crosses someones path while scrolling but they don’t immediately start swiping, the next your post shows up in their feed, they will automatically be shown the second slide. Almost like a second chance to reel them in. That’s why slide number 2 is so important. 

Back to the formula…

Slides 3-9 are each a chapter in your story. We’ve all read a book where each chapter leaves you hanging and makes you want to keep reading instead of going to sleep. It’s the Netflix binge effect. That’s what you want to do with each slide. They should build on each other and make people want to keep swiping.

The last slide should always include a call to action. What do you want them to do next? Follow for more posts like this? Share the post? Leave a comment? If they made it to the end, they are interested. If they are interested, they are more invested.

Don’t let them just walk scroll away—tell them what you want them to do.

Carousel posts are great for educational content and also for keeping people engaged with connection-building content. Think about a photo dump series. You can share a series of photos with a hook that says “photo number 6 is a core memory”. People will be compelled to swipe. It’s just human nature—we can’t help ourselves. 

Let’s see it in action

If you’re a visual learner, I wanted to share a few of my most successful carousel posts and why they worked.