5 Instagram carousel post content ideas

An Instagram carousel is a post that contains two or more images (or videos), which users can view by swiping left.

Studies show that carousel posts have more engagement than standalone posts because people spend more time on them (as there’s more to consume), which is why Instagram’s algorithm favors it.

But how do you use Instagram carousels?

Here are five ways to get you started:

1. Repurpose content into a carousel post

Whether it’s a blog, YouTube video, or a Twitter thread, you can repurpose them into a carousel post. All you have to do is summarize them by sharing information and insights.

For example, here’s how Buffer repurposed this blog post into an Instagram carousel content.

It picked the main points from the long-form content (blog) to help the readers understand the content. Do the same.

2. Teach something

Teaching someone (by sharing knowledge and lesser-known insights to help them solve their problems) will highlight your expertise—increasing your brand awareness and credibility. People will trust, buy from and promote you.

So, use your industry knowledge and experience to educate your readers. Add relevant examples, case studies, and images.

Here’s how SEMrush does this through carousels.

3. Promote your product/service

You can mix images and videos in your carousel posts—a great way to educate your followers about your new products and persuade them to buy.

Through carousels, show the different product variations (color and style), explain your product’s details, and help your followers visualize how the product will look on them.

Take a look at this Louis Vuitton carousel post for inspiration.

4. Share customer reviews

Social proof is key to attracting new customers and spreading a positive vibe about your brand because people will believe others more than you. So, collect customer testimonials from your super fans and share them through Instagram carousels.

Here’s an example of this.

Customer reviews will help build trust and excite new people to try your product and (if they like it) turn them into loyal repeatable customers. You get new customers, and they get a good product. Win-Win.

5. Curate user-generated content (UGC)

UGC is content that’s created by other people (mainly your users) about your product or service. They could do this because they love your brand or are content with your product/service. But why share UGC content through carousels?

a) You don’t have to create this content yourself—thus saving time and effort. Just share the posts with the user’s permission.

b) Your followers get to know your brand/product/service through others’ perspectives, which builds more credibility and trust.

c) If you share other people’s content, you’re incentivizing your users/followers to share their experiences about your product/service. You’ll increase your brand awareness.

Here’s how Wayfair shared UGC content through carousels.

So, this was it. Use Canva to find ready-made Instagram carousel templates and start creating them.