You already know this: The key to growing on Instagram is to share VALUABLE content. You’re a resourceful person and you start researching and analyzing your posts’ performance. All data points at one thing: your audience LOVEs educational content. But then you realize: a single photo is just not enough. And a video tutorial will take too much of your time.
Hmm … what should you post then? Feeling stuck?
Let us introduce you to Instagram Carousel posts. Carousels are one of the most versatile post types you can use to grow your visibility on the platform. In this article, we’ll show you how to create an educational carousel post that will help you boost your engagement.
What is a Carousel Post?
Think of how many times you’ve opened Instagram and saw a post inviting you to “swipe next” through a series of images.
There’s something really engaging about this swipe-able feature on Instagram. Let us introduce you to the Carousel post. A carousel post is a swipe-able post made up of a series of 2 – 10 slides (images, videos or a mix of both) that put together help tell a story.
Let’s look at some ways you can use Carousels on Instagram
Showcase Product Features
If you’re selling physical products you can use a carousel post to showcase your product features. In this example, @pur.clothing used a carousel to show different colour variations in a newly-launched clothing item. You could also post a few images to show your product from different angles or the different ways it can be used.
Show Before and After Transformations
If you’re a photographer like @amandacampeanu you can use carousels to show before and after pictures of your work.
One of the best ways to use a Carousel is to teach a skill that will help your audience solve a problem. In the example below, @logodeigner01 uses a series of images that shows readers a simple way to remove the background of a photo. This post is valuable because it teaches a new skill in a mini-tutorial.
Want to create an educational carousel post for your niche?
Follow the steps below.
How to Create a Carousel Post
Choose a Topic
The first thing you should do is decide on a topic for your carousel post. You can find inspiration in books, blog posts, online courses, etc. There is already a lot of information out there that you can compress into bite-sized pieces of content and share it with your audience.
Here are a few things to consider when choosing a topic:
- What is a common issue your audience is facing?
- Can you summarise it in 10 or fewer slides?
- Can you use graphics & charts to make it visually appealing?
- Can you present your solution in a step-by-step process, a list of items or a how-to tutorial?
Select Colours, Fonts and Images
The visual aspect of your carousel is an important factor to consider on Instagram. You want your post to be visually compelling to a reader but also match your feed theme. Here’s how to create a visual style for your Carousel post:
- Pick a set of 2-3 colours that are on-brand. If you don’t have a favourite colour palette yet you can go to Coolors.com or Canva to create one.
- Choose a pair of 2 fonts that are bold and easy to read.
- Decide if you’re going to use images, charts, or illustrations to reinforce your message. You can find free stock images from Freepik or Unsplash.
Tip: Choose colours that are contrasting (like yellow & black) or variations of the same colour (eg. dark green, pale green) for an eye-popping effect.
Choose a Graphic Design Software
Now that you’ve decided on your branding, it’s time to start designing your Carousel post. To create a perfect square post that fits in the Instagram feed you’ll want to use editing software like Canva or SparkPost. Both allow you to export your Carousel as individual images that you can upload into your scheduling platform.
The Anatomy of a Good Carousel Post
You need to create 3 templates:
- one for the first slide
- one for the middle slides
- and one for your end slide
The First Slide
This is the most important part of your entire carousel. Your cover slide needs to attract and intrigue your audience to want to swipe through the entire post. Use bold words and describe an issue or a problem you’re going to solve for anyone reading your post. To capture the attention of your readers you’ll need the following:
- A bold/intriguing headline
- An arrow pointing to the next slide
- Your Instagram handle
- Optional: add a dramatic image to grab attention
Tip: Keep your cover mysterious and intriguing to encourage people to scroll until the end.
The Middle Slides
These are your main content slides. In this section, your goal is to build interest, solve problems, inform, educate or show a process.
Create a template for your middle slides and include some of the following:
- A page number/ sequence
- A progress bar
- Your Instagram handle
- An arrow pointing to the next slide
The Last Slide
This is your call-to-action slide. Ask a question and include a branding element (eg. a photo of your yourself or your logo) to establish trust.
Think of what do you want the readers to do next?
- Leave a comment
- Share their experience
- Answer a question
- Like or share this post
- Tag a friend
Post Your Carousel on Instagram
When it comes to posting a Carousel you have two options:
Option 1: Use a third-party scheduling app. This option is better if you’re used to scheduling your posts in advance. Load the images in your favourite Instagram scheduling app (I use Planoly on my desktop and Preview app on my phone). Add your captions and schedule your Carousel for a time when your audience is active, which you can find out by using a Instagram statistics tool.
Option 2: Use the Instagram app. Save the images in your phone’s camera roll and upload them on Instagram. If you use this option, make sure the images are uploaded in the correct order. Add a caption and click post!
Done! You’ve just created your first educational carousel post. Now go ahead and share it with your audience.
Instagram lady -DepositPhotos
