Instagram is a widely popular social media platform with more than one billion monthly active users, and higher engagement than on Facebook and other social channels. When it was first released, all users could do was post photos. As it has evolved, it has grown to encompass a variety of content such as videos, live updates, and 24-hour Instagram Stories. Goread.io has a great article on how to use the slideshow feature effectively to engage with your followers.
An often underutilized feature is Instagram Slideshows, also known as carousel posts or multiple-image posts. Instead of posting just one photo, you can now share up to 10 pieces of content – either photos, videos, or a combination of the two. These slideshow posts are giving brands more opportunities to share engaging content with their audience, and if you’re not using them, you should be.
Here are a few tips for how to use them effectively as part of your Instagram strategy, even if you do buy real active Instagram followers to help grow your account. Stormlikes is another marketplace where you can get followers.
1. Use Slideshows to Display Products
If you’re releasing a new line of products, or want to highlight a single product with varying angles or setups, then a slideshow is the perfect way to do it. Instead of posting multiple single-image posts, you can pack them together in a single slideshow for people to click through. This way you engage your audience and keep your overall feed looking nice and clean.
You can use multiple slideshows to highlight multiple products, too. Just be careful to spread them out so you’re not spamming your audience’s feeds. Plan them out in advance and schedule when you’ll post them in line with all your other marketing efforts.
2. Use Slideshows to Show Before-and-Afters
Before and after photos are a great way to showcase your company and talents. This is particularly helpful in industries such as hair and makeup, health and fitness coaches, and interior designers or home remodelers.
It’s up to you whether you want to show the before photo first or the after photo first. The after photo is a popular choice for many people because it better matches the overall look and feel they are trying to create for their Instagram. Regardless of which you choose, you need to be sure to engage your audience by telling them which photo is which – whether it’s through text on your images or highlighting it in your caption.
3. Post a Long Video
In a single post, videos are capped at one minute long. With Instagram Slideshows, however, because you can combine up to 10 photos and videos, it’s possible to share up to 10 minutes of uninterrupted video on Instagram. If you’ve got a longer video that’s highlighting something about your company – an event, behind the scenes look at company culture, products, or services, the Slideshow option gives you a way to hack the platform and repurpose the content.
The only thing to note is that you must edit all the clips so your followers will easily be able to scroll through and watch. This may mean taking a few extra minutes to work on the video, because Instagram won’t just splice it for you – and if you don’t edit with care, you could end up with a choppy video that’s hard to follow.
4. Tell Stories
Yes, your Instagram captions are there as a space to tell your story, but instead of writing a novel in the captions, you could easily let a succession of photos tell the story for you. This way, you can write a summary in the caption to keep it short and easy to read, and engage your audience with the series of photos.
Because of the creativity and flexibility Instagram Slideshows has to offer brands, there really is no limit to what you can do with them. Since users have to scroll through to see the entire thing, it can go a long way toward helping you increase your audience engagement. If you’re ever stumped for ideas, you can always take a look at what the competition is doing, or just ask your audience the kinds of things they’d like to see you share in that format.
5. Feature Events
If your company is involved with any events, chances are you want to share them with your audience – and make them feel like they are there with you. That means taking a lot of photos and videos, and then spending time deciding which ones are Instagram worthy. With the Slideshow option, you don’t have to stress as much about what to share, since you can add up to 10 images or videos at once to each post.
You can share everything you want without spamming your audience’s feeds. By giving them a look at what life is like at these events or behind the scenes in your company, you’re connecting with them on a personal, human-to-human level, which is great for your overall brand.
6. Demonstrate Tutorials
Instagram tutorials are becoming increasingly popular because video can be used to show how to do something.
With the slideshow feature, though, you can take it even further since you have the ability to mesh several photos and videos together. It will also increase user engagement since people must scroll through the post to see everything. You’ll be able to share your tutorial visually without the need to write a long caption with instructions, whether you’re sharing a recipe or a makeup application.
