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How to post scrolling pictures on instagram


How to Create a Seamless Instagram Carousel Post

Reels may be the hottest thing on Instagram right now. But Instagram carousels are still thriving on the platform. In fact, they could be the key to sustaining engagement because they get people to stop and swipe.

In this guide, we give you a breakdown of why posting an Instagram carousel is a great idea for your social media strategy. We’ll also give you plenty of tips, examples and ideas to help you get started. Let’s dive in.

What is an Instagram carousel?

An Instagram carousel is a post containing more than one photo or video, which users can view by swiping left on a post through the phone app. Desktop users can view a carousel post by clicking on the arrow button on the right of a post. Think of it as a slideshow of posts that users can control manually.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Everlane (@everlane)

Carousel posts are a great way to get people to pause and engage with your content, especially if the first slide is enticing enough. So it’s no surprise that Instagram carousels outperform both photo and video posts in terms of engagement.

Socialinsider.io found that carousel posts get higher engagement rates than photos and videos. Depending on follower size, carousels manage to hit engagement rates between 1.65% and 5.40%. This is higher than the average platform engagement rate, which stands at 1.22% according to the latest Instagram stats.

When to use Instagram carousels

The unique nature of Instagram carousels makes them a great option for strategic Instagram content. Some of the best ways to use an Instagram carousel post are:

  • Educational content
  • Data and infographics
  • Tutorials
  • Brand storytelling
  • Before-and-after reveals
  • Photo dumps
  • Product reveals
  • Product/brand updates
  • User-generated content
  • Event highlights
  • Behind-the-scenes looks

Instagram carousel size requirements

When creating a carousel post on Instagram, you’d want to make sure that it looks great on the platform. So it’s important to follow the size requirements and specifications. Design and optimize your posts with the three aspect ratio options in mind:

  • Square (1:1)
  • Horizontal (1.91:1)
  • Vertical (4:5)

For images, Instagram recommends a resolution of 1080 x 1080 pixels. Videos can have a minimum resolution of 600 x 600 pixels and a maximum resolution of 1080 x 1080 pixels.

How to create a carousel post on Instagram

Once you have the perfect images or videos lined up, you can start creating an Instagram carousel post using the steps below:

Step 1. Click on the “+” button from the navigation bar at the top of your screen.

Step 2. Select the option to create a new “Post.”

Step 3. Tap on the option to “Select multiple.”

Step 4. Choose the photos or videos you want to upload as a carousel post. You can select up to 10 photos or videos for your carousel. Then tap on “Next.”

Step 5. Just like creating a single-image post, you’ll get the option to edit your photos and videos by applying filters. To create a cohesive look throughout, you can choose to apply the same filter throughout all the images and videos. Once you’re done, tap on the “Next” button.

Step 6. Now add details to your carousel post. Make sure you include a suitable and enticing caption that could prompt engagement. You can even include popular and relevant Instagram hashtags to improve your post visibility. This is also the section where you can tag people, add a location or add a reminder similar to a regular post.

Step 7. Once you have everything sorted, tap on the “Share” button and that’s it. You’ve created and shared your Instagram carousel post.

How to schedule an Instagram carousel post

The manual publishing process may be straightforward, but it can be time-consuming. As a social media manager, one of your main goals is to do your job as efficiently as possible. That means scheduling content ahead of time so you can maintain a consistent publishing schedule.

And the same would hold true for your Instagram carousel posts. Fortunately, you have the option to schedule your Instagram posts using the Facebook Creator Studio. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1. Log into your Creator Studio account and select the Instagram button at the top.

Step 2. Click on the “Create Post” button from the left-hand panel and select the option to create a post for your “Instagram Feed.” This option is suitable for creating image carousel posts and sharing videos shorter than 60 seconds.

Step 3. Click on the “Add content” button under the caption window and choose the first image or video you want to upload. After selecting the first content, the “Add content” button will move to the top of the caption window. Click on this button to keep adding all the photos and/or videos you want to include in the post.

Step 4. Once you’re done creating the post and adding all the info you want to include, click on the drop-down arrow next to the “Publish” button. Select “Schedule” and choose the date and time you want the carousel post to go out and click on the “Schedule” button. And that’s it–your Instagram carousel post is now ready to go out.

While this is a useful tool to have, keep in mind that it’s only accessible on desktop. This may make it a bit challenging if you’re used to managing everything from your phone or if you want to schedule a carousel post while on the go.

If you’re using an all-in-one social media management tool like Sprout Social, you can directly publish and schedule Instagram carousel posts to your accounts. Sprout recently updated it’s capability to allow users to publish Instagram carousels directly from the desktop app rather than the Mobile Publishing Workflow.

How to Create an Instagram carousel post on Sprout:

Step 1. Open Compose in Sprout desktop or mobile app.

Step 2. Select your Instagram Business Profile from the Profile Picker.

Step 3. Add your content for the Instagram post.

Step 4. Select up to 10 images to include in your post. Note that images and videos cannot be combined in your Instagram carousel posts published through the Sprout app at this time.

Step 5. Personalize your post, whether it’s tags, hashtags, Instagram First Comment or even post links.

Step 6. Schedule when you want to publish your post.

Step 7. Click Submit or Send.

For more information on publishing and scheduling Instagram carousel posts within Sprout, visit our Help Center.

Instagram carousel examples to inspire you

Need some inspiration for creative ways to use carousel posts? Here are some Instagram carousel examples to inspire you:

1. Sprout Social: Answering burning questions

Sprout used Instagram carousels to share answers to pressing questions. This helped to inform the audience and show the platform’s social listening capabilities.

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A post shared by Sprout Social (@sproutsocial)

2. Canva: Bite-sized visual guides

Canva made the most of carousels to share short and actionable visual guides for its users.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Canva (@canva)

3. ColourPop Cosmetics: Revealing a new collection/product line

ColourPop Cosmetics used a carousel post to reveal all the products in its new In the Limelight collection.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ColourPop Cosmetics (@colourpopcosmetics)

4. NotionHQ: Event highlights

NotionHQ shared a series of photos announcing a virtual conference.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Notion (@notionhq)

7. Frank Body: Spotlighting ingredients

The Australian skincare brand used carousels to put a spotlight on key native ingredients and their benefits.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by frank body (@frank_bod)

8.

Exist Green: Mini store tour

Exist Green shared photos of their redesigned eco-boutique section. This gave followers a mini-tour of its store to invite foot traffic.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Exist Green (@exist_green)

Creating Instagram carousel templates

One of the best practices to follow on Instagram is maintaining a consistent feed containing high-quality images. That means you should carefully pick the visuals for your carousel posts to make sure that your feed looks cohesive and on-brand. Instagram carousel templates can help with this.

Instagram carousel templates act as a framework for your carousel posts. They use a consistent style of color schemes, fonts and other design elements to make sure that each image comes together to form a unified look. Customize these templates with text, graphics and photos to create a new carousel post.

You can find plenty of stock templates on websites like Canva, PicMonkey and Adobe Stock. These templates are available to customize and download for free or for a small fee. Stock templates are a great option if you want to save time. They’re also perfect if you don’t have a knack for designing but still want professional-looking templates.


Image Source

Alternatively, you can also design your own Instagram carousel templates from scratch. This is a good choice if you have a strong brand visual identity that you want to showcase through your Instagram carousels. It gives you more flexibility to create a template that fits your exact needs.

Start getting those swipes

The data doesn’t lie–there’s no doubt that Instagram carousel posts are highly engaging. So if you’re not using them already, you’re missing out on the opportunity to engage your audience. Make the most of the tips, ideas and template resources above to design eye-catching carousels that get people to swipe left.

In fact, engaging your audience is the key to becoming “best in class” on social media, according to 46% of consumers. Download the Sprout Social Index Edition XVII: Accelerate to gain more insights into the social consumer.

 

How to Post Panorama Photos on Instagram in 2 Ways

  • To post a panorama photo on Instagram, you can simply zoom the picture out while uploading it.
  • You can also use an app like "Unsquared for Instagram," which splits your panorama photos into multiple Instagram-friendly squares.
  • This story is part of Business Insider's Guide to Instagram.

When Instagram first hit smartphones, every image uploaded had to be shaped like a perfect square. 

This is all well and good for selfies and pictures of your kids, but for those majestic panorama shots of the Grand Canyon, Instagram's always struggled.

Nowadays, you can upload any sort of photo to Instagram. However, they don't always look so good.

Here's the best way to post panorama shots to Instagram on your iPhone or Android device, along with an app for iPhones that will help them look better.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:
iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Apple)
Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $699.99 at Walmart)

How to post panorama shots on Instagram

The simplest way to post panoramas is:

1. Open Instagram on your iPhone or Android and tap the plus icon at the bottom of the screen to upload a photo.

2. Once in your photo gallery, select the panorama shot you want to use.

3. Touch the image preview at the top with two fingers, then squeeze them together to zoom out. Zoom out until as much of the panorama as possible is visible.

Much of your longer pano shots may be lost when you use Instagram to crop them. Steven John/Business Insider

4. Add filters and post it as usual. 

The result here is a rectangular picture with large blank spaces on the top and bottom. This will do your photo some justice, but for full-sized panoramas, you likely still won't be able to fit the whole photo.

For the full effect, you'll need to use a program like Photoshop to cut the panorama into smaller, square images. If you have an iPhone, there's an app that will do this for you automatically: "Unsquared for Instagram."

Download the Unsquared app on the Apple App Store and give it the permissions it needs to access your photos. Then, follow these steps to cut up your photos.

1. Open the Unsquared app and tap the image of a stack of photos at bottom right.

2. Tap the pano image from your library that you want to use, then tap the blue check mark.

3. Your image will appear with the Unsquared watermark on it. Tap the blue icon that looks like a series of squares at the bottom of the screen, and you can pick how many photos you'd like the panorama shot to be split into — once you choose an option, the watermark will shrink.

Tap this icon to choose how many pictures you'd like to split your pano shot into. Steven John/Business Insider

Note that the more pieces you cut it into, the more of the top and bottom of the shot that will be cut off. In general, if you want to include every part of the photo, try to pick "3 Pieces. "

4. Once you're satisfied, tap "Done." The split-up photos will be saved to your phone, and you can post them to Instagram.

You'll be able to post the split photos as a series to Instagram. Steven John/Business Insider

  • How to post a GIF on Instagram using a free GIF-making app for iPhone and Android

  • How to post a live photo on Instagram in 2 different ways

  • How to post on Instagram from your phone or a computer, using the official app or an internet browser

  • How to add multiple photos to your Instagram story at once, or use a collage app

  • How to share a post to your Instagram story from your feed or a profile

Steven John

Freelance Writer

Steven John is a freelance writer living near New York City by way of 12 years in Los Angeles, four in Boston, and the first 18 near DC. When not writing or spending time with his wife and kids, he can occasionally be found climbing mountains. His writing is spread across the web, and his books can be found at www.stevenjohnbooks.com.

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Insider Inc. receives a commission when you buy through our links.

How to post panoramas on Instagram*

November 12, 2017 Web Services

A little trick will allow you to bypass the Instagram* limitation on photo width.

Uploading a panoramic photo to Instagram* is easy. You can create an Instagram post* with multiple photos blending into one another. It will look something like this.

Panoramic photos on Instagram* are no different from regular posts with multiple shots. They can be made manually or using mobile applications. Here's how it's done. nine0003

Preparing a panorama manually

  1. Take a panoramic photo. Most modern smartphones and cameras can do this. Keep in mind that you may need a tripod to get really good panoramic photos.
  2. Open the photo in any photo editor. You can use professional solutions such as Photoshop, Lightroom and their alternatives, or Lightroom Mobile, or any other image editor of your choice. The editor only needs the ability to cut out image fragments. nine0016
  3. Use the photo cropping tool to crop your photo to the desired aspect ratio. If you want your panorama to be in three parts, the aspect ratio of the photo should be 3:1. For a six-part panorama, the aspect ratio should be 6:1, and so on. Please note that you cannot insert more than ten squares into one Instagram* panorama.
  4. Cut the resulting image into several squares of the same size. You can do this both in your graphical editor and with the help of one of these services:
  • Griddrawingtool.com;
  • Imgonline.com.
  1. You will get several images of the same aspect ratio. Now send them to your phone to upload them in the right order on Instagram*. Or you can upload photos directly from your computer through the mobile version of the site. To make a panorama, you need to place the photos from left to right so that the leftmost part of the photo is the first, and the rightmost is the last.

Load panorama automatically

Take a panoramic photo for Instagram* with apps like Swipeable for iOS and InSwipe for Android. They are free, and with them you do not have to bother fussing in graphic editors.

Swipeable

The iOS app lets you create panoramic and even 360° loop photos for Instagram*. Just select a panoramic photo, and the application will divide it into square segments and apply the necessary filters.

appbox fallback https://apps.apple.com/en/app/id12096

InSwipe

Powered by Android and has similar functionality - creates seamless panoramas for Instagram*. Photos can be scaled or resized. A grid that adapts to the size of the panorama will allow you to cut images in exactly the right places.

appbox fallback https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=livehappy.instaswipe&hl=en&gl=en

Panoramic shots on Instagram* look pretty impressive. In addition, in mobile applications, sliding from shot to shot in one post is quite smooth, so that several photos seem to be a single whole. nine0051 *Activities of Meta Platforms Inc. and its social networks Facebook and Instagram are prohibited in the territory of the Russian Federation.

How to add multiple photos to Instagram - detailed instructions

One of the popular content formats on Instagram* is image galleries in posts. Users choose the carousel for a number of reasons. For example, you need to tell a single visual story or publish a series of useful cards. Or you don’t want to bore subscribers with photos from the same location or the same event, but at the same time there is a need to post several equally cool ones. Agree, sometimes it is very difficult to choose? :-) nine0003 An example of a series of cards in an Instagram post*: informative tips from the Kinzhal magazine. Post link

Posting multiple photos on Instagram* may also be needed for Stories. Collages of photos and videos, firstly, remain a visual trend in design, and secondly, they allow you to demonstrate the “before and after” effect, different sides of your product. Thirdly, such compositions allow the brand to stand out, detail the elements of the big picture and show the integrity of the product, which helps to achieve a certain effect from your Stories. Collages of several photos can also be used as a background, for example:

Clothing brand Antipod uses the series to announce the new Introvert collection in the Stories section. Link to Story

Let's look at all the technical possibilities to attach multiple photos on Instagram* and what are the limitations.

How many photos can be posted on Instagram*: requirements and restrictions

Gallery in the feed: from 2 to 10 photos per post .

Stories Collage mode: 2 to 6 photos . nine0003

Using the "Photo" sticker - there are no restrictions on the number of added photos . But, of course, to add too much means to clutter up the already small space of History. In addition, the sticker now allows you to add a video, and also choose the shape of the added photo. In 2022, after the next update, there are also 5 different options for processing pictures for the Story: a square, a square with rounded edges, a circle, an asterisk, a heart.

Selecting a grid in Collage mode and working with Instagram Photo Sticker* is very easy

In addition, in 2021, a new mode appeared in the Stories section - Photo Booth in the Stories section. This is another way to upload multiple photos to Instagram*.

The number of photos in the "Photo Booth" mode is exactly 4 . No more, no less. After shooting, they replace each other in a looped mode. Users can change the transition effect between these photos, at the moment there are 6 modes: Flash, Highlight, Filmstrip, B/W Filmstrip, Photo Tape, VHS. nine0003

Since Stories as a format in terms of popularity and functionality has long been ahead of the classic tape, they have more opportunities for publishing a series of photos and they are more interesting. The photo gallery in the feed has not changed much since the release, but the developers have made some improvements, for example:

  1. You can change the order of pictures in the photo carousel.
  2. The filter can be applied both to a single picture in the gallery and to the entire series as a whole.
  3. At the creation stage, you can delete a photo from the future gallery at any time. nine0016

Why is posting a few photos on Instagram* OK? Advantages of

And who most often needs to publish several photos at once?

Definitely all retail. From cosmetic companies to clothing brands. Showing a product from different angles is priceless.

All areas of online education. A series of visual stories (informative and not so) is a good and visually appealing trend. When the story is accompanied by illustrations, it turns out intelligibly. nine0003

Actually, the niche is not important. It is important to understand what kind of content your audience wants and what opportunities you have to provide it. For example, we have written for you what services you can sell on Instagram*.

Why posting a lot of photos at once on Instagram* is ok? Because you can talk about a corporate holiday, post a few photos from a family trip, vote, post a cool recipe, post a series of tips from an expert… Or continue the story by posting a screenshot of the text, because the post description didn’t fit entirely. nine0003 Instagram collage* Stories for inspiration or opinion gathering, useful post from an expert – using multiple photos in one post is always convenient. Link to post

The main advantage of the format is the ability to fit one cool but visually meaningful story of your brand or yourself into a single post.

Another plus is that the presentation in series format will be concise and concise. A group of photographs or hand-drawn pictures should be carefully thought out, from sequence to content. It's basically a mini-series. And in order for such a format to be appreciated, you will have to try. nine0003

In addition, collages of several published photos on Instagram* suggest a visual combination of elements: contrast or vice versa the overall color scheme does not matter. You need to have taste or a good designer so that users can appreciate your creativity. So the complexity of this format simultaneously affects the quality of content on the social network, requires more investment and effort from brands, and makes us, the layman, a little happier. Visual perfection is an important part of the content, which is why we, by the way, have released an article for businesses on how to write a TOR for an Instagram profile designer*. nine0003

Now to the technical part - how to upload a series of photos to Instagram*.

How to post a lot of photos on Instagram * - instructions

Let's analyze all the possible ways to publish several photos.

Through a mobile application on the phone

Everything is simple here, regardless of the operating system that you use on your smartphone: press the plus sign, select the format - for example, History. In the History, to add several photos, you can either select the “Photobooth” or “Collage” mode and continue working there (I already wrote about the features above). Or post multiple photos on Instagram* using a sticker. nine0003 How to post multiple photos in Stories mode

To post multiple photos on your Instagram feed*, select "Post" from the list, click on the double square icon at the bottom right, and circles will appear next to the photo on the screen - select the desired photos in the correct order . Continue your work, select the necessary filters if necessary, or add more pictures to the future gallery. Done, it remains to sign and publish.

How to add multiple photos to Instagram*

If you hold your finger on a slide in the photo gallery for a long time before publishing, you will see a trash icon - you can delete an unwanted object by simply moving the picture to the icon. Please note that in the gallery with only two shots, this will not work.

On the web version of Instagram* from a computer

Neither emulator apps nor developer mode can add multiple photos to Instagram* via a computer. Especially before writing the article, I tried all kinds of ways to download the gallery from a computer, none of them work. Can't upload multiple photos at once, only one is posted:

Bitter reality – the web version of Instagram*, even in emulators and in developer mode, is limited to uploading one photo deferred posting SMMplanner. The service offers various options for regular posting: for example, through the official Instagram API*.

To add multiple photos to Instagram*, just click the "Schedule Post" button and select a photo/video to post. To edit photos, you do not need to download additional applications for post-processing, everything is already in the functionality of the service. nine0003 Post-processing photos for Instagram* inside the delayed posting service

And if you want to delay or schedule the release of Stories in advance and be able to edit them directly from your computer (including adding a lot of stickers), then SMMplanner has a built-in Stories editor with multiposting.

Learn more