Back in February this year Instagram started to roll out their new Carousel feature to everyone –  which had previously only been available for Advertisers.

As you’re probably aware the Carousel feature allows you to choose multiple photos or videos to feature in a single swipeable Instagram post.

If you’ve not tried this feature yet or have just overlooked it – take a moment to consider how you could utilise this for your business and do something a bit different!

There’s a variety of ways that you could use this new feature, but here’s just a couple to spark your imagination…

Step by Step

With the swipeable nature of this new feature the idea of showing a step by step process is an obvious option. This would be ideal if you’re trying to show make-up techniques, mens grooming techniques (beards and beard care are big at the moment), recipe ideas, DIY instructions or whatever you can imagine. Here’s a great example of a recipe step by step by @williamssonoma

 

Fill, fold, fry! Swipe above 👆🏻 to see samosas step by step. Then check out the recipe for Potato and Pea Samosas with Cucumber Raita using the link in our profile. #mywilliamssonoma

A post shared by Williams Sonoma (@williamssonoma) on Feb 22, 2017 at 4:56pm PST

Walkthroughs

Show someone around your ‘business’ but without costly time consuming virtual tours – why not consider using a series of photos or videos to give viewers a ‘walkthrough’ for your product or service. For instance if you’re an estate agent / holiday company you could use this to really show off a great room or location.

 

One of my absolute favorite parts of being inside anyone’s home is beholding the book collection (it speaks volumes, pun intended, about the occupants). In honor the 20th anniversary of World Book Day, one of my all time favorite homes/libraries (it’s both in equal parts) courtesy of @homestead_custom_sawmilling and @deslindseya. Photo brilliance by @katalves

A post shared by Gold Dust Collective (@golddustcollective) on Mar 2, 2017 at 2:07pm PST

Panoramic Canvas 

If your product or service has that ‘wow’ factor you could crop down a panoramic photo into smaller sections and give the viewer a chance to swipe forwards and backwards to explore in detail. Here’s a great one from @returnofthecaferacers

 

<<< SWIPE FOR MORE Aussie builder @brucefarrall knocks it out of the ballpark with his first build, a Honda CB750 Cafe Racer. Visit the website for more. 📸 by @jasonlphotos #bikelife #motorcycle #melbourne #caferacer #custom #Honda #pipeburn #bikeexif #caferacerxxx #instagram #carousel

A post shared by Return of the Cafe Racers (@returnofthecaferacers) on Feb 24, 2017 at 11:14am PST

Ranges

If you’ve got multiple ‘products’ in a range, rather than forcing your viewers to enlarge a collage photo this feature gives you the option to display your entire range (hopefully) across multiple full size photos/videos. Here’s a recent example from @BananaRepublic

 

Secret’s out: our most coveted summer accessories are online now. Effortless and always chic, reach for textures like raffia, silk and leather. #itsbanana

A post shared by Banana Republic (@bananarepublic) on May 18, 2017 at 5:37pm PDT

A day in the life…

If you’re more prolific on Instagram and post a lot during the day why not consider creating a post that collates all your top days’ photos into a photographic post summary of your day.

Summary

So there you go, just a few ideas on how your business could leverage the Instagram Carousels feature.

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If you need more information or help on how Instagram could work for your business please get in touch with me at http://paulkirkdesign.co.uk or at @PKirk_designer

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