The argument in one line.
Carousels beat reels on engagement every quarter since 2023 because the algorithm shows them twice — and yet almost nobody posts them, which is exactly the gap worth exploiting.
Read if. Skip if.
READ IF YOU ARE…
- You post reels consistently but your reach has stalled and you're looking for a format with less competition.
- You run a creator, coach, or small business account and want content ideas you can actually execute without a video editor.
- You want to understand why carousels get more saves than reels before you invest time building them.
- You're comfortable in Canva or Instagram Stories but haven't touched the carousel format seriously.
SKIP IF…
- You're already running a proven carousel strategy and just want advanced production techniques.
- You need platform-agnostic social media advice — this is 100% Instagram-specific.
The full version, fast.
Carousels get double the saves of reels, show up in the feed twice (once as slide 1, once as the most engaging slide), and can even appear on the Reels explore page if you add music. The video walks through nine formats ranked roughly from easiest to hardest: sharing raw losses, yes-but split screens, text on paper, chicken scratch handwriting, zoom-out perspective posts, the same-picture-different-text format, the top-five black-screen trick, hype-vs-reality bar charts, and advanced mixed-media. The through-line is that authenticity and visual contrast drive shares, and several of these formats require nothing beyond a phone and a piece of paper.
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00:00 – 03:28
01 · Why Carousels Beat Reels in 2026
Opens with the saves-vs-likes distinction, cites Buffer's 52M-post study (12% more engagement), explains the two-appearance algorithm mechanic, and shows how adding music makes carousels eligible for the Reels explore page.
03:28 – 04:28
02 · The Mixed-Media Carousel Trend
Covers the overarching trend of combining video, photo, and graphic design in one carousel, including the two-slider format as a repurposing shortcut.
04:28 – 08:11
03 · Idea 1: Share Your Losses
Vulnerability-first carousel format inspired by @realisticrecruiting. Raw, recent setbacks posted as photo slides built in Instagram Stories — no design skills needed.
08:11 – 09:22
04 · Sponsor: Shopify
Shopify sponsor read framed around the 'what if' mindset of early entrepreneurship.
09:22 – 11:21
05 · Idea 2: Yes But Carousel
Split-screen format (top = win, bottom = the unseen struggle). Originated by @_yes_but_ (2M followers). Most effective when honest and specific.
11:21 – 14:24
06 · Ideas 3 & 4: Text-Based Carousels
Text on paper (printed Google doc or highlighted book pages photographed) and chicken scratch (handwritten notes). Handwriting is unique as a fingerprint — an underused personal branding signal.
14:24 – 16:57
07 · Sponsor: Wealthfront
Wealthfront sponsor read around a 4.3% APY cash account.
16:57 – 18:57
08 · Idea 5: Zoom Out Carousel
Top half = a bad metric or setback; bottom half = satellite photo of Earth + 'zoom out.' Teaches perspective. Host goes on a tangent about gratitude and announces a workshop with marketing Harry.
18:57 – 20:28
09 · Ideas 6 & 7: Engagement-Boosting Formats
It's the Same Picture (same photo top + bottom, different text overlay — outcome vs. reality) and Top Five Blank (slide 5 is a black screen where the viewer sees their reflection — self-flattery as a share trigger).
20:28 – 21:26
10 · Ideas 8 & 9: Advanced Carousel Designs
Hype vs. Reality bar chart (rate tools by hype score vs. actual effectiveness) and mixed media carousels (layered images, video, and cutouts — requires Canva proficiency).
Lines worth screenshotting.
- Carousels get double the saves that reels do — and saves are the metric that makes the algorithm keep showing your post.
- Every quarter since 2023, carousels have been the number one most engaged format on Instagram, yet most creators still default to reels.
- The algorithm gives each carousel two shots at your attention: first as the cover slide, then later as whichever slide is statistically most engaging.
- Adding music to a carousel makes it eligible to appear on the Reels explore page — you get reel distribution without making a reel.
- The supply of carousels is low while demand is high, which means posting them consistently gives you an asymmetric playing field right now.
- A two-slider carousel — hook headline on slide 1, repurposed reel on slide 2 — lets you create a new format without creating new content.
- Vulnerability posts (raw losses, yes-but split screens) earn shares because the audience wants to send them to someone specific — that referral loop drives reach.
- Handwriting is unique like a fingerprint; using it in a carousel is one of the few personal branding moves that literally cannot be copied identically.
- The top-five black-screen trick works because the viewer sees their own reflection in the final slide — ego + humor is a reliable share trigger.
- Hype-vs-reality bar charts let you position contrarian opinions visually without writing a single paragraph of copy.
- A text-on-paper carousel can be created entirely in Instagram Stories — no Canva, no design skills, just photos of printed or handwritten pages.
- The zoom-out format works as a retention hook: show a negative (low views, lost game) in the top half, then force perspective with a satellite photo of Earth in the bottom half.
Nine carousel formats that win on Instagram right now.
WHAT TO LEARN
Carousels get two algorithmic bites at the apple that reels never get — and the nine formats here span from zero-design to advanced, so at least three of them are executable this week.
- Carousels show up in the feed twice: once as the cover slide and again later as the most engaging slide the algorithm has identified — reels get no second chance.
- Adding music to a carousel makes it eligible to appear on the Reels explore page, giving carousel content reel-level distribution without requiring video production.
- The supply-demand gap is real: most creators post only reels, so the audience appetite for carousel content is high and the competition for that attention is low.
- The lowest-effort carousel (share your losses) is also often the highest-performing because raw vulnerability is scarce on a platform full of polished wins.
- The yes-but format works because the emotional contrast — public win on top, unseen struggle below — gives viewers a specific person to send the post to, which multiplies reach.
- Text-on-paper and chicken scratch carousels require no design software; photos of a printed Google doc or handwritten notes qualify and stand out visually on a feed full of digital graphics.
- Handwriting functions as a personal branding signal that is literally unreplicable — a carousel built around your own handwriting cannot be templated by a competitor.
- The top-five black-slide trick turns ego into a share mechanic: the blank final slide reflects the viewer, implying they are one of the top five, and they share it to tell someone else the same.
- Hype-vs-reality bar charts let you surface a contrarian opinion about tools or strategies in a format that is scannable in two seconds — no caption required.
- Mixed-media carousels (layered images, video, and graphic design) require Canva proficiency but deliver visual novelty that compensates for lower follower counts when the format is fresh.
Terms worth knowing.
- Carousel
- An Instagram post containing multiple slides that viewers swipe through, as opposed to a single image or a reel video.
- Two-slider
- A minimal carousel with exactly two slides: a text hook on slide 1 and a video or image on slide 2, designed to repurpose existing content.
- Yes-but carousel
- A split-screen carousel format where the top half shows a public success and the bottom half reveals the unseen failure or struggle behind it.
- Zoom-out carousel
- A perspective-reset format where the top half shows a setback and the bottom half shows a wide-angle or satellite photo of Earth with the word 'zoom out.'
- Hype vs. Reality
- A bar-chart carousel format comparing how hyped a tool or strategy is against how effective it actually is, used to surface contrarian takes visually.
- Mixed media carousel
- A carousel that combines photos, video clips, and graphic design elements on a single slide, typically built in Canva or a similar tool.
Things they pointed at.
00:54linkBuffer 2020 Social Media Engagement Study (52M posts)
16:57channelMarketing Harry (carousel workshop co-host)
Lines you could clip.
01:52
“It's kind of like handing someone a book that's already open to page 127, because page 127 is the most engaging part of the book. Instagram will do that automatically.”
00:04
“Can you remember the last post that you liked on Instagram? No? Probably not. Me neither.”
11:12
“Your handwriting is one of the most unique things about you. According to a recent court proceeding I was watching, handwriting is like a fingerprint — no two people's are totally identical.”
Word for word.
Read-along
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See every word as it's spoken — crank it to 2× and still catch all of it. The same dual-channel trick behind Amazon's Kindle + Audible.
00:00Can you remember the last post that you liked on Instagram? No? Probably not.
00:05Me neither. But the last post that you saved, well, you probably can't remember that either, but you'll at least go back to it. You've saved it.
00:13So it's in some collection, it's in some folder, and the likelihood that you ever see it again is way higher than a post that you just liked. And that matters because on Instagram, carousels receive double the amount of saves that reels do. And I'm not here to tell you that reels are dead, nor are carousels the saving grace for your Instagram account.
00:31However, I do believe carousels are the most slept on kind of content on all of social media because they're arguably the best kind of post on Instagram, and yet most creators and small business owners hardly if ever post them. Personally, in the last ninety days, my top four most viewed posts are all carousels, and five out of my top seven most viewed posts are carousels.
00:54According to a 2020 study done by Buffer that analyzed over 52,000,000 posts, carousels received an average of 12% more engagement than reels.
01:04But this isn't new to the Instagram algorithm because every single quarter since 2023, carousels have been the number one most engaged with format on all of Instagram. And I think there's two main reasons for that.
01:16Number one is the oversaturation of reels. People go on Instagram to consume more than just a short form video, but most people are only posting short form video.
01:26And so if you are the rare exception, the person who is posting carousels, not every time, but more than most, well, then you have basically an unequal playing field. You have a greater opportunity to reach people because there is a demand for carousels, there is a demand for non short form video content, but the supply isn't as high.
01:45And the second, maybe most important reason why carousels have such a high engagement rate is because carousels show up on your feed twice. When you skip past a reel, you will probably never be shown it again. The Instagram algorithm deems, that's not worth your time, and they're probably never going to show or recommend that reel to you ever again.
02:04With carousels, however, each carousel has two chances to grab your attention. Initially, the Instagram algorithm will show you the first slide or the cover slide of the carousel. But if you skip it, if you scroll by without actually swiping and engaging, then a few minutes or hours or even days later, Instagram will do its magic and show you either the second slide of that carousel, or sometimes the Instagram algorithm can even figure out which slide in that carousel is most engaging and show you that slide as the first slide.
02:37So it's kind of like handing someone a book that's already open to page 127, because page 127 is the most engaging part of the book.
02:44Instagram will do that automatically, giving carousels not one, but two opportunities to get views and engagement.
02:51And if I can make one last argument on behalf of carousels, before we get into today's episode where I'm gonna be sharing with you nine different viral carousel ideas, the argument is that carousels can actually show up on the reels page.
03:03Not on your reels section of your profile, but on the reels explore page. The page that used to be just reels. All you have to do is add music in Instagram to your carousel, and that automatically makes it eligible to show up on that reels page.
03:19So as people are scrolling through all these reels and short form videos, they can see your carousel in that same interface, which gives you an even greater potential for reach, views, and followers.
03:30But with all of that being said, one of the biggest trends that we see going on in carousels right now is actually including videos into your carousels. And I think that this is a really creative and unique way of using the video content that you're already creating for your reels, but just putting them in a slightly cropped format and calling it a carousel.
03:49Here's an example done by my friend Gannon who does a great job with his carousels, and there's a great mixed media thing going on here where we have graphic design, and video, and photo all mixed into one carousel.
04:00And then here's an example for me that I call my two slider, where the first slide is a hook or a headline, something that's going to grab your attention and give you context for the second slide. And then the second slide of the carousel is a video. A video that I would otherwise just post as a standalone reel, but I'm adding it into this carousel to essentially have an entirely new format without having to create any new work.
04:23But those two ideas are just kind of an overarching trend. They're not one of the nine specific ideas that I'm about to share with you. So get your pen and piece of paper ready, get your thinking cap on, and let's get into it.
04:32Viral carousel idea number one is a trend that was created by realistic recruiting where he shared his losses. Instagram is oftentimes a place that gets a really bad rap, and I think rightfully so, uh, for being a place where people just talk about their wins and their successes, and everything is perfect and photoshopped.
04:48And so it can be a breath of fresh air and a break from the norm that really grabs people's attention when you're vulnerable and willing enough to share your losses, your setbacks, your mistakes that you've made even in the recent past. Not like, oh, yeah, I made this mistake fourteen years ago, but I had this really bad thing happen to me this week.
05:06I had this anxiety yesterday. I had this challenge or made this mistake three days ago. Those sorts of things that are really relevant and really close to the present day feel a lot more vulnerable and they're a lot closer to home.
05:16And so realistic recruiting posted this carousel where he was really honest about some of the challenges and struggles and mistakes that he had made in the last week, and it inspired me and thousands of other people to create their own version. And so, I want to encourage you to do the same. Be honest, be vulnerable, be authentic about losses.
05:33Things that aren't, oh, well, hey, it's a loss, but it's a lesson, and I learned something, and it turned into a positive, but like actual things that gave you anxiety or that challenged you or things that you failed at within the last week or so. And I think one of the big concerns that people have with carousels is like graphic design skills, and there's definitely some graphic design y or some really creative or technical carousels that we're gonna get into today.
05:56But this first one that you're seeing on the screen right here right now isn't that. This was actually created right on Instagram stories. All I did was scroll through my camera roll, pick out a photo that I wanted to be on each slide, and then I would open that on Instagram stories, type out my text, and I'm good to go.
06:12Save it to my phone, and it's ready to be posted as carousel. Back in 2016, when I started my first real online business, I remember that my head was filled with so many what ifs.
06:22What if no one buys this? What if I'm an impostor? What if there's no market?
06:27What if I can't sell? What if what if what if? What if this is all just a big waste of time and I'm just banging my head against the wall?
06:33But what I wish someone told me back then is just like you can imagine all the negative what ifs, there are just as many if not more positive what ifs. What if this works out? What if this is my breakthrough?
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07:57Viral carousel idea number two is what I'm gonna call the yes, but carousel. The yes, but carousel is essentially a carousel that is split screen, so there's a top half and a bottom half. And the top half shows something that is a success, a yes, if you will.
08:12Something that people are used to seeing on social media, a win, something that is cool, something that is, you know, you on stage, or you making a great recipe, or you looking fit, or whatever. Something that is the idea that most people have as success, and then the but is the thing that they don't see, or the behind the scenes, or the 1,000,000 outtakes, or all of the failed recipes, or all of the times you you threw up while you were working out because you pushed yourself so hard that nobody saw those moments of of failure, and those moments of being down in the dumps, that's the but.
08:43And basically, just put together a collection of these, and you add text on the screen that says yes and but. Just like carousel number one, this is a very authentic style carousel, one that is very inspirational for people, and the more honest and vulnerable you get, the more people will be able to relate to your post, and the more people will feel inspired by your post and want to share it so that it reaches even more people.
09:03And this format was actually originally created a long time ago by the Instagram account underscore yes underscore but, who is still to this day making comics that feature a yes but format, and they have almost 2,000,000 followers. So while this is trending and popular right now, it's definitely not new, and I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon.
09:22Idea number three is text on paper. Now, what you want to say in your carousel is probably not typed out on a page already. It's probably not written in a book.
09:31It could be if you are like a faith based creator who there's a verse in a in scripture that you want to post about, or maybe you are like a habits based creator, and so you're going to post like highlighted excerpts from Atomic Habits, and whatever your favorite books are in that niche. That is definitely one possibility, but the other possibility, the other two options really for text on paper is to do it yourself.
09:54One way that you can do it yourself and put text on paper is to literally create a Google document and type out what you want your carousel to say. You can literally take what you have written in a carousel in the past, or you can copy what you've written in a caption in the past and just put it on a Google document, and then print off that Google document, if you still have a printer in 2020 I do.
10:15It's in that cabinet back there. But print it off, and then just grab your phone and take photos of that paper that you just printed off, and post those photos as a carousel. As an alternative, you could use AI to generate these photos or these images for you, so that it looks like it's a photograph of text that was printed onto a paper.
10:35You get what I'm saying? There are pros and cons to both options, but either way, it's just a creative original format that is unique, and it's not just your typical plain old digital text on an image. Idea number four is similar, but it's what I'm gonna call the chicken scratch carousel.
10:50Chicken scratch is what my family uses to describe my handwriting, but the chicken scratch carousel is basically grabbing a good old piece of paper, just like the one that you just printed on, or maybe a sticky note, or even if you're like my grandpa, a yellow legal pad, and writing out some notes on it, or writing out what you want the carousel to say.
11:09Writing out a call to action, writing out a message, or a quote, or a statistic, or an unpopular opinion, or a public service announcement, whatever you want your carousel to say, basically, just write it on a piece of paper. Everyone is so concerned with personal branding, and how can I stand out? How can I be unique?
11:25Your handwriting is one of the most unique things about you. A lot of people write similarly, but according to a recent court proceeding that I was watching, where one of the witnesses was a handwriting expert, he said handwriting is like a fingerprint.
11:37No two peoples are totally identical. So if you wanna create a personal brand that's unique, and that stands out, and that is unique to you, use your own handwriting. I've even seen people go so far as to and I'm not gonna explain how to do this today because I don't know how to do this myself.
11:50I'm sure you could figure it out. I'm sure you could Google it. I'm sure that there are YouTube tutorials out there.
11:54But there are some people who have gone so far as to writing their handwriting out on a piece of paper and writing out every letter capital a, lowercase a, capital b, lowercase b, and so on. And then they scan that, and they digitally upload their handwriting onto, like, some sort of computer software, so then they can type, and they can put digital typeface that is the font of their handwriting onto images and stuff.
12:19That's super cool. That's not even what I'm talking about right now. Literally, what I'm talking about for idea number four is just to write out your carousel on a piece of paper and take photos of the paper, and you're done.
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14:15Idea number five is called the zoom out carousel, and it's somewhat similar to the yes, but style, where there is a split screen with a top half and a bottom half, and it's also similar to the yes, but style in that it's a very authentic carousel. It's a carousel that very much juxtaposes a positive and a negative.
14:33Just like carousel idea number one with the my losses, we're being honest, and we're bringing some authenticity back to Instagram. The zoom out carousel basically follows the following format.
14:43The top half of the screen presents some sort of negative thing. Maybe you didn't get a lot of views. Maybe you didn't win the game.
14:49Maybe you didn't score a goal. Maybe you didn't get any followers. Maybe you didn't x y and z.
14:53Basically, something bad that would happen that might get you down in the dumps today. And then the bottom half is just a super zoomed out photo of Earth from space with text that says zoom out. It's kind of a reminder for people to have perspective.
15:07Right? Yeah. You didn't gain very many followers today, but let's think about the bigger picture.
15:11Is life really all that bad? I heard a great quote recently that doesn't really relate at all to what we're talking about today, but it was really good, and I just wanted to share it. And it was, if you could trade places or trade problems specifically with any person on the planet, all 8,000,000,000 people wrote down their problems on a piece of paper and put it in a hat, would you reach into that hat and pull out one of the problems, or would you stick with the problems you got?
15:36And I'm not saying that to spread toxic positivity and try to be like, oh, your problems don't matter. It's not that big of a deal. Come on.
15:42Take a deep breath. Have some perspective. But what I am trying to say is, let's remember what we have to be grateful for, and let's remember how good we actually do have it.
15:51Because if you're listening to this podcast today, you have an internet connection. You have the ability and the desire and the ambition to want to grow a business on Instagram.
16:01And I know this is a side tangent, I think that that gratitude and being appreciative of where we're at will provide so much better growth in the future for us on Instagram, and on social media, and in business. Because when we express that gratitude, it flows back to us.
16:16When we put out these negative emotions and we're constantly down in the dumps about views and growth and followers, well then, you're going to get more of that in return. And so I'm sorry about going on this tangent.
16:26I will get back into the episode, but one last thing I did wanna say is that I'm hosting a workshop coming up pretty soon with marketing Harry, who is in my opinion one of the best carousel creators on Instagram, and he's specifically an Instagram social media expert who specializes in carousels. And so him and I are teaming up for a live workshop to teach you how to grow on Instagram without Reels.
16:47Basically, it's like a deep dive on everything that we're talking about in today's episode. And so if you want more info on that, I'll put that in the show notes below. Idea number six is the it's the same picture carousel.
16:57It's the same picture is a meme that comes from my all time favorite TV show, The Office, where Pam, the character on the show, wants one of the other characters on the show to find the differences between the two images, and then it cuts to a clip of her saying to the camera, they're the same picture. But the it's the same picture carousel isn't a funny meme, it's actually a very inspirational format where you put, again, a split screen with a top half and a bottom half, but in this carousel specifically, the top half and bottom half have the exact same photo, and instead it's the text on the photo that changes.
17:31And basically, the top half shows if you spent a lot of money on something, or if you won something, if you did something good, this is what the results will look like. This is what the world will look like. And the bottom half is if you didn't.
17:43I see this specifically all the time in the outdoors niche or in like the travel niche where people are like, hey, if you have $3,000 luggage, this is what your view will look like. If you spend $30 on luggage, this is what your views will look like.
17:56And it's the same view because the point is, it doesn't matter how much you spend on your luggage. It doesn't matter how fancy your shoes are. It doesn't matter how good your gear is.
18:04It doesn't change these bigger picture things. Idea number seven is the top five blank in history carousel. This one is probably the easiest on the entire list.
18:14All you have to do is start by grabbing a photo of yourself that relates to your niche, and slap some text on it that says, top five, and then insert what your niche is. Top five home bakers in history. Top five financial experts in history.
18:27Top five Instagram experts in history. Whatever it may be, and then insert four people who could realistically be considered as the top four. Of course, maybe you have to get a little bit inventive with your niche, maybe you have to, you know, zoom out into a broader topic to actually find some recognizable celebrities or public figures who might be considered like a top four.
18:49But then the joke is that the fifth person isn't actually a person, it's just a solid black screen. So when people swipe on the that screen, they're gonna see themselves in the reflection, and so it's kind of like a cheeky little way of saying that they, the viewer, is one of the top five blanks of all time. It's just a fun interactive way to kind of pat your audience on the back, give them a little compliment, and if it's just relatable enough, your audience will share it with other people because they want to tell someone else that that person is one of the top five blanks of all time as well.
19:23Idea number eight is a graphic focused carousel, and it's the hype versus reality carousel. Basically, you need to do is find a bunch of different strategies, or tools, or gadgets, or gear, or techniques, or tips, or whatever that relate to your niche.
19:37And then on each slide, rate them based off how hype they are, and the reality of how good they are. So for me, I might say hashtags, and hashtags have like a medium level hype nowadays, but the reality is they're super not effective.
19:52Carousels might have a low level hype nowadays, but they are super effective. So the reality is that they're way up here.
19:59In fact, as I'm saying this, this is a carousel idea for myself, and I'm gonna write this down because this is definitely one that I'm gonna make as soon as I'm done recording. And then idea number nine is the mixed media carousel. These mixed media carousels nowadays are getting real technical and real advanced.
20:13So if you're someone who's not really all that good at graphic design or you don't really know your way around Canva, I would skip over this one. But essentially, these mixed media carousels are overlaying multiple images and videos and cutouts all onto one slide to show off a location or food or a workout or a before and after or a recipe that someone made.
20:34And again, like a lot of the other ideas on this list, it's just creative. It's original. It's unique.
20:38It breaks the norm. It's not what people expect to see in their carousels. And so because of that, it can perform really well.
20:45And And even if the photos and videos themselves aren't the most amazing photos and videos of all time, the format in which they are presented is so unique and original, then you'll oftentimes get more engagement than you otherwise would. Thank you so much for watching today. If you don't want more episodes like this in the future, don't subscribe to this podcast.
21:01And if you didn't like today's episode, dislike this podcast. Thank you so much for watching, and as always, happy networking.
The Hook
The bait, then the rug-pull.
The hook is a memory test nobody passes — and that's the point. If you can't remember a single post you liked last week, but you can probably find the one you saved, you already understand why carousels are winning on Instagram in 2026.
Named ideas worth stealing.
01:52concept
The Two-Appearance Algorithm Mechanic
Instagram shows a carousel twice: first as the cover slide, then later as whichever slide is most engaging. Reels get one shot; carousels get two.
Steal forJustify carousel investment in any Instagram content pitch or strategy doc.
01:10concept
The Supply-Demand Gap Play
Demand for non-reel content is high (people want variety) but supply is low (most creators post only reels). Posting carousels consistently exploits this asymmetry.
Steal forAny 'where to play' content strategy argument — apply the same logic to underserved formats on any platform.
08:02model
Yes But Format
- Top half: the visible win (yes)
- Bottom half: the unseen struggle or failure (but)
Split-screen carousel where the top half is the polished public version and the bottom half reveals what's hidden. The contrast drives shares.
Steal forAny before/after, public/private, or surface/reality content angle.
How they asked for the click.
MENTIONED ON CAMERA
FROM THE DESCRIPTION
PRIMARY CTAWhere the creator wants you to go next.
