Instagram Expands the Reach of Carousels and Photos by Featuring Them in the Reels Tab: Here’s Why It Matters
Instagram / Carousels
Instagram announced that Carousels and photos with music are now eligible to appear in the Reels tab. The platform also shared tips for creators to expand their reach with Carousels, such as adding text on the first slide, using "visually striking images" to evoke a reaction, and layering images with stickers.
Instagram / Carousels
Additionally, Instagram confirmed that Carousels generally outperform single-photo posts because they offer multiple slides for viewers to engage with. If viewers don’t swipe through all the slides, Instagram may resurface the unseen content later, treating it as “new content.”
The Build Up
This highlights Instagram’s growing emphasis on Carousels. With recent features like native text, music for Carousels with video, image stickers, and an increase to 20 slides, Carousels are now on par with Reels—Instagram views them as interchangeable formats. This makes sense, given that both formats are ideal for storytelling, incorporate multimedia, and are highly engaging. This is further reinforced by the fact that Carousels can appear alongside Reels.
For creators and brands who prefer to share photo content, this is great as it allows them to share high-quality images while benefiting from enhanced discovery in the Reels tab. They aren’t forced to make Reels just to improve their discoverability.
Why Carousels Should Always Be the Default for Photo Content
When it comes to photo content, Carousels should always be the default choice over single-photo posts unless there’s a specific reason otherwise. In addition to their higher potential for reach and engagement, Carousels can also be repurposed across TikTok, similar to short-form videos (with tweaks). With TikTok embracing this type of content, it presents the opportunity to strengthen one’s presence on that platform as well, using photos.
When to Choose Carousels Over Reels
Although Carousels and Reels share similarities, there may be some situations where Carousels are the better choice.
For example, when detailed storytelling or educational content is needed, Carousels offer a more structured, step-by-step approach. Users can swipe through slides, each presenting a clear point or ideal. In contrast, Reels, which are typically 30 to 90 seconds long, might not provide enough space to convey the same depth, making them less ideal for this type of content.
Another example is product showcases, such as creator-brand collaborations during the holiday season. Carousels allow creators to dedicate individual slides to different products in a gift guide, enabling them to add text overlays and image stickers for more product information. While creators can highlight multiple products in Reels, it can be challenging to provide sufficient context if there are many items to showcase.
A Bigger Trend: Unifying Content Formats
Overall, this update highlights one of the biggest trends that hasn’t received enough attention: platforms are increasingly integrating various content formats into unified feeds. This shift follows a period where they focused on building out dedicated feeds for specific formats. Other notable examples of this include:
YouTube experimenting with showing long-form and live streams in the Shorts feed.
TikTok featuring a mix of photos, short-form videos, and longer videos on the For You Page.
Facebook launching a new video experience that combines short-form, long-form, and live content.
LinkedIn testing an experience where photos lead to its short-form video feed.
These offer benefits for multiple parties: creators can produce content across various formats while gaining similar discoverability; viewers enjoy a more centralized experience for discovering relevant content; and platforms can create better advertising solutions for brands that capitalize on the distinct advantages of each content type.
