CAROUSEL POSTS: HOW TO INCREASE ENGAGEMENT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
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CAROUSEL POSTS ARE MY FAVORITE CONTENT THESE DAYS.
Just in case you’re wondering, shareable content such as carousel posts, are those types of content that add value to your audience so much so that they would be happy to share it with their friends and followers.
One of the great ways of increasing engagement with your content on social media is using carousels. Over 70% of social media users log on using their mobile phones and carousels are a fun, creative, and exciting way to reach them.
Back in early 2016, I used to create a ton of ‘how to’ videos and share them in FB groups. I shared so many, I started to be known as the ‘video tip lady’. Those videos would get a ton of engagement, people would tag other members, and they’d recommend my videos to learn from and so on. Little did I know or understand that I was creating shareable content while also building my know, like, and trust [K, L, T]factors with my followers.
Here’s how to create shareable content to increase engagement
Decide what kind of content you want to post
As a professional in your niche, you probably have a ton of ideas for content to post. Topics that are interesting to you, or that you have knowledge about are great sources of content for your posts.
But a lot of people don’t know they have the potential to create quality content, yet they have a massive vault of information that would be relevant to their audience and it’s all stuck in their head. Some professionals might feel that writing is not their forte—but content creation is easy if you put your mind to it. (and if you have a process, you got this!)
If you’re struggling with what kind of content to post, keep a running list of ideas you’d like to talk about –anything that occurs to you related to your niche (your specific area of expertise). My go to resource is right inside my smartphone…it’s the ‘notes’ in my phone. I’m constantly adding ideas using voice to text messages. That way I can quickly record those ideas before I lose them.
Another great way to get ideas for your content is to look back at what you’ve already created and published and give it a fresh look with a new graphic and maybe a different story. Heck you may even look back and find a handful of content within the same theme that you can now create a carousel for.
Pay attention to the problems your audience has and your content should solve those problems.
You can post content, not just about your professional work but also about an opinion, your personal experience, a perspective, add your point of view about— lessons learned, mistakes, and wins.
Ok so by now you’re probably wondering, tell me about the carousel posts already.
Here we go!
CREATING A CAROUSEL POST THAT GRABS ATTENTION
Your carousels are a slide show
Designing your carousel is a bit like designing a slide show deck. Each slide should have the following elements:
FIRST slide will be what lives on your IG feed, make it count with a bold headline
Focus: one focus per slide, don’t over do it with text
Margin: keep it simple and leave room all around
White Space: don’t clutter with unnecessary elements
Large font: easy to read at a glance
One slide should lead into the next one
Last slide should tell your followers what to do
See below for a sample of a 9 slide carousel and be sure to grab your FREE Carousel template I designed just for you.
DON’T FORGET TO WRITE A CAPTION TO GO WITH THAT CAROUSEL
Alright, a little more input behind designing your Carousel Content
Use an attention-grabbing headline.
When your clients are scrolling through their feed, you have about a 5-second window to capture your audience’s attention. It is relatively easy to capture their attention and hold it especially when you use a catchy headline like: “Tax HELP is here”, or “Ready for taxes?” let’s not forget “Got TAXES?”
Keep it short and to the point.
For maximum impact, give as much value on each slide as possible as that would keep them interested and hungry for more which will make them hit that next slide.
Include a story or example.
If you’re teaching something, nothing works better to bring home the point than sharing a story and an example. You don’t have to add the story in the slide of the carousel, but rather include it in the caption that goes with the carousel slide. This doesn’t have to be super long, one or two sentences will do it. Your story or example help your audience to relate to you, to your lesson and the opportunity to see themselves in what you’re sharing.
Ask a question or CTA at the end of your carousel or caption (avoid dead ends)
After you cover the main points, avoid DEAD ENDS. For better engagement, do two things: 1) Tell your audience what to do with an engagement Call To Action (CTA) such as like, comment, save or share (see image below for example)
2) Ask a relevant question to your content to start and continue the conversation: ask a question at the end of your carousels and tell them to provide their answers in the comment section. Keep your question simple to answer and keep the conversation going. Questions are generally a great way to increase engagement.
PRO TIP: be available for the first 15-20 minutes after your Carousel Publishes and reply to any comments your audience shares. Join the conversation when opinions are being exchanged. Create time every day to check in with the content you’ve posted and those relevant to your field.
Put some effort into designing your carousel
In writing content, it’s all about first impressions. Like going on a date, you generally want to look your best the first time. Free apps like Canva or Pixlr can help you achieve this. If you prefer not to do it yourself, there are lots of freelance professionals who can help you out. [check out Fiverr or ask for a referral]
Below is a graphic of a carousel with 9 slides, this should spark up some creativity. Can you look through your content and see which piece you may be able to repurpose in this new format?
Commit to a posting schedule and stick to it.
If you know you can’t post in real time (even if you create the content ahead of time), then use scheduling apps to create consistency in your posts. It’s far better to post twice every week than four times in one day and then go silent for a month. Your audience needs to be familiar with you and come to recognize you as the go-to authority in your niche. BUT YOU HAVE TO SHOW UP!
Let’s wrap it up
Creating engaging content on social media is one of the best ways to start growing your brand, as well as give you expert recognition. Your first goal is to start a relationship and continue the conversation.
Once you establish a strong reputation, the side effects include growing your network, generating leads, increasing your know like and trust factors which will ultimately drive sales.
I have found CAROUSEL POSTS ON IG to be an effective type of engagement content and engagement sets you up as an authority in your field.
Regularly posting and engaging with your audience also puts you top of mind when they need a related problem solved. Using carousel posts, you can relate better with your audience and add more value to them. Users also like scrolling through content without losing their place, so carousels are an easy way to get them to stay a while and absorb your content!.
Do you have any other ideas on how to create engaging content with your audience? Let me know in the comment section below.
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