Preppr’s Instagram Carousel autopost feature is finally here and promises to solve not one, but a myriad of your problems! Trouble is, in this age and time, we’re bombarded by choices: what to wear, what to eat, where to go out, where to go on holiday and yes, what pictures to post on Instagram after we make these choices.
This is where the Carousel Posts come to the rescue, liberating users from the dread of selecting and posting only one picture. The even better news is that the Carousel autopost feature saves both users and business profiles more time by allowing them to schedule Instagram Carousel Posts in advance.
Sounds good? Amazing, but before moving forward, let’s rewind a bit and define the context. After all, if you want to use Carousel Posts and Carousel autopost to advance your business, you need to have a full perspective.
A brief history of Instagram Carousel Posts
Instagram Carousel posts were launched in early 2017, aiming to enable users to share what one would call ‘Instagram albums’. A Carousel post allows users to edit up to 10 photos or videos and post them under a single caption and location. All likes and comments apply to the whole post. The purpose? Less spam, more value and, of course, more time for users who don’t have to spend countless minutes deciding on what ONE single picture to post.
Carousel posts are marked in the feed by a distinct set of blue dots. The blue dots notify users and followers that there are more photos or videos that they need to browse through, while also pointing out the exact position of the photo/video currently viewed among the others in the Carousel post. Carousel posts are also differentiated in the profile feed by a specific icon that looks like photos overlaying each other.
Posting an Instagram Carousel is no different than posting a single-picture post, with the exception of clicking a single extra button (the same symbol that appears on Carousel Posts in the profile feed).
How to use Preppr’s Carousel Autopost Feature
While Carousel Posts are undoubtedly great, Preppr’s objective is to make them even better. Possible? You betcha! How? By enabling you (whether you’re running an individual account or a business profile) to schedule your Carousel posts in advance. That’s right, now you can get all the benefits of Carousel Posts AND be flexible and smart about your work.
If you’re already familiar with Preppr’s interface, this will run smoothly. If you’re just beginning with Preppr (we have an awesome 10 days free trial), then things will also run smoothly, because of it’s super-simple, super-neat and clean user interface that’s so intuitive and, dare we say, fun!
To start the Carousel autopost process, open Preppr and hit the ‘New Post’ button.
Once you do that, a window will pop-up, prompting you what type of post you want to create: single photo/video or gallery. If you’re going for a Carousel post, you know what to do — click on ‘Gallery’.
So far, so good. Told ya’ it was easy as a summer breeze. Now, it’s time for the real fun to begin! You can select from photos you’ve already posted or uploaded on Preppr by switching between the Used/Not Used options located in the left side of the window. If you want to create a Carousel post with brand new photos, then click on ‘Upload’ or choose from your Dropbox/Drive storage.
You can select up to 10 photos, just like you would be able to do in the native Carousel feature. As a pro tip, make sure to maintain a visual coherence among the photos or videos you upload.
Another cool thing about Preppr’s Carousel autopost feature is the fact that you can ‘crop’ each photo to focus on the details you want to emphasis.
And hey, we get it if you change your mind and want to remove or replace one of the photos you uploaded. So simply click remove to get rid of the ‘odd one out’.
Once you have all the photos you want in your Carousel, scroll to the bottom of the page and click ‘Next’. This action will bring you to the final step of the process. To move forward, write your caption in the designated space (don’t forget to add some great hashtags and use our hashtag library if in doubt).
Open the ‘Click here to schedule’ option and, after you’ve selected your prefered date and time, hit ‘Add to queue’. If you’re not just yet ready to schedule your Carousel Autopost, you always have the option to save it as a draft and return to it later.
If you prefer using the iOS app, the process goes as smoothly as on the web. Just press the ‘+’ icon for creating a new post and then make sure you tap on the gallery icon in the right-bottom corner of the last uploaded picture. From here, select up to 10 photos and videos just as you would normally do on Instagram.
For videos, you can also choose a thumbnail by pressing the icon indicated below. That’s it! And everything on the go, from your iOS app (just imagine posting from the beach — okay, now we’re just daydreaming).
Creative ways to use Preppr’s Instagram Carousel Autopost Feature
Now you know how easy it is to schedule Carousel posts with Preppr. So, all there’s left for you to do is to actually start posting. But what to post? We’re sure you have some ideas on how to use Carousel posts for your business, but we want to give you an extra boost. So, here are a few tips and tricks that will help you leverage even more benefits from the Carousel autopost feature. Because hey, scheduling in advance also means more time to prepare your posts and create better content.
1. Use Carousel autopost to launch a product line
Instagram Carousel posts are the perfect way to display a new range of products. You can go for the classical approach, posting minimalist photos that focus on your products (like Paula’s Choice does), or go for a more complex story in which you present your products in a narrative or context.
What’s more, with the Carousel autopost feature, you can plan in advance! You can have new campaigns hitting the newsfeed even when you’re not at your keyboard to press “post”.
2. Use Carousel autopost to create a video-puzzle
As we all know, Instagram doesn’t allow for long video posts. However, Carousel Posts offer a way around this time limit. If you have an extra zest of creativity, you can schedule a series of videos that form a bigger picture. Each video can be a continuation of the other, together forming one single longer video.
3. Use Carousel autopost to showcase an evolution or a transition
Since a Carousel posts displays photos and videos one after the other, you might say these follow a timeline. Did anybody say timeline? Cling, cling, our inspiration bells are already ringing! Because we’re now seeing the perfect opportunity to tell a story of evolution and transition. From past to present or present to past, you can move freely through time with photos. So, waste no more time and do some time travel!
Ready to use Preppr’s Carousel autopost feature?
We bet it shows, but we want to emphasize it! We’re hyped about the new Instagram Carousel autopost feature and we simply cannot wait to discover new ways to use it and leverage its benefits. You can enjoy the Carousel autopost both on the desktop platform and on the iOS version of Preppr. So, wherever you go, schedule your Carousel posts with Preppr. And while we’re at it, don’t forget that sharing is caring! We want to hear how you find the feature and what you manage to do with it. Let’s get started!
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