Carousels are the best thing since sliced bread right now, and as a business along the beaches you are either on the train or getting left at the platform.
Let's just go ahead and presume you've decided to hop on.
What exactly do you need to be doing to get the best out of this digital shift, and what are the key things to keep in mind when putting together a carousel for your business.
First and foremost let's talk hooks
The hook is probably the most important aspect of your carousel. It's what leads to a stoppage in the infinite scroll of social media. A phenomenon that is becoming ever-precious in the exponentially growing competitive environment, even along the beaches.
You need to know exactly what your angle is, where your value is at and what you are trying to get across.
Then, you need to sit down and come up with a one-line puncher that will put the user in a position where they have little option BUT to continue scrolling. You need to create a hook that creates some sort of crisis in their minds, or at the very least some form of overwhelming curiosity.
Instead of writing a hook like "Social media is great because of these reasons", take a bolder stance and aim it straight at the user.
You are much more likely to get results from a hook like "You're socials are failing and we know why".
Put yourself in the power seat and let the mind games do the rest.
Next, draw them in
Next thing you are going to need to do is use a slide or two to provide some form of context to your value offering, something that will give a bit more direction to what you inevitably provide in the final slide or two.
DO NOT PUT TOO MUCH TEXT.
If you want to go nuts with the text you are more than welcome to, but only in the caption. In fact we love long form captions on informative carousels, but under no circumstances are you permitted to put all that text on the graphics.
You have been officially banned, courtesy of Grab Social (you're welcome)
Use a stat, show a trend, give some sort of incentive to really plant the idea in the mind of the user that the information they're about to receive is more valuable than the total sum of human knowledge available outside of your page.
If you're stuck on how to do this, take a look at the Grab Social Instagram for a few ideas and templates for social carousels.
Finally, Offer that Value and Incite Action
Alright, you've tantalised them enough.
Now you need to hit them with the overhead that makes them glad to have stuck around. Give them a set of ideas, open their eyes to a niche technique, show them a software that is super useful, explain what prompts to use on chatGPT to get the best results.
Think about the types of things that would draw you in, information you'd love to know. Go find it and offer it up to your audience.
Don't overpromise and underperform, cliche and overused carousel offerings aren't going to get the same results as they did 5 years ago.
Come up with your own ideas, provide your own stance, share something that you do in your own business that has been super effective. People want to know what ACTUALLY works and nothing is better than sharing that information from your own personal voice.
To set the deal in stone, set them on the path of action. This might be simply towards your website or social following button, or down the road of whatever it is you just offered them.
One way or another, use this feeling you've created to draw instant action whilst the user is motivated and ready to rumble.
Shoot us an email at hello@grab-social.com or schedule a call through our website to learn more about different content types and how we can help your business elevate itself in the digital space.
Will Staber
Digital Marketing Strategist
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