Slideshow posts: how to write one people swipe to the end

A slideshow is the quietest format in the feed. There’s no sound and no motion, just a picture and a few words on each slide. That makes the writing do all the work.

Slide one is a promise

The first slide decides whether anyone swipes. Make a specific promise the next slides keep:

• “5 things I wish I knew before opening a café”
• “3 mistakes that cost us our first 100 customers”
• “What a $40 grocery week looks like”

A number tells people how long the commitment is. A specific subject tells them who it’s for. Avoid teasing without a payoff. If the slides don’t deliver what slide one promised, people learn to stop swiping your posts.

One point per slide

Each slide carries one idea, written so it makes sense even if someone only reads that slide. A slide can hold up to 400 characters, but most read best at one or two lines. If a point needs a paragraph, it’s two slides.

Number the points when slide one used a number. People like to know where they are.

A picture for every slide

The picture should show what the words say. “Regulars beat reviews” reads better over a regular at the counter than over a generic coffee cup. Mani picks a picture for each slide from its library, sorted into sets like Food, Nature, Gym, Coding, Aesthetic and Entrepreneur, or from photos you upload.

Your own photos almost always win when you have them. They’re the one thing nobody else’s carousel can show.

End with somewhere to go

The last slide is where people decide to save, share or follow. Give them a reason: the most useful point, a short summary or a question for the comments. Don’t end on a hard sell.

Where slideshows post

Slideshows are 4 to 8 slides in 3:4 portrait and post to Instagram as a carousel. TikTok carousels aren’t supported yet. They come with Burst Mode.

More on the format on the slideshows page.