9 Best Facebook and Instagram Carousel Ad Examples

Instagram and Facebook offer various types of ad products to utilize. Carousel ads blend traditional online advertising with the expansive reach provided by Meta platforms. However, there are several key points to keep in mind when utilizing this method of promoting offers.

Instagram and Facebook carousel ads are fairly self-explanatory. The ad comprises a series of images, posts, or similar content that are (or should be) arranged in a story or narrative. To make this format even easier to use, we collected carousel ad examples in the list below. But before that - a bit of theory. 

Advantages of Instagram and Facebook Carousel Ad

Carousels and rotating series of images are a well-established and popular tool among internet ad providers, and for good reason. This format offers significant benefits:

• Better conversions: with an engaging narrative and an attractive format, carousel ads typically boast higher conversion rates than average. The reason is straightforward—this format tends to generate higher engagement rates, attracting more buyers.
• More engagement: according to data from the  Search Engine Journal, carousel ads have average engagement rates of around 1.92%, compared to 1.74% for images and 1.45% for videos. The engagement rates rise even further (to 2% and beyond) if more than 10 carousel slides are used.
• More storytelling possibilities: last but not least, and perhaps foremost, both Instagram and Facebook are designed for consuming small bits of content—whether it's a single post, a short video, or two sentences of text. Carousel ads allow companies to tell longer stories, divided into smaller, digestible, and appealing chunks, much like how Alexander Dumas chopped "The Three Musketeers" into short chapters initially published separately in a newspaper. 

What are Instagram and Facebook carousel ad specifications

Using this ad format is anything but rocket science. However, to launch such a campaign, the user needs to follow the requirements given by Instagram and Facebook. These include:

• Between 2 and 10 posts: Obviously, the carousel ad cannot be launched with a single image, and there is a need to limit its length.
• 15% of the bottom part of creation for icons: The icons for commenting and sharing are displayed near the bottom fringe of the image, overriding all content there. Considering that, placing any call to action or promotional code near the bottom is a bad idea.
• Text no more than 20% of the total space, and no more than 2200 characters: Both Instagram and Facebook have a strong preference for images and visual content. Considering that, there is a limit on the number of characters in the creation.
• Videos no longer than 15 seconds: Again, the carousel needs to spin, so watching too-long videos is counterproductive. That’s why there is a limit on video length.
• JPG or PNG format with a 9:16 or 16:9 ratio: The images need to be delivered in a common and popular format. The ratio needs to fit into the frames designed for that purpose.

How to design a carousel ad on Facebook or Instagram?

Formal requirements are just the trails to follow. The real challenge is in maximizing the outcome of the ad format, to make it actually work for the company and convert. Putting a pack of loose yet compliant-with-norms images into the system is far from being a carousel ad - what can be seen on carousel ads examples shown a paragraph below. A good and convincing ad needs to include:

Consistency

The brand, style, and voice need to be consistent throughout the ad. Without that, the user may lose the sense of the story that is being told and, by that, the engagement is lost.

Long caption

Carousel ads on Facebook and Instagram are all about the story that is told. As mentioned above, Facebook and Instagram are a medium that focuses on short bits of a story, without the need to consume longer form. By that, it may be a good idea to include a longer caption to deliver a whole context and information background required to ensure that if one gets lost, there will be an easy way to get him or her back on track.

Pick a good image

Images are assets that are worth investing in - Instagram and Facebook are heavily reliant on this type of content. By that, delivering an impressive content is a “good practice” one cannot ignore.

Include a call to action

Back to the basics - the user needs to know what to do, and providing one with a short and specific punchline with a task to do may be the missing puzzle - unless it is missing.

Campaign management tool can facilitate the creation of advertisements and their promotion.

Instagram and Facebook Carousel Ads Examples

The theory looks promising and interesting. Yet, practice is where human creativity flourishes and the best ideas take shape to fit the requirements. Facebook carousel examples below are a great proof of that.

Gymshark - panoramic continuity



Gymshark is a fitness apparel brand that used carousel ads to both promote their products and show inclusivity. Users can swipe to see people with various body types, from bodybuilders to plus-size models, featured in the brand’s products. Also, by showing a part of a person standing next to another one, the user is encouraged to swipe and see whose elbow or knee is peeking from behind the curve of the post.


Canva - showing case studies



Canva is a popular tool that empowers non-creatives who need a simple graphic asset to create their own image using a theme or pre-produced example, and a drag-and-drop interface.

Canva has followed the path shown by Alexander Dumas - the carousel post shows a case study that would be hard to showcase on social media otherwise. The ad aimed to promote the “Canva for Teams” service, basically a B2B feature that is even harder to promote via channels like Facebook and Instagram.

Dyson - showing diversity of available products

Dyson Airwrap is a hair-care multitool that, depending on the attachment, can be used as a different tool. To show the flexibility of the device, Dyson decided to show short videos with women using the product, including users with straight blonde hair, straight black hair, and curly brown hair. The purpose of the ad was to emphasize that not every user has the same hair, yet Dyson’s tool can be useful.

Gong - building buzz around the report

Publishing reports full of tables, charts, and summaries is one of the most popular tactics in B2B marketing. One of the key challenges in this approach is to promote the report and show the content in an attractive way, yet without revealing too much.

Gong, a revenue intelligence platform, has delivered an ad with four panels, showing a super-short story built using the data from the report. With an interesting visual form, the ad was an engaging way to build buzz around the B2B content.

Victoria’s Secret - communicating complex promotions

A simple promotion, like “-20% for all products,” can be communicated using only one image or even one sentence. The challenge comes if the company has to deliver information about more complex promotions, including a discount, a free gift, and a minimum purchase amount.

To overcome the complexity of the message without losing the digestible and easy form of social media messaging, a renowned lingerie brand has used the carousel format. 

BarkBox - using humour to deliver the message

BarkBox is an online shop that sells high-quality products for pets, be it luxury food or high-end toys. The brand decided to use a humorous way to interact with users - basically to play with an image of a long dachshund, being elongated throughout every message that is to be delivered. Also, the will to see what lurks at the end of the super long dog is a way to engage users.

Remember, you can easily manage your carousel ads on social media by using product feed management software.

Shein - just showing products 

Shein, a Chinese fashion behemoth, has used carousel ads to promote its Black Friday products. The ad was straight-to-the-point, with clear information about a product, including its ID, image, details of promotion, and a call to action.

Nike - targeting parents to sell to kids

Nike has used carousel ads to promote kids' sportswear, especially sweatpants. The ad uses the carousel to show a series of images of young models wearing sport trousers. There is a simple call to action and clear information that all the products are for kids.

Honest Greens - promoting food

Honest Greens is a restaurant brand that puts an emphasis on delivering healthy food prepared using fresh and seasonal products. The company decided to turn its carousel into a menu, showing each dish on a separate slide. With this approach, it was possible to turn the experience of browsing the ad into one comparable to checking the menu, with watching the images of food and having a clear call to action below.

How to create carousel ads on Instagram and Facebook?

To create carousel ads on Instagram and Facebook, start by using Ads Manager and choose a campaign objective that aligns with your goals, such as brand awareness, traffic, or conversions. In the ad format section, select the carousel option, which allows you to display multiple images or videos in a single ad. Make sure each card has a strong visual and clear message to encourage engagement.

Add headlines, descriptions, and call-to-action buttons tailored to each slide. Keep your audience in mind by ensuring the content is relevant and consistent across all cards. Finally, test different versions of your ads to see what resonates best with your target audience, and monitor performance to make adjustments as needed.

To create interesting product visualizations for carousel advertising, use the ads design tool like Cropink.

Is carousel advertising on social media a good idea for product promotion?

Yes, carousel advertising on social media can be a highly effective tool for product promotion. It allows businesses to showcase multiple products or features in a single ad, giving users a more interactive experience. By using multiple images or videos, brands can tell a more detailed story, highlight different aspects of a product, or demonstrate its uses in various contexts. This format also encourages user engagement, as viewers can swipe through the content at their own pace.

Additionally, carousel ads often lead to higher conversion rates because they provide more opportunities to click and engage, making it a versatile and powerful option for promoting products.

Check out product ad templates and start promoting your e-commerce on Facebook and Instagram.

Summary

Carousel ads are a powerful tool that can be used by various businesses and fulfill many roles - from promoting restaurants and FMCG goods, through apparel to supporting B2B lead generation events.

The key is to understand that the limits that go with this form are basically a challenge, not a limit for inspiration and creativity - and the social media carousel examples shown above are the best proof of this statement.