The Instagram format almost nobody uses is the one that works best

Carousels were the least published format on Instagram in 2025. Businesses posted them 1.13 times a week on average, behind Reels at 1.88 and single images at 1.77.

They were also, by some distance, the best performing. A carousel averaged 30,810 impressions against 10,885 for a single image and 15,493 for a Reel. Reach was 10,003 accounts per carousel against 4,789 for an image. Interactions were 795 per carousel, more than three times the 235 a single image earned, and ahead of Reels at 624.

The reason is not mysterious. A carousel gets shown more than once. Someone who swipes but doesn’t finish is served the next slide later. Every swipe counts as a signal. The format rewards the viewer for staying, and rewards the account for building something worth staying for.

What it means for a South African business

A carousel suits a business with something to explain: a process, a before and after, how a price is made up, a menu, a piece of work from brief to finish. Most SMEs have far more of that material than they have dance-worthy Reel ideas. It is also the format best suited to a considered brand, because it slows the scroll rather than competing with it.

One honest caveat. Carousel reach also fell in 2025, down 35% like everything else. This is not a format immune to the crowding. It is the format that holds up best inside it.

What we’d do

One carousel a week, built like a short essay. The first slide is a headline that earns the swipe. Five to seven slides carry one idea each. The last slide closes softly. Keep the palette calm and the type consistent, because a carousel is read, not glanced at.

Data: 2026 Social Media Study, 39.7 million posts across 1.06 million business accounts, 2025 compared with 2024.