Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms that allows users to share photos and short videos. With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram provides a great way for people and businesses to visually engage their audience.
One of the most common questions about Instagram is whether you can post a photo and video in the same post. The short answer is yes, you can include both a photo and video in a single Instagram post using the carousel format.
Posting a Photo and Video in One Instagram Post
Here are the steps to post a photo and video together on Instagram in the same post:
- Open the Instagram app and tap the “+” icon to create a new post.
- Select up to 10 photos/videos you want to include. You can pick both photos and videos to have in the same post.
- Edit the photos/videos how you like and apply any filters.
- Tap “Next” in the top right corner.
- On the caption page, write your caption and add any other details.
- Tap “Share” to post your photo/video carousel.
The key is that Instagram allows up to 10 slides in a carousel post. So you can mix and match photos and videos within those 10 slots when posting.
Video Requirements
When including video in an Instagram carousel post, there are some requirements to keep in mind:
- Video clips can be 3-60 seconds long
- Video dimensions should be 600×750 pixels or higher
- The ideal video aspect ratio is 4:5 (vertical)
- Video formats supported include MP4, MOV, and AVI
As long as your video meets those specs, you can seamlessly combine it with photos in an Instagram carousel post.
Ideal Use Cases
Posting both photos and videos together works great for things like:
- Product launches – Show photos of the product plus a demo video
- Events – Share photos from the event along with video highlights
- Brand stories – Combine photos and videos to tell a compelling brand story
- Behind-the-scenes – Let viewers see behind-the-scenes photos and videos
- Announcements – Make announcements visual with photos/videos
Mixing photos and videos in one post allows you to share richer, more engaging content with your Instagram audience.
Benefits of Combining Photos and Videos
Some of the benefits of posting photos and videos together include:
- More content in one post – No need to split into multiple posts
- Showcase different perspectives – Photos show different angles than video
- Appeal to different preferences – Some people prefer photos, some prefer video
- Better storytelling – Photos and videos together tell a more complete story
- Higher engagement – More visual content can boost engagement and reach
Best Practices
To get the most out of combining photos and videos in an Instagram post, here are some best practices:
- Choose cohesive photos/videos – They should all relate to a central theme
- Variety – Include a mix of portrait/landscape orientation
- Keep captions short – Let the visuals tell the story
- Use relevant hashtags – Help people find your post
- Engage your audience – Ask questions in the caption to spark discussion
Analytics
You can check performance of your photo and video carousels in Instagram Insights:
- Impressions – Number of times your post was seen
- Reach – Number of unique accounts that saw your post
- Engagement rate – Likes and comments divided by reach
- Saved – Number of times audience saved your post
- Exits – Percentage who exited without scrolling through all slides
Analyze this data over time to see optimal mix of photo vs video that drives the highest engagement and conversion for your brand.
Other Instagram Post Options
In addition to photo and video carousels, Instagram also allows you to:
- Post multiple photos in one slideshow-style post
- Use Instagram Stories for short photo and video content that disappears after 24 hours
- Post longer videos up to 60 minutes using IGTV
- Share live videos using Instagram Live
But for combining both photos and videos in one post, the carousel post is the way to go.
Conclusion
Posting both photos and videos together in one Instagram carousel post is an awesome way to share engaging, multimedia content. The key is keeping videos short, mixing media types, using relevant captions, and analyzing performance data to optimize your future photo and video posts.
Using a strategic combination of photos and videos will make your Instagram content stand out. Instagram carousel posts give you flexibility to pair visuals in creative new ways to tell compelling stories on one of the world’s most popular photo and video sharing platforms.