Our favourite #inspo app Instagram now lets you upload multiple photos in one post. While this multiple image upload feature isn’t new to businesses who already use ad carousels, it's still something new to play with for the rest of us - yay! Now you won't have to spam everyone with 50 holiday posts, because you can turn all of that into mini Instagram photo albums. But just personally, who are we kidding? I'm still going to post my travel spam one by one... Ok, I digress - back to the new feature!
Not everyone receives change with open arms. Just like how every new Insta feature introduced comes with mixed emotions from everyone else. Love it or hate it, it’s here! If you hate it, you can stop reading now and don’t bother with the new feature – easy as that. If you do want to see what you can do with it, read on. 🤗
What exactly is the new Instagram feature?
Instagram has released a new feature for users where you can now upload up to 10 photos/videos in one post, just like when you upload multiple photos onto Facebook. This feature only works on existing photos/videos you already have on your phone. If you physically take a photo/video using the Instagram app, you'll still only be able to post that one photo/video.
Want to master this new Instagram feature? Here are 6 things to know for you to nail it, and I even added my own dorky selfies as examples for you (appreciate it).
You'll see 3 icons over your photo, the first one is the Boomerang icon, followed by Layout, and the last one is the multiple image upload mode.
Content is 1:1
Unfortunately, you can only post multiple photos in square crops, portrait or landscape. You don’t have to crop the images yourself as you can simply rejig your photos/videos to make sure they appear the way you want within the square crop.
Re-arrange content as you go
When you’re selecting your multiple photos/videos at the beginning, don’t worry about the numbers - they’re just there to tell you how many you’ve selected, and not so much the order. Once you’re at the Edit stage, you can re-arrange them to your desired order as well as add/delete.
Left: Just tap and hold onto a particular photo/video to rearrange its position. Right: Add photos by scrolling to the end of your set and hit the "+" sign.
Edit each photo/video on its own
There’s the choice to put a filter on all of your photos/videos, but you can also tap into each photo/video and edit them individually too.
You can apply the same filter to all of your photos/videos. Or tap into each specific photo/video and edit them individually.
One caption only
Even though you have multiple photos/videos, you still only have one caption. That captions stays as you scroll through. So make sure you say what you need to say in one go.
Add different tags to each photo
This is good for tagging friends, different brands featured or who the image belongs to. A word on content ownership: If you’re planning on using someone else’s content to begin with, make sure you ask for permission and clearly state that the content belongs to them in the caption. Simply tagging someone in a photo isn’t the best social etiquette unless they have given you full permission to do so.
Scroll through and add different tags to each individual image as you please.
Double check your photo tags BEFORE you post
With single image posts, you can still go back to edit your caption, location and image tags after posting. However, once your multiple image post is live, you can only edit the caption and location, which means you can’t go back and tag images separately. So make sure you tag everyone before you post.
If you hit the Edit button after posting, this is all you'll be able to edit - your location and caption.
So there you have it, the nitty-gritty on how to master the multiple image upload on Instagram. Go on and show the rest of your Insta-loving friends.
In my next blog post, I’ll focus on how brands can use this multiple image upload feature to their advantage, when to use it and why, and when to stick to the ol’ single image post.
Happy 'gramming!
Karen P'ng is a Freelance Consultant specialising in Social Media Marketing, Digital Marketing and Content Strategy. She helps brands and startups build the strategy and foundations for efficient growth in their business, via onsite and remote collaborations. With Sydney as her home base, Karen travels every 2-3 months to give social media talks, consultations and work with any international clients who require onsite collaborations.
Connect with Karen on LinkedIn or follow her daily remote adventures on Instagram @karen__png