Instagram is Restricting the Promotion of Variable Image Size Carousels

Bad news for brands looking to make use of Instagram’s new variable image size carousels, with carousels that include full-screen size images not eligible for boosting.

Last month, Instagram rolled out a new option that enables users to upload carousel collections of different sized images, giving you more options for composing carousel posts in-stream.

Which was a welcome update, but now, users are finding that when a full-screen aspect ratio image is included within this updated format, the post cannot be boosted.

As you can see in this example, shared by Ahmed Ghanem, if you go to boost a carousel post with a full screen image, you get an error message saying that this can’t be done.

Which could put a dampener on your revised carousel plans.

That does seem to be the only restriction on the new carousel format at this stage, and it’s largely avoidable, if you really want to promote your post. But it could impact your usage of carousels for promotions, and the overall value of this update.

We’ve asked Instagram for more info on this error message, and whether the restriction applies to all carousels with full size images.