Instagram Carousel Analytics: Why Slideshows Beat Reels for Retention

Everyone is obsessed with Reels. But if you look at the data, Carousels (slideshow posts) often outperform Reels in one key metric: Retention.

When a user swipes left on a carousel, they are making a micro-commitment. They are actively engaging with your content, not just passively doom-scrolling.

In this guide, we'll build an Instagram Carousel Analyzer using SociaVault. We'll find your top-performing carousels and analyze why they worked.

The Strategy

We will write a script that:

1. Scrapes the last 20 posts from a profile.
2. Filters for Carousels (posts with multiple images/videos).
3. Calculates the "Engagement per Slide".

Prerequisites

You'll need a SociaVault API key. You can get one here.

Step 1: Scrape Profile Posts

We'll use the /scrape/instagram/posts endpoint.

const axios = require('axios');

const API_KEY = 'YOUR_SOCIAVAULT_API_KEY';
const BASE_URL = 'https://api.sociavault.com/v1';

async function getCarousels(handle) {
  console.log(`📸 Fetching posts for @${handle}...`);

  try {
    const response = await axios.get(`${BASE_URL}/scrape/instagram/posts`, {
      params: { handle: handle },
      headers: { 'x-api-key': API_KEY }
    });

    if (response.data.success) {
      const posts = response.data.data.items;
      
      // Filter for Carousels (usually type 8 or has children)
      const carousels = posts.filter(p => p.media_type === 8 || p.carousel_media_count > 1);
      
      console.log(`✅ Found ${carousels.length} carousels out of ${posts.length} posts.`);
      return carousels;
    }
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Error fetching posts:", error.message);
  }
}

Step 2: Analyze Performance

Now, let's see which ones performed best.

async function analyzePerformance(handle) {
  const carousels = await getCarousels(handle);
  
  if (!carousels) return;

  // Sort by Likes
  carousels.sort((a, b) => b.like_count - a.like_count);

  console.log(`\n🏆 Top 3 Carousels for @${handle}:`);
  
  carousels.slice(0, 3).forEach((post, i) => {
    console.log(`\n#${i + 1}: ${post.caption?.text?.substring(0, 50)}...`);
    console.log(`   ❤️ Likes: ${post.like_count}`);
    console.log(`   💬 Comments: ${post.comment_count}`);
    console.log(`   🖼️ Slides: ${post.carousel_media_count}`);
    console.log(`   🔗 URL: https://instagram.com/p/${post.code}`);
  });
}

// Run analysis
analyzePerformance('hubspot');

Sample Output

📸 Fetching posts for @hubspot...
✅ Found 8 carousels out of 12 posts.

🏆 Top 3 Carousels for @hubspot:

#1: 5 Marketing Trends You Can't Ignore in 2025...
   ❤️ Likes: 12,450
   💬 Comments: 340
   🖼️ Slides: 7
   🔗 URL: https://instagram.com/p/C123456

#2: How to use AI for SEO (A Step-by-Step Guide)...
   ❤️ Likes: 9,800
   💬 Comments: 210
   🖼️ Slides: 10
   🔗 URL: https://instagram.com/p/C789012

Insight: The "10-Slide" Rule

Data often shows that longer carousels get more reach. Why? Because every time a user swipes, the algorithm counts it as engagement. A 10-slide carousel keeps a user on your post for 30-60 seconds. A Reel might only keep them for 5.

Get Started

Stop ignoring the power of the swipe. Get your API key here.