REMOTE – May 27, 2025 – ProflUp.com, a provider of social media optimization tools, has published a new internal report analyzing over 11,000 Instagram posts from late 2024 to early 2025. The findings challenge the platform’s video-first narrative: carousel posts outperformed reels in engagement across niche markets and smaller creator accounts.
The full findings are available at:
👉 https://proflup.com/are-instagram-carousels-making-a-comeback-in-2025-proflup-data-says-yes/
📊 Key Insights
- Carousels averaged 4.8% engagement among accounts with fewer than 20,000 followers — compared to 3.2% for reels in the same cohort.
- In verticals like wellness, education, and travel, carousels outperformed reels by as much as 35% in interaction rate.
- Carousel usage rose steadily over a 7-month period, while single image posts continued to decline.
“The algorithm may favor Reels, but audiences still reward content that explains, teaches, or tells a story,” said Elena Papadakis, Head of Data Science at ProflUp. “Carousels continue to be a reliable format for structured, niche-specific engagement.”
🔍 Methodology
The analysis includes 11,200 anonymized posts from over 1,200 Instagram accounts connected to ProflUp’s analytics platform. Accounts were segmented by follower count and content type. Engagement rate was calculated as total likes, comments, and shares divided by reach.
While this report focuses on surface-level engagement, future reports will explore deeper interactions such as saves, shares, profile taps, and DMs.
💬 Executive Statement
“This report confirms what many creators already sense: you don’t always need video to grow,” said Yiannis Markou, CEO of ProflUp. “In niche spaces where context matters, carousels remain a powerful tool.”
📌 About ProflUp.com
ProflUp.com offers Instagram growth services including monthly likes, automatic engagement plans, and profile analytics tools. The platform is used by thousands of creators and businesses to build meaningful, policy-compliant engagement.
Learn more at:
👉 https://proflup.com
Media Contact
Yiannis Markou, CEO
Email: ym@proflup.com
Phone: +357 99984400
Website: https://proflup.com