Instagram's frame-level likes promise precision, but can they outrun reels?
Carousels may earn more likes per impression, but Reels are delivering 30 to 40 percent more views. When brand managers are reporting up to their CMOs, it’s reach that justifies the spend, according to experts.
ADVERTISEMENT
Instagram is testing a new analytics feature that shows like counts for each individual image within a carousel post. Each frame now displays its own engagement total based on what was visible when the user tapped the like button, offering a more granular breakdown than traditional post-level insights.
The feature follows Instagram head Adam Mosseri’s earlier assertion that carousels often outperform single-image uploads in reach. He attributed this to two factors: more interaction opportunities within multi-slide formats, and Instagram’s practice of resurfacing later slides to users who didn’t engage with the first. With the new frame-wise visibility, the platform appears to be giving creators and brands more precision in measuring which creative decisions actually landed.
Read More:Instagram's data dive: Why frame-level insights can be a game changer for creators and brands
For marketers, this could represent a shift from blunt metrics to surgical diagnostics. “It’s a big win for marketers,” says Sindhu Biswal, CEO and Founder of Buzzlab. “Finally, brands can stop guessing which slide in a carousel worked and which was just there for filler. This moves Instagram from being just a ‘post and pray’ platform to something far more surgical. It gives marketers clarity on what visuals, formats, or messages actually drive engagement, not in aggregate, but frame by frame.”
This change is also likely to transform how performance is interpreted and acted upon.
“It shifts the mindset from ‘Did the post work?’ to ‘What within the post worked?’” Biswal continues. “Creators and brands can now dissect performance with a scalpel, not a hammer. It’s no longer about total likes, it’s about understanding what specific creative choices resonated most. That means sharper content strategies and better creative decisions moving forward.”
Still, not everyone is convinced that better analytics will boost the format’s standing in the algorithm. “Carousels may earn more likes per impression, but Reels are delivering 30 to 40 percent more views,” notes Sreeram Reddy Vanga, CEO and Co-Founder of Kofluence. “And when brand managers are reporting up to their CMOs, it’s reach that justifies the spend. Even if carousel performance improves by another 15 to 20 percent through better optimization, the format is still losing ground in distribution compared to short-form video. We are essentially optimizing for engagement on a format the algorithm is actively deprioritizing.”
For creators, however, the feature introduces a new dimension of clarity. “This is a great step towards a more targeted way to measure content performance,” says Sahil Chopra, Founder and CEO of iCubesWire. “Compared to just seeing how a content piece performed, creators will now know what bit of their content people loved the most. This feature will eliminate guesswork, with creators knowing what works for their audience and what doesn’t.”
That granularity could also inform broader campaign planning, including A/B testing and ROI attribution. “If brands and creators can tell which frame got them the most love, they can connect the dots between specific visuals and conversions,” Chopra adds. “It will be interesting to see how brands and creators decide to leverage their engagement-driving content to generate ROI.”
“It makes perfect sense to use it for A/B testing,” he continues. “Compared to going live with multiple separate posts for testing, brands and creators can now just use multiple versions of a post in one carousel and see for themselves which has got more engagement.”
That ability to test and analyze within a single asset is where the storytelling layer becomes even more relevant. “In multi-frame creatives, not all slides are equal, some drive discovery, others carry the CTA,” says Ambika Sharma, Founder and Chief Strategist at Pulp Strategy. “Frame-level like data gives us a new lens to decode scroll-drop behavior, fatigue points, or even where the narrative peaks. It’s not just about creative quality, it’s about narrative sequencing and attention flow.”
“There’s real potential to correlate individual frame engagement with deeper funnel metrics, swipe-ups, link clicks, even bounce rates on landing pages,” she adds. “If Frame 2 gets the most likes but Frame 4 drives action, your storytelling logic needs to adapt. This kind of insight brings us closer to intent mapping within the same asset.”
That intent mapping is exactly where performance marketers and media planners are now placing their bets. Yasin Hamidani, Director at Media Care Brand Solutions, says, “By mapping frame-level like metrics to click-through data, tracked via UTM parameters or analytics, you can identify which specific frames spur deeper funnel actions. For instance, a seventh slide with a product demo might get fewer likes but more clicks, revealing that engagement type, not like count, better predicts funnel movement.”
Beyond that, he sees potential for deeper integration. He adds, “Frame-level likes can feed into dashboards as separate KPIs, like Slide 1 Likes or CTA Frame Likes, to augment traditional metrics. They can be incorporated into media mix models or creative mix models to weight each frame’s contribution to conversion. Over time, A/B testing of frame sequences refines carousel ROI and informs efficient creative sequencing strategies.”
Whether or not carousels reclaim algorithmic favor, Instagram’s latest experiment puts more power into the hands of those willing to look closely, not just at the content they publish, but at the micro-moments that shape how audiences respond.
