You probably already have plenty of things you could talk about on Instagram. The harder part is turning those ideas into a carousel that actually gets people to stop, swipe and pay attention to what you have to say.
And a lot of that comes down to the hook. The right first slide can take a pretty simple idea and turn it into a post people want to keep reading, share with someone or save for later.
So I’ve put together 30 Instagram carousel hooks you can steal for your own business, from opinionated takes and personal stories to educational posts and more relatable formats.
They can all be adapted to pretty much any niche, and hopefully give you a much better starting point than another “5 tips for…” post.
And if you find one you want to try, quite a few of these formats already have a matching design inside our Aesthetic Cool Girl Carousel Templates, so you don’t have to start from scratch there either.
Opinionated carousel hooks
These are some of my favorites because they give people a reason to follow you, not just your tips. You can share what you believe, what you do differently and what you’ve learned from actually doing the work.
1. Hills I will die on as a [your title]
Hills I will die on as a brand designer
2. The golden rules of [your niche] that I don’t believe in
The golden rules of social media marketing that I don’t believe in
3. Things I’d ban from [place/industry] as a [your title]
Things I’d ban from Instagram as a social media manager
4. My take on [niche thing]
My take on posting every day as someone who runs multiple businesses
5. Things in [your niche] that deserve a red card
Social media habits that deserve a red card
6. I know I’m supposed to love [popular thing], but…
I know I’m supposed to love perfectly planned content calendars, but…
The important part here: don’t invent a hot take because you think it will perform well. Use the opinions you already have.
Hooks that show your expertise without another “5 tips” post
Educational content doesn’t have to look educational.
These formats let you teach something useful while making the first slide feel a little more unexpected.
7. Crazy [niche] rules I follow to [result]
Crazy content rules I follow to create a month of content in 4 hours
8. Things I DON’T do as a [description]
Things I DON’T do as someone who runs social media for a business
9. If you hired me tomorrow, these are the first things I’d change
If you hired me tomorrow to fix your Instagram, these are the first things I’d change
10. Things I was embarrassingly wrong about when I started [thing]
Things I was embarrassingly wrong about when I started selling digital products
11. What looks like a [problem] problem might actually be a [different problem] problem
What looks like a content problem might actually be a positioning problem
12. The advice I’d give you if we had 10 minutes to fix your [problem]
The advice I’d give you if we had 10 minutes to fix your Instagram bio
These work because the hook gives your expertise some context.
And if you’re already thinking about what these could look like as actual posts, we have ready-made designs for several of these formats inside our Aesthetic Cool Girl Carousel Templates.
Explore the Aesthetic Carousel Templates →
Relatable hooks people want to send to someone
You know those posts where you immediately think of someone and send it to them?
That’s the energy we’re going for here.
And usually, the more specific you get, the better.
13. Things I’ve said out loud as a [type of person]
Things I’ve said out loud as a one-person marketing department
14. Unfortunately, I do love…
Unfortunately, I do love changing my entire content plan because I saw one cute font.
15. Just checking if you…
Just checking if you’ve actually told people what you sell this week.
16. Things I find incredibly chic
Things I find incredibly chic as an online business owner
17. My completely biased starter pack for [type of person]
My completely biased starter pack for anyone starting a personal brand
18. A very specific list for people who [specific situation]
A very specific list for people with 47 content drafts and somehow nothing to post
This is also where the visual side of your carousel matters.
A hook like “Unfortunately, I do love…” doesn’t need a complicated 10-slide educational layout. Big typography, a personal photo, interesting text placement or an editorial-looking design can make the whole thing feel much more like something you’d naturally stop for on Instagram.
Personal brand & storytelling hooks
You don’t have to tell Instagram your entire life story to build a personal brand. A small experience, opinion or detail can tell people a lot about you.
19. First woman in my bloodline to [result]
First woman in my bloodline to build an online business
20. An about me, but my [clients/friends/haters] wrote the facts
21. Lessons I live by as a [niche] founder
Lessons I live by as a digital product founder
22. I used to think [belief]. Now I think [new belief].
I used to think consistency meant posting every day. Now I think it means having a system you can actually stick to.
23. A decision I made quietly that changed [result]
A decision I made quietly that completely changed how I create content
24. The very unglamorous reason I changed [thing]
The very unglamorous reason I stopped creating content every day
You can make these as personal as you want.
The point isn’t to manufacture vulnerability. It’s simply to use your actual experiences as part of your content, rather than separating “personal content” and “business content” into two completely different things.
Hooks that can lead naturally into what you sell
Yes, your carousels can sell things too. 😉
But your first slide doesn’t always have to say “3 reasons you need my service.” Try starting with the problem, process or result surrounding your offer instead.
25. Before you spend another [hour/$X] on [pain point], read this
Before you spend another hour designing one Instagram post, read this
26. You probably don’t need more [thing]. You need [different thing].
You probably don’t need more content ideas. You need better formats for the ideas you already have.
27. What I’d use if I had to [achieve result] from scratch today
What I’d use if I had to build my Instagram presence from scratch today
28. The shortcut I wish existed when I was trying to [result]
The shortcut I wish existed when I was trying to create consistent content for my business
This one is especially good when your product or service exists because you had the exact same problem yourself.
29. How I’d do [result] if I absolutely refused to [thing they don’t want to do]
How I’d grow a personal brand if I absolutely refused to make Reels
30. I made this because I was tired of [pain point]
I made 75+ carousel templates because I was tired of seeing the same generic Canva layouts everywhere.
You use Canva and don’t want to design your Instagram carousels from scratch?
That is exactly why we created our Aesthetic Cool Girl Carousel Templates.
The pack includes 96 (!) ready-to-customize Canva templates for business owners and creators, with formats for opinions, personal stories, educational content, hot takes, relatable posts, lists, social proof and plenty more.
And a lot of the hook styles you just saw? There are already designs waiting for them.
You can choose the format that fits what you want to say, replace the text and photos, customize the colors to your brand and move on with your day.
