Instagram Reels, Carousels & Images: Can You Find Success with an Image-Only Account?
Remember when TikTok was thought to just be a fad, expected to come and go as quickly as Vine did? Now those short TikTok-style videos are what all the other social platforms are trying to mimic. Instagram introduced Reels in August 2020 and accounts that adopted this new style saw their post engagement increase.
Meanwhile, engagement for standard feed posts (images and video) has 17% year on year. Social Insider reports that the average engagement rate for images as of December 2025 was just 0.37% for an account with 50,000 - 100,000 followers. Reels do better, at 0.5% engagement and so do Carousel posts, at 0.55%.
Is it time to pivot to Reels and Carousels?
This decline in engagement for standard feed posts and stronger engagement for Reels and Carousels has led many businesses to pivot their Instagram strategy. It’s no secret that they are both more time-consuming to create and some of us simply don’t have the resources to constantly create short-form video content. For others, this form of content isn’t on brand for them.
So, how do you know if Reels and Carousels are worth the effort for your brand? And if not, is it still worth your time to maintain your image-only Instagram account, or is it time to leave it behind?
A Look at the Data
We’ve touched on current engagement rates but let’s take a look at historical data for greater insight. Again returning to Social Insider’s statistics, engagement rates on Instagram have been on the decline across the board from 2022 to 2025:
Image post engagement has fallen from 0.62% to 0.0.37%
Carousel post engagement has fallen from 0.9% to 0.55%
And even Reels have fallen from 1.95% to 0.5%
So, what can we gather from this? Two things that may be fairly depressing for some of us - first, engagement on Instagram is reaching historical lows, and second, to get any real engagement you need to look to Carousels and Reels.
Can You Commit?
We can see from the data that Reels and Carousels need to be a part of your strategy if you want to see any real engagement on Instagram. If you want to see success, you need to consider if you have the time to create them, what that would look like for you, and what would be on-brand for your company.
If Reels and Carousels aren’t in the cards for you, go back to basics and look at where your audience is hanging out and where you can reach them - is there somewhere better you can stay in contact with them? This may be your wake-up call that your audience has moved to a different space.
Reflect and Strategise
The only caveat to our advice above is you should look at your analytics and see how you’re doing. If you’re getting different results, you may be the exception to the averages. If you’ve fostered a community on Instagram you may find your engagement rates for images are much higher.
If that’s the case, and you aren’t interested in Reels and Carousel posts, don’t fix what’s not broken. Continue to engage with your audience on Instagram in the way that’s working for you and keep an eye on those engagement rates.
Carousels and Reels are the forms of content getting meaningful engagement on Instagram. If your audience is hanging out on Instagram and you want to reach them there, you need to consider using Reels as the main type of content you post. If that’s not possible for you and your brand, you need to return to your social media strategy and consider how you’ll continue to reach your customers and whether continuing to post on Instagram is worth your time and energy.
