Today’s audiences, particularly digital natives, are adept at filtering through massive amounts of stimuli to determine what is worth their time. The digital landscape is constantly shifting, and attention spans are shrinking.
For a while, with long-form videos or short documentaries, we’ve spent months on a beautiful immersive film, then maybe toss a single vertical teaser onto Instagram and hope for the best.
Sometimes it’d stick, sometimes it struggles. This doesn’t necessarily mean we will bail on more immersive formats, but we do have to rethink how we package a story strategically for social. Nowadays, experts say it’s not just what you post but how you deliver a story to stop the scroll. Recently, we’ve started experimenting with what I call “Video Swipies.” In other words, video carousels.
Why “Swipies” hit differently
We’ve known for a while that photo carousels outperform standalone images because they offer more texture. But moving that logic into video has been an intriguing experiment supported by research: Buffer shows that carousels generate 114% more engagement than single posts because each slide acts as a separate “ranking event.” That means three chances to hook someone instead of one.
Data from Socialinsider suggests that carousels are a “power move” for engagement. They require the audience to interact with each frame and dwell on each post. This provides a more layered and multilayered approach. As Hootsuite puts it, algorithms reward pauses and interactions.
For video carousels, I call them “Swipies” because they feel more active than a standard carousel. When someone swipes through a series of videos, they move at their own pace, choosing to dive deeper into different angles. It turns a passive post into an active “explore.”
Breaking down the doc: Wamakaskan Awanyakapi
Our first crack at this was our work on a short documentary, “Wamakaskan Awanyakapi—Looking After The Animals,” in collaboration with the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. This piece is a story about an Indigenous-led group of veterinary students providing care on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.
Initially, I struggled with how to fit themes of continued care, Indigenous leadership and reciprocity into a short Reel that can hold attention. I decided to break it into three distinct “Swipie” segments:
- Slide 1 (The Hook): An abstract, cinematic opening on the universal bonds between animals, who are seen as relatives.
- Slide 2 (The What): The Student Allies for RezDog Health (SARH) group in action and what they’re about.
- Slide 3 (The Why): Why Indigenous knowledge of deep interconnections is key for this specific community.
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This aligns well with Sprout Social’s 2026 findings on narrative retention, which suggests users stay longer when a story is broken into a “rhythmic,” detail-oriented format. It allows people to quickly grasp the heart of a story without feeling overwhelmed. We then used the carousel to pique interest in exploring the full documentary in our link in bio.
The “digital postcard” and the second chance
It’s not always about cutting down big docs, though. Occasionally, it’s just about capturing a vibe. Following Mississippi State’s example, we are trying out a “Digital Postcard” series. This is just pure, atmospheric B-roll of campus. Think of students hanging out, playing hacky sack, rustling trees and flowers, iconic buildings and the sensory sounds of campus.
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Additionally, the “Swipie” format is advantageous because of the “second chance” factor. According to Hootsuite, if a follower skips your post the first time, the algorithm will often re-serve it to them later, showing the second or third slide instead. If they didn’t care for the first shot of the Oval, they might be pulled in by the third slide of students having fun by the Lagoon.
Storytelling holds steady
According to Social Media Examiner experts, carousels are having a moment. Their ability to deepen connection is undeniable, but their style has changed. Instead of dense, academic, graphic-heavy slides, successful carousels lean into storytelling or feel more personal. Our “swipies” of campus moments featured students, allowing our audience (students) to see relatable moments in between classes, including “study spaces,” like this successful example.
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By using video carousels to show different facets of an experience, we’re driving what Socialinsider calls “saves as currency.” People save these Swipies because they’re utility-rich. They act as a visual encyclopedia of what life here feels like.
Ultimately, the discussion is about respecting the craft. As filmmakers, we want people to see the whole story. But sometimes, social media is only a teaser tool. By adapting to the ever-changing landscape, there’s always a way to guide audiences to the heart of a message.