--- title: "Glossary: carousels, reels, hooks and DM funnels" description: "Twenty plain-English definitions for Instagram carousels, reels, hooks, second hooks, comment-keyword funnels, private replies, engagement bait and more." canonical: https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/glossary/ updated: 2026-10-30 source: HTML page at the canonical URL; same facts, markdown form --- Learn # The glossary Twenty terms you will meet when making Instagram carousels and reels, defined in one or two sentences each, with links to deeper posts where we have them. **Carousel** An Instagram post made of several swipeable slides. The Content Engine renders carousels as **1080 x 1350 px PNG slides** (4:5), one idea per slide, plus a caption. [Read more: carousel specs reference.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/instagram-carousel-specs-reference-2026/) **Reel** A short vertical video on Instagram. The engine renders reels as **1080 x 1920 px MP4** (9:16) with sound. [Read more: Reels specs and safe zones.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/instagram-reels-specs-and-safe-zones/) **Hook** The first thing a viewer sees or hears: the cover slide of a carousel or the first second of a reel. Its job is to make someone keep looking. See [carousel vs reel](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/instagram-carousel-vs-reel/) for how the formats differ. [Read more: seven first-slide hook patterns.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/instagram-carousel-hook-formulas/) **Second hook** A deliberate second hook on slide 2 of a carousel. The engine writes one for every carousel because Instagram head Adam Mosseri has said that people who do not swipe may be shown the carousel again starting from slide 2. [Read more: hook patterns.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/instagram-carousel-hook-formulas/) **Slide** One frame of a carousel. A slide carries a single idea in large type so it stays readable on a phone. See [size and slide count](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/instagram-carousel-size-and-slide-count/). **CTA (call to action)** The line that tells the viewer what to do next, such as "link in bio" or "comment a keyword". Where a CTA sits and how it is worded changes what people do. [Read more: writing captions for saves.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/instagram-carousel-caption-for-saves/) **Comment-keyword funnel** A funnel where a post asks viewers to comment a specific word, and an automation then sends the commenter a direct message with a link or file. It works through Meta's private replies. Our explainer: [comment-to-DM funnels explained](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/comment-to-dm-instagram-funnel-explained/). [Read more: definition and Meta rules.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/what-is-a-comment-keyword-dm-funnel/) **Private reply** A single direct message that a page can send to someone who commented on its post, through Meta's official private-replies feature. Meta limits it to one message per comment, within 7 days of the comment. [Read more: what Meta documents.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/what-is-a-comment-keyword-dm-funnel/) **DM funnel** Any flow that moves a person from a public post into a private conversation, where an offer or a file is delivered. A comment-keyword funnel is one kind of DM funnel. [Read more: how DM funnels work.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/what-is-a-comment-keyword-dm-funnel/) **Engagement bait** A post that explicitly asks for comments, likes, shares or tags. Meta's guidelines treat such requests as engagement bait in most cases, which is why the wording of a CTA matters. See the [funnel explainer](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/comment-to-dm-instagram-funnel-explained/). [Read more: policy checklist.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/faceless-instagram-account-policy-and-disclosure-checklist/) **Faceless page** An account that posts content without showing the creator's face or voice, using text, graphics, stock-free illustration or animated characters. Our own pages are faceless. [Read more: faceless niches that work.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/faceless-instagram-niches-that-work/) **Niche** The specific audience and topic a page serves, such as fitness coaches or social media managers. The engine starts every run by checking the niche. [Read more: how the niche check works.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/how-it-works/) **Niche check (verify)** The first stage of the engine: looking at what an audience already pays for, what it posts and what it says, so the ideas start from evidence instead of a blank prompt box. [Read more: the four stages.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/how-it-works/) **Outlier post** A post that did clearly better than the account's usual. In the [free audit](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/free-instagram-audit/) an outlier is a post at 1.5 times the page's usual or better. [Read more: what separates outliers.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/does-carousel-design-affect-reach/) **Median score** A post's likes plus comments divided by the median post of the same account. 1.00x is a normal post for that page. It lets you compare posts without being fooled by a few huge ones or by account size. [Read more: judging a save rate.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/measure-instagram-carousel-saves-shares/) **Look (style)** A reusable visual design the renderer applies to every slide and reel: colours, type, spacing and motion. The engine ships ready-made looks and can build a new one from your description. [Read more: the looks.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/examples/) **Batch rendering** Producing many posts in one run from a queue of plans, instead of designing each post by hand. Rendering happens on your own computer, so there are no credits or per-post fees. [Read more: planning a month in one afternoon.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/plan-30-days-of-instagram-carousels-with-claude/) **Plan file** A small structured file that describes one idea: the carousel slides, two reels and the captions. The renderer reads a plan and outputs the finished files. [Read more: where plan files fit.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/how-it-works/) **Safe zone** The part of a frame that stays visible once the platform's buttons and captions cover the edges. Important text is kept inside it so nothing is hidden. [Read more: safe zones for Reels.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/instagram-reels-specs-and-safe-zones/) **Link in bio** The single clickable link on an Instagram profile. Pages that cannot put links in captions send people there. [Read more: one idea, three posts.](https://content-engine-emh.pages.dev/blog/repurpose-one-idea-into-carousel-reel-story/) Ready when you are ## The Content Engine One payment of USD 67 (USD 47 founding price for the first 25 buyers). 7-day refund. Needs a paid Claude plan; tested on Windows. 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