Outlier of the Week: “Jana Craig launches new lash line” (55.7×)

This week’s biggest outlier is a news carousel by @beautyinc that got 20,485 likes and comments, 55.7× the creator’s usual. Its first slide is a single headline: a “Love Island USA” star is launching a lash line.

It was posted on 23 October (UTC), has just 4 slides and sits in the fashion & beauty niche. No other carousel among this week’s top outliers scored above 2.1×.

The numbers

• Score: 55.7× the creator’s usual.
• Likes + comments: 20,485.
• The creator’s usual: about 370 likes and comments (20,485 ÷ 55.7).
• Slides: 4.
• Format and niche: news, fashion & beauty.

The raw number is modest next to the biggest accounts in the library. The score is what stands out: the post did more than fifty times what a typical carousel on this account gets, so it says something about the post, not the size of the audience. If the score is new to you, here is how an outlier is worked out.

What does the first slide say?

“BEAUTYINC WWD EXCLUSIVE 'Love Island USA' Star Jana Craig Launches New Lash Line” — @beautyinc, 55.7×

The slide opens with the account’s name, “WWD” and the word “exclusive”, then the headline. The caption adds one line of context: “@janacraig_ is stepping into the competitive landscape of celebrity-led beauty.”

In our 10 hook patterns, this is the news peg: attach the post to something that just happened. Here the news is the whole post. There is no opinion, no list and no promise, only a name the audience recognises and what she is doing next.

It is not the only news headline to beat its usual in this niche. “BOF Why Lilac Is Beauty's New Nude” scored 12.8× for @businessofbeauty, also as a 5-slide news carousel.

Why did this carousel work?

We can’t see inside anyone’s audience, so this is a reading of the evidence, not a certainty. What stands out is how little of the usual structure points the right way.

The format is one of the weaker ones on average. In our sample of 12,340 scored carousels, news carousels reached 2× their creator’s usual 18.4% of the time, against 23.5% overall. Only showcase carousels did worse (18.1%).

The niche is below average too. Fashion & beauty carousels reached 2× 19.0% of the time, the second-lowest rate of our 17 niches after lifestyle & travel (17.4%).

The post is short. Carousels with 4–5 slides reached 2× 20.9% of the time, against 27.2% for 11–15 slides. At 4 slides, this post is shorter than the median fashion & beauty outlier in the library (7 slides) and the median news outlier (5).

The hook is long and has no number. Among 7,722 transcribed first slides, hooks of 11–15 words reached 2× 22.1% of the time; this one is 13 words as transcribed, including the account name. First slides without a number reached 2× 21.1% of the time, against 24.6% with one.

Put together, the format, niche, length and hook all sit at or below average. That leaves the subject: a named celebrity, a launch and an “exclusive” label. A news carousel lives or dies on the story, and this one drew far more engagement than anything typical on the account.

One caveat applies to all of these figures: they are base rates across a mix of creators we track, and a correlation is not a cause. News carousels reach 2× less often on average; that doesn’t mean they can’t produce the biggest score of the week.

How to use it in your own niche

You don’t need a celebrity to borrow this structure. You need news your audience cares about, delivered fast. Here is how to remix it, following the same process as Artem’s remix case study.

1. Find the news in your niche that has a recognisable name in it. A tool your audience uses, a company they follow, a person they already talk about. The name does the work the first slide would otherwise have to do.
2. Write the first slide as one plain headline. Who, what, and nothing else. If you have it first, say so, but only when it is true.
3. Keep it short and add one line of context. This post used 4 slides and a one-sentence caption that framed why the news mattered. Give the facts, then stop.

Keep the structure and replace everything else: your story, your words, your visuals. Don’t reuse the creator’s slides or wording.

For more first slides from this niche, browse fashion & beauty carousel ideas.

Frequently asked questions

What was the top Instagram carousel outlier this week?

A news carousel by @beautyinc, posted on 23 October, which got 20,485 likes and comments. That is 55.7× the creator’s usual of about 370, the highest score among this week’s top outliers in our library.

Do news carousels perform well on Instagram?

Not on average. In our sample of 12,340 scored carousels, news carousels reached 2× their creator’s usual 18.4% of the time, against 23.5% overall. When one does break out, the story seems to carry it rather than the format.

Can a short carousel be an outlier?

Yes. This week’s top outlier has 4 slides. Carousels with 4–5 slides reached 2× their creator’s usual less often than longer ones in our data (20.9% against 27.2% for 11–15 slides), but that is a pattern across creators, not a rule.