Everything You Need To Know About Trial Reels

EVERYONE is asking us about Instagram's recently released option to create Trial Reels. You can think of Trial Reels as little experiments where you first share your content with a broader, non-follower audience and either later share those Reels on your main page/to your following or use insights from the Trial Reels to create new and improved ones.

We’ve reminded you over and over that video content is growing ever more important to Meta’s algorithms. And with over 200 billion Reels played daily between Facebook and Instagram, the introduction of Trial Reels has the potential to help brands make even more of an impact with their video content.

It’s a pretty helpful opportunity for social media marketers…That is, if you have access to it! Meta is gradually rolling out Trial Reels to select Business and Creator accounts (and a few lucky Personal accounts). But don’t despair! The feature is expected to be available globally very soon.

So what exactly is an Instagram Trial Reel?

Well, it’s the option to share a Reel only with accounts that do not already follow you (that means it won’t appear on your page, but will be part of unconnected recommendations—the algorithms that present your connect to non-followers in the reels and explore feeds. Once you see how the Trial Reel performs, you can then decide to share it on your main account with your real followers.

Trial Reels can be incredibly helpful in figuring out what exactly helps your account grow:

Get early feedback from users who aren’t already following or familiar with you
Try out new content ideas and formats without potentially losing followers
Test specifics (songs and sounds, voiceover versus captions, best time to post, etc.)
Post A/B testing without constantly spamming your followers

Here’s how to make a Trial Reel:

Have a professional account (i.e. a Creator or Business account).

*Select non-professional accounts have access to Trial Reels as part of Meta’s ongoing testing.

Create a Reel.
Switch the “Trial Reel” toggle to the right before posting.
Access engagement data.

To check on your Trial Reel (since it won’t appear directly on your page), click profile → reels tab → drafts and trial reels. You’ll start getting data from your Trial Reel within 24 hours of posting—that includes views, likes, comments, saves, shares, accounts reached, replays, and watch time. These insights can allow a creator to see what resonates with non-followers, focus on content that might convert casual viewers into followers, and optimize their social media strategy.

Decide to share/publish.

There is also an option to have Instagram share your Trial Reels after 72 hours if they’re “performing well” (trial settings → share to everyone automatically).

**Note that while your followers won’t see your Trial Reels in their main, reels or explore feeds, it’s possible they may see them via a DM or in someone else’s IG Story.

Tips for Trial Reels:

Get really specific about what you hope to learn

This means you shouldn’t just post every Reel as a Trial Reel first, willy-nilly. Thoughtfully plan out your A/B tests (i.e. engagement with a Reel with ASMR versus Reel with trending audio).

Test one thing at a time

Don’t share two completely different Trial Reels because you won’t really know why one ends up more successful than the other. When conducting A/B tests, reduce the number of variables and keep everything else constant (the caption, location, hashtags, etc.).

Compare your Trial Reels

Don’t stress that your KPIs are likely way lower than those of your actual Reels. This is to be expected! Remember, Trial Reels are just baby experiments to learn little bits of insight that will then help your Reels further. Therefore, it’s important not to compare the “success” of your Trial Reels with your actual Reels, but rather your (relevant) Trial Reels against each other.

Here are a few MALC approved Trial Reel ideas:

Best time to post
What hook works best?
Does trending audio matter?
Content formats (educational, funny, BTS, etc.)
Best Reel length (15, 30, or 60 seconds)
Does showing your face impact reach?

While Trial Reels seem like the best invention for marketers—a “safety net” for experimentation, if you will—you’re not magically going to go viral overnight. A/B testing is nothing new, and a solid social media strategy will be your best bet every time. Plus, many creators have reported issues with Trial Reels including limited reach, stagnant view counts after sharing to everyone, and even losing access to the feature. If you have access to Trial Reels and want to play around, great. If you need to wait for access to Trial Reels or want the glitches smoothed out before you dive in, that’s great, too.

Until then, be sure to subscribe to MALC’s tried and true Content Calendar Club. Membership services include bi-weekly emails containing done-for-you social media content strategy and prompts for Reels, Carousels, Captions, and Stories to help you grow your audience and convert them to customers.