Instagram’s Trial Reels have quickly become one of the smartest tools for creators who want to experiment without risk, testing ideas, hooks, and formats before committing to a full post. Instead of posting blindly to your followers and hoping something sticks, Trial Reels let you gauge true performance and audience reaction. An invaluable tool to help you learn what works AND reach new people.  

Emma Hartridge delves a little deeper in how to get the best from Instagram’s tool to reach new audiences…

What Are Trial Reels? 

Trial Reels are short-form videos you post on Instagram that are shown only to users who don’t follow you at first- giving you performance data without cluttering your feed or risking engagement dips.  

Here’s how they work: 

1. You create a regular Reel. 

1. Before publishing, you toggle on “Trial” to mark it as a Trial Reel.  

1. Instagram shares it primarily with non-followers for a set trial period (typically 24–72 hours).  

1. You get engagement data (views, likes, comments, shares) to see how it performs.  

1. If it’s a hit, you can either manually share it to your full audience or set Instagram to auto-publish it if it hits certain internal criteria.  

Successful Trial Reels can even help you boost reach and find new followers because they expose your content to people who aren’t already following you but the alogrithm thinks might be interested- exactly who you want to target. In fact, creators using Trial Reels often see increases in reach as well as its more views on your content!  

Tips to Get the Most Out of Trial Reels 

Here’s where strategy really counts:

Always Use New or Meaningfully Fresh Content

Instagram’s system is starting to downrank duplicate content – meaning reposting the exact same Reel as a Trial Reel won’t get the reach you want. Create variations instead: new hooks, intros, formats, captions, or lengths. The idea of a trial reel is to test content so it should be switched up from your usual content in some way. 

Test Smart Variations

Don’tjust post the same clip again, flip the hook, change pacing, try different openings or CTAs. Treat each Trial Reel like a test. 

Post Often – But with Purpose 

You can publish multiple Trial Reels per day (some creators test several, up to around 5+), but only if each one is distinct and valuable. Too many identical clips can hurt reach and confuse the algorithm. 

Analyse Data, Don’t Just Post 

Look at engagement – not just views. Saves, comments, and shares from non-followers are powerful signals that your content resonates. Use that to decide whether to graduate the content to your main feed. 

Take Risks Without Fear

Trial Reels remove the risk of hurting your engagement metrics with your regular followers- so try stuff you might be scared to post: bold topics, weird humour, new storytelling styles. You might find your next viral format.  

Why It Matters for Growth 

Trial Reels let you: 

• Test ideas fast – without audience backlash 

• Learn what works before posting publicly 

• Boost reach by showing your content to people who don’t follow you 

• Grow your audience with proven content instead of guesswork  

In short: if you’re using Reels but not using Trial Reels to test and refine your work, you’re leaving growth on the table.