Instagram’s trying out another way to help Reels creators maximize their content performance, this time via audience sampling, to get a sense of whether their latest Reel is likely to be a hit or not.
As you can see in this example, Instagram is now rolling out a new “Trial” option within the Reels posting flow, which will enable Reels creators to share their latest uploads with a selection of users that don’t follow them first.
As per IG:
“We often hear from creators that they feel nervous about posting too much to their audience or trying out new content that’s outside of their niche on Instagram, for fear of it not resonating with their followers. Trial reels will be shown to non-followers first. Now, if you want to try out a new genre, storytelling format or topic, you can easily get a gut check on how your content might perform.”
It works like this:
If you select the “Trial” option, your new Reel will be shown to a selection of users who don’t follow your profile.
You’ll be able to find your trial Reels in the drafts section on your profile, but they won’t be displayed on your profile grid or Reels tab in this initial trial period. Also, only you will be able to see that your Reel is a trial, there won’t be a public facing option for anyone else to see this.
Around 24 hours after launching your trial, you’ll be able to view key engagement metrics for your clip, including views, likes, comments and shares, so you can get a sense of how it’s performing. You’ll also be able to see comparative insights against your previous trials.
As IG notes (in the first image), some of your followers may still end up seeing your trial Reel, if somebody else shares it to them, for example (which is probably a larger concern for big name creators). But the aim is to have an alternative audience see your trial clips, so that you can try out new ideas without feeling confined your existing audience expectations.
“If your trial reel is performing well, you can choose to ‘share with everyone’ so your followers can see it and increase its reach, or, when creating the trial reel, you can choose to have Instagram automatically share your trial reel with followers if we determine it’s performing well based on the views it receives within the first 72 hours. You can change this setting at any time.”
That would then see it added to your profile grid and Reels listing as normal.
Or alternatively, if it seems like a flop, you can dump it, and your audience will be none the wiser.
It could be a good way to get a sense of what will and won’t work on Reels, without the risk of turning off your established audience. It might also be a means to get more reach to different groups, aside from your main community.
Though the comparative data versus your previous trials could be critical, because as Instagram notes, the engagement data on trial Reels will be different to your regular clips, as they’re not being shown to your main audience. As such, you may need to run a couple of trials before you understand what “good” performance is in this respect.
But it’s another experimental option, which could have a range of benefits for Reels creators.
Though it’s not available to everyone just yet.
Instagram says that trial Reels are being rolled out to selected creators from this week, and they’ll be globally available “in the coming weeks.” So you may not have the option as yet, but it is coming, and it could be worth testing out to see what results you get, and whether that’s of value in your assessments.
