Month: March 2025

Drawing in fresh audiences on social platforms requires careful consideration, combining content that you know will resonate while also exploring new content styles. Your existing fans might not be interested in a different aesthetic for your videos, but that change could be what attracts new clients.

Venturing into uncharted territory can be daunting, particularly regarding video. Video content plays a crucial role in your Instagram marketing strategy and demands a degree of creativity to distinguish itself. There’s nothing more discouraging than watching a video you’ve invested weeks into not perform well. Ideally, you’d like to test minimum viable product versions of your innovative concepts before committing all your production resources to a full project.

A/B testing is a classic marketing technique that can also be effective on social media. Instagram trial reels, a feature that began testing and was launched globally in 2024, aims to provide brands and creators with an A/B style functionality to experiment with new video concepts, various video variations, and more.

You can explore various options, receive immediate feedback, and delay posting your new ideas to your main feed until you’re confident they’re primed for a larger audience. Let’s explore what trial reels are and how to effectively utilize them.

What are trial reels on Instagram?

Instagram trial reels enable you to share short form videos, specifically targeting individuals who don’t follow your account in order to gauge how the content resonates. Followers of your account won’t see these specific reels either on your profile or in their feeds.

You can monitor feedback, reactions, comments, and more just like a standard reel. It essentially functions like a digital focus group where users receive recommended trial reels in their feeds, allowing brands to test their new ideas in a controlled environment.

You’ll receive insights about your trial reel within 24 hours, and if the content engages well, you can opt to share it with a wider audience. If the video doesn’t catch on with your non-followers, you’ll still gain invaluable insights for your video marketing strategy.

How to get trial reels on Instagram

As of December 2024, trial reels were introduced globally to professional brand and creator accounts. Some selected creators without professional accounts also have access due to ongoing testing. This feature is expected to be made available to more accounts gradually.

The advantages of using Instagram trial reels

<pIncorporating trial reels into your video strategy provides you with an algorithmic shortcut to a wider audience, putting your content directly in front of non-followers.

This feature also offers a safe space to test new content ideas without worrying about negatively affecting your current audience. When utilizing Instagram for business, it’s completely reasonable to protect your brand’s reputation. Before making bold moves on your main feed, showcase those innovative video ideas you’ve been eager to try in trial reels!

You can conduct actual A/B testing of your video content ideas by uploading different variations of the same content to determine which one receives more favorable feedback. Experiment with various music genres, aesthetic styles, video lengths, etc., to see which versions resonate more effectively.

This method is beneficial for pre-testing entire campaigns you want to implement, and can guide your future content strategy.

How to create and publish Instagram trial reels

<pIf your brand account has access to trial reels, utilizing this feature is straightforward and resembles sharing regular Instagram reels.

How to share trial reels with non-followers

<pTo share a trial reel, begin as you normally would when posting a standard reel.

1. Tap the + at the bottom of the app and select reel.
2. Upload your pre-edited video content from your files, or create and edit a new reel within the app.
3. Once you’ve finished uploading and editing, click Next to access the caption editing and finalization screen. If you have access to trial reels, you’ll see a toggle button just below the caption box. Be sure to activate this.

4. Complete your caption, select music, and add tags, then choose Share to launch your trial reel to non-followers.

Within 24 hours, you’ll be able to view insights regarding the performance of the reel. Only you will know that your post is a trial reel. Note: Your followers may view your trial reel if a non-follower shares it directly with them.

How to share trial reels with everyone

As you monitor feedback on your trial reel, you might eventually decide to share it with your larger audience if the content gains traction. You have various options for sharing trial reels with your followers in addition to non-followers.

1. When initially sharing your trial reel, you can select Settings on the final editing page and activate the option to share to everyone automatically. If your trial reel does well within the first 72 hours of posting, Instagram will automatically distribute it to your entire audience.
2. If you prefer to decide when to share your trial reels with your audience, keep that option deactivated.
3. Once you publish a trial reel, you’ll notice an option at the bottom to View Insights. Click this to check the stats for your trial reel’s performance.
4. At the bottom, you’ll find an option to Share to Everyone. You can select this at any moment to reveal your reel to your main feed.

Best practices for maximizing your content testing

Here are some best practices to keep in mind while you explore Instagram trial reels.

Align your trial reels experiments with your business goals

When brainstorming ideas for trial reels, consider your overall social media, marketing, and business objectives. How will your new video concepts support your goals? What KPIs are crucial, and how do the new concepts fit into them?

For instance, you may have objectives related to increasing brand recognition, enhancing video conversion rates, or fostering stronger connections with your brand community.

A trial reel testing a popular meme style your brand doesn’t typically use could enhance brand awareness, while a more interactive video could build community.

Tap into engaging trends

Not every trend suits your brand, but there may be viral aspects just beyond your usual scope that could intrigue your audience. Use trial reels to experiment with Instagram trends in a less risky setting.

Test out trending Instagram reel hashtags that are outside your standard range and incorporate popular music and sounds. Trial reels allow for experimentation with varying video lengths as well. Try different lengths up to three minutes, assessing which garner the most engagement. You can also create various cuts of the same video, then promote the version that performs best to your wider audience.

Try out a range of content types

In producing video content, it’s easy to fall into the pattern of consistently posting similar types of content. If your audience enjoys “day in the life” POV videos featuring your products, it may feel safer to stick with that.

However, your “not yet following” audience may be interested in different themes, and your current audience could appreciate some variety. Utilize trial reels to experiment with diverse content types such as edutainment, promotional content highlighting your products and services, or clips styled after user-generated content (UGC).

Track the appropriate metrics

Instagram trial reels provide a condensed version of Instagram reel analytics, including views, comments, likes, and shares. Depending on your overarching social media goals and what you’re testing with trial reels, focus on which metrics are most significant for you.

If interacting more with the trial reels is your aim, a substantial number of shares and comments might signal that the video is successful in this area. Conversely, if boosting awareness is your goal, keep an eye on how many views your trial reel receives. For trial reels that perform well, consider repurposing them for other platforms as you evaluate what to post on each social media platform.

Enhance your Instagram content strategy with trial reels

Trial reels present a fresh opportunity to test video content concepts before rolling them out to your dedicated fans. With this feature, if a video underperforms, you can simply keep it tucked away.

However, the ideal outcome is stumbling upon an unexpected viral success. There exists a significant number of social media users who aren’t yet following your brand but could provide valuable insights through trial reels. To create your next great social media video, download our free video content workbook to assist your creative journey.

The article How to optimize your video content strategy with Instagram Trial Reels first appeared on Sprout Social.

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