Trial Reels Are Driving Results on Instagram: How to Use Them to Your Advantage

Instagram’s trial Reels feature has now been available for six months, and the data is in: creators who are using it are seeing meaningful results. That’s good news for businesses looking to expand their reach without overhauling their strategy.

If you haven’t heard of trial Reels yet, or if they’re sitting untouched in your Instagram toolkit, here’s what recent performance insights reveal, and why now might be the time to give them a try.

As a refresher, trial Reels are short-form videos you can post on Instagram that are only shown to people who DON’T follow you. They’re not shared to your existing followers’ feeds or your profile’s Reels tab. In other words, they’re a behind-the-scenes test run of your content with a fresh audience.

Due to this aspect, Trial Reels is a unique audience sampling tool, allowing you to see how consumers unfamiliar with your brand react to your content before deciding whether to share it with your core audience. 

Instagram has shared early findings on how trial Reels have performed, and the numbers are impressive: 

• 40% of creators who tried trial Reels started posting Reels more often
• Of those who increased posting, 80% saw higher reach from non-followers

That’s a big deal. For businesses, especially SMBs, these numbers suggest that trial Reels is a valuable addition to Instagram’s video offerings, as they provide a way to fine-tune what you’re sharing, while growing visibility with new audiences in the process.

If your Reels strategy could use fine-tuning, trial Reels can help your business test and validate new content ideas before committing to them. This feature provides early access to engagement data like views, likes, comments, and shares, usually within 24 hours. You also have the option to convert a trial Reel into a full Reel later, once you’ve seen how it performs.

What’s more, you can even reuse older content that didn’t get much traction the first time around. Testing it as a trial Reel might give it a second life with a new audience.

For businesses who feel overwhelmed by content planning or are unsure what kind of videos will work, trial Reels offer a smart way to experiment. No guesswork, no risking your main feed, no pressure. While it’s currently available to professional accounts, some creators with personal profiles may have access as part of testing. It’s a quiet update, but one that could make a big difference in your visibility.

Is your business in need of an Instagram strategy refresh? Call, DM, or email sbellem@bbrookstone.com. We’re here to help you make smart, strategic moves that keep your content working and your audience growing.