Instagram Trial Reels Feature For Content Creators: What Is It?

Meta has just introduced a new feature called trial reels on Instagram, which enables creators to try out short-form videos on non-followers before publishing them to their followers. It helps creators experiment with new ideas and find what kind of content performs the best.

Reels are initially shown only to non-followers. Creators can then share the reel with their followers using the "share with everyone" option if they are satisfied with its performance. Alternatively, they can enable automatic sharing, which lets Instagram share the reel with followers if it garners good engagement (measured by views) within 72 hours.

Trial Reels: Key Metrics for Creators

Creators must be aware about this quick feature. After 24 hours, Instagram also reveals performance metrics for its test reels to creators, from views, likes, and comments to shares and even benchmarking with past trial reels to allow and let creators to further assess content success. 
Some followers may still see your reel in other places. For example, someone might share your reel with them in a direct message or on a page that shows reels with the same audio, location or filter.

Trial Reels: How To Use

To create a trial reel, follow the standard reel creation process and enable the "Trial" option before sharing. These reels will appear with other drafts but won't show on the main profile grid or Reels tab unless the creator decides to share them widely. Followers won't see trial reels unless it is shared by you openly.
Trial reels can take longer to gain views because we're finding non-followers who will enjoy the content. They are treated separately from your other reels in our ranking systems, so shouldn't impact the performance of your regular reels content.

Trial Reels: Who Can Access This Feature?

You must have a professional account to use trial reels. Instagram is currently testing the trial reels feature on a limited group of creators. It is planning to roll it out globally to all eligible users in the coming weeks.  This setting will be applied to all trial reels you share in the future unless you change it.