Instagram will let video creators make ‘trial Reels’ for non-followers

Video creators on Instagram now have a new way to test out content. The app is introducing “trial Reels,” which allows creators to publish Reels that bypass their followers’ feeds and are instead recommended to non-followers.

Given that so many Instagram creators about Meta not showing their content to their followers, this may seem like an odd feature. But in a blog post, the company said that trial Reels was created in direct response to feedback from creators who “feel nervous” about posting videos that may not perform well. Meta said the new feature is meant to make it easier for creators to experiment with different genres and “easily get a gut check on how your content might perform.”

Now, creators will be able to select a “trial” toggle before publishing a video. These Reels won’t show up on a creator’s grid and will be recommended to accounts that aren’t followers (Meta notes that it’s impossible to guarantee a follower won’t come across a particular video somewhere else in the app, like their DMs.)

After 24 hours, creators will be able to revisit the video and see metrics about how it performed, including the total number of views, shares, likes and comments. While Meta says that this type of “trial” content can take longer to gain traction than other posts since it won’t be shown to an account’s followers, it could still be useful for creators that want to post in a more low-pressure format.