Instagram‘s Trial Reels feature was launched to preview new content, but it has become a trendy tactic for gaining followers. Multiple creators have claimed that they have gained thousands of new followers by using Trial Reels to deliver existing videos to new viewers.
Trial Reels, launched six weeks ago, lets users share videos among non-followers and evaluate them. Based on the test results, the videos can either be uploaded to all followers or discarded.
Top stars like MrBeast use A/B tests to determine the content formats, video titles, and thumbnails that perform the best. With the launch of Trial Reels, Instagram seemed to be catering to those creators.
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But instead of using Trial Reels to test new content, many Instagrammers are employing the feature as a growth hacking tool. By feeding it old videos, those creators are gaining fresh traffic from the non-followers who are introduced to their accounts thanks to Trial Reels.
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Instagrammer @chelsea_explains cited Trial Reels hacking as one of the main factors behind her two-month rise to 450,000 followers. “I’ve had so many people DM me saying they tried this hack and got hundreds, if not thousands of new followers after months of stagnation,” she wrote.
The videos that perform the best when repurposed as Trial Reels are those that have the highest view counts, engagement rates, and follower conversion, according to a post by @ccc.growth. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri partially corroborated those priorities; in a post of his own, he cited watch time, likes, and sends as key metrics valued by the app’s ranking.
Mosseri and Instagram don’t seem to mind if creators “hack” the platform in search of get-rich-quick solutions. Even if Trial Reels users are reimagining the feature’s purpose, they’re still uploading new Reels during a time when Instagram is eager to make the numbers go up on its TikTok competitor. Translation: Growth hack away, because Trial Reels might be more than just a clever exploit.
