What's the difference between regular Instagram reels and trial reels?

Regular reels go to both your followers and non-followers—Instagram shows them to your existing audience and also tests them with new audiences. Trial reels, on the other hand, only go to non-followers. When you’re about to post, there’s a button that says ‘Post as trial.’ If you select this option, Instagram will exclusively show that reel to people who don’t already follow you. This is useful when you specifically want to reach new audiences and test content with people unfamiliar with your work, rather than serving it to your existing follower base.

---

Asked by an artist asking about reel distribution · Answered by Indra · Office Hours · 2026-06-18