Docs menuScheduling and publishing
Scheduling and publishing
Publish a trial reel
A trial reel is shown to non-followers first. In ReelDrop it is one switch in the composer: turn on "Post as trial reel", choose how it should reach your followers, then publish now or schedule it. ReelDrop tracks it for 7 days in the Trial Reels tab. The free Starter plan includes 3 trial reels a month; Influencer and Creator are unlimited.
6 steps3 min readUpdated
On this page
- Before you start
- 1. Open the composer and add the reel
- 2. Turn on "Post as trial reel"
- 3. Choose "When should it reach your followers?"
- 4. Attach a DM automation, if the caption asks for a comment
- 5. Publish now or schedule
- 6. Read the Trial Reels tab
- How to graduate a trial reel by hand
- How to read the Trial Reels tab
- Trial reels from Claude
- FAQ
- Related
Before you start
- An Instagram Business or Creator account connected to the workspace. Connect your Instagram account covers that.
- Trial reels turned on for your account by Instagram. Instagram decides which accounts are eligible; if yours is not, the publish is refused with "Instagram hasn't enabled trial reels for this account yet."
- A video exported for reels. Trial reels are reels only, not posts, carousels or stories.
Step 1: Open the composer and add the reel
Go to Create in the left sidebar, choose a reel, and drop the video in. Pick the cover and write the caption the same way you would for any reel.
Step 2: Turn on "Post as trial reel"
Switch on "Post as trial reel" in the composer. Under it, ReelDrop shows how many trial reels you have left this month on the free plan, for example "2 of 3 trial reels left this month". When the allowance is used up the switch is locked until next month, or until you upgrade.
Step 3: Choose "When should it reach your followers?"
"I'll decide" keeps the reel with non-followers until you share it to followers yourself in the Instagram app. "Let Instagram decide" lets Instagram share it automatically if it performs well with non-followers. If you are not sure, start with "I'll decide" so you can look at the numbers first.
Step 4: Attach a DM automation, if the caption asks for a comment
Open the Attach automation card and pick a comment automation. It goes live when the reel publishes and answers non-followers who comment your keyword. This step is optional.
Step 5: Publish now or schedule
Press "Publish now" to post the trial straight away, or "Schedule" to pick a time slot. A scheduled trial shows on the calendar in the trial reel colour.
Step 6: Read the Trial Reels tab
Open Analytics and choose the Trial Reels tab. Each trial has a card with a views and reach curve against hours since publish, and below it views, reach, engagement rate (ER), views @24h, views @72h and shares. While ReelDrop is still sampling the reel, the card says "tracking".
How to graduate a trial reel by hand
Instagram's API does not let any app share a trial reel to followers, so this step always happens in the Instagram app. On a trial set to "I'll decide", the card in the Trial Reels tab has a "Share to followers in Instagram" link that opens the reel. In the Instagram app, open the reel and use Instagram's own option to share it to followers.
A trial set to "Let Instagram decide" needs nothing from you. Instagram judges it on its first 72 hours with non-followers and shares it if it does well.
How to read the Trial Reels tab
Instagram gives apps no trial-specific insights and does not report when a trial has been shared to followers. ReelDrop works around that by sampling each trial's normal insights for 7 days: on every sweep for the first 6 hours, hourly until 48 hours, then every 6 hours. Each sample also stores your follower count, which is the baseline the curve is read against.
A flat views line after the first day means the reel stopped being shown to new people. Compare views @24h across trials to see which hook did better with strangers.
When reach jumps by 50% or more between two samples, the card says "Reach jumped +X% at N hours after publish" and marks the reel as likely shared to followers. That is the best signal available, not a confirmation from Instagram.
Trial reels from Claude
Over MCP, schedule_reel takes trial_reel=true and trial_graduation set to MANUAL or SS_PERFORMANCE, and get_trial_reel_analytics returns the same series as the Trial Reels tab. Schedule reels from Claude covers the setup.
Frequently asked questions
How many trial reels can I post?
3 a month on the free Starter plan, unlimited on Influencer and Creator. Turning a scheduled reel into a trial uses the allowance.
Why is the "Post as trial reel" switch greyed out?
On the free plan it locks when this month's trial reels are used up. The message under the switch says so and links to the upgrade.
My trial reel failed to publish. Why?
Most often Instagram has not enabled trial reels for the account yet. Post it as a regular reel instead and try a trial again later.
Can I turn a reel into a trial after it is published?
No. Instagram sets the trial when the reel is published. A reel that is still scheduled can be switched to a trial, or back, from Claude with update_scheduled_post.
Related
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