Episode 18: How to Use Trial Reels to Grow on Instagram
For years I told myself I just wasn’t good at marketing, so I stopped trying, and then wondered why nothing changed.
Amanda, Sam, and I are in the middle of becoming marketing experts, with Amanda and me on organic and Sam on ads, and I'm sharing what we're testing, what flopped, and what finally worked.
I walk you through how I use trial reels to test a hook, B-roll, and audio one change at a time, why your bio works like a landing page, and why I care more about engaged followers than a big audience.
We're also honest about how hard it is to keep posting when nothing is landing, and how every trial reel chips another layer off that fear. I start the episode with a DM that gave me chills and a two-minute journal exercise I did to figure out what I'm good at.
If you are posting on Instagram and not seeing results, this episode is one you don’t want to miss, and I hope you leave with a simple way to test your content and a reason to keep showing up.
HERE ARE 5 MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:
Takeaway #1: Trial Reels Are Low-Pressure Practice for Getting Better at Marketing
Heather used to think trial reels were too complicated and that nobody could possibly post several a day. Now she says that if you aren’t posting them, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to get reps in and learn from your stats. Her rule of thumb is that about 98% of trial reels land around 300 views, so you know that going in. Since they mostly reach people who don’t follow you yet, your ego has much less on the line. That freedom is what makes them useful. You can try almost anything, expect a lot of it to fall flat, and keep testing until something lands.
Takeaway #2: Change One Thing at a Time to Learn What Makes a Reel Work
The testing method Heather shared is simple. In Instagram’s Edits app, she puts together a six- to seven-second B-roll clip, an audio, and text on the screen, then posts it as a trial reel. Next, she uses “manage versions” to duplicate it and changes just one of three variables: the hook, the B-roll, or the audio. She did this with a clip of her daughter and a laptop. Every early version flopped, including one with the line “slightly feral.” Then the version with all white text at the top, a different line of copy, and new audio brought in 321 comments, 1,700 likes, 242 saves, and 477 follows. The result surprised her, and she says her own predictions about which reels would do well have often been wrong.
Takeaway #3: Studying Your Flops Is How You Get Good at Marketing
Amanda admitted that most of what she posted in the last two weeks flopped. What she’s learning is that you can’t post and pray. You have to go back, look at the data, and figure out what worked and why. Heather agrees. She studies a lot of reels and treats each flop as information. If something falls flat once, you rework it and test it again, and if it keeps falling flat, you pivot. Sam added that the law of averages is on your side, because when you keep posting, something eventually pops off, and people tend to root for the underdog. Heather says every trial reel chips another layer off the fear of flopping, and Amanda says the same about her yapping challenge, which got easier by day 40.
Takeaway #4: A Viral Reel Brings the Views, and Your Grid and Bio Earn the Follow
Heather’s reel about a salon’s onboarding form brought in around 700 followers and 9,000 likes, and a reel about husbands got even more views. That made her ask herself whether going viral on something unrelated to her business is what she wants to be known for. She’s decided that viral posts can help her reach more salon owners. Amanda learned that virality funnels people in, while the content on your grid should be targeted to who you want. Sam described how she uses Instagram. If a reel catches her attention, she visits the profile and follows after two or three posts she likes, so your feed works like a landing page. Your bio has a part to play as well, and Heather is keeping hers messy for now while she tests. Her main goal is engaged followers, because a smaller group who comment and relate to her will help her more than a large audience who scroll past.
Takeaway #5: Build an Engaged Audience Before You Try to Sell Anything
Heather has worked in online marketing for a long time, mostly on ads and not organic content. Her biggest realization is that it’s easy to create a product and much harder to sell it. PIP’s product is strong. The harder job is building an audience that wants it and is engaged enough to buy. She wants to create a broader product for businesswomen at some point, and until then her only focus is testing what draws people in and building that audience. If she tried to sell first, as she always did before, it would be way too hard. The question to ask is what your audience wants, and trial reels are how she’s finding out.
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