How to Get New Followers on Instagram: Trial Reels, Bios, and More!

Let’s talk about real strategies for getting new Instagram followers, especially as social media has evolved and people have become a lot more selective when it comes to hitting that follow button. I’m breaking down what actually makes someone want to follow you, including how to optimize your bio, pinned posts, and stories to create a magnetic profile, and why trial reels are still one of the best tools for attracting fresh eyes, even if they don’t go viral. 

In this episode we’ll be covering:

• How to think like a user, what makes you hit follow on an account? 
• The strategy I use for trial reels that consistently brings in new followers to my account.
• Why is Instagram really giving those warning messages and should you be worried?
• How to prevent a trial reel from sharing to your account. 
• Creating an irresistible Instagram profile with an optimized account bio, purposeful pinned posts, and daily engaging stories.

Don’t have access to Trial Reels yet? Try this hack and let us know if it works for you!

​​Step 1: Go to this URL on your phone (https://creators.instagram.com/blog/instagram-trial-reels?locale=en_GB)

Step 2: Click the ‘Create Reel’ button

Step 3: This will open IG to upload or create a video. Press next, make any edits, etc., then press next again to fill out the caption etc. You should see a toggle to select “Trial Reel” (This is a trial reel and will only be shown to non-followers at first.) Post when you’re ready!

Step 4: Repeat the process and upload as many as you want. After a while the feature will just be on your account.

Additional step: if you ever lose the feature after you had it, just repeat the step-by-step and you’ll get access to it again.

Recommended episodes:

• Episode 019: Convert Viewers to Followers with the “That’s Me” Reel
• Episode 020: SEO Strategies to Optimize Your Instagram Content
• Episode 040: Build More Connections with Everyday Moments
• Episode 050: Stories Work! Here’s how to make them work for YOU
• Episode 071: Start a New Instagram Account From Scratch (or Refresh Your Current One)
• Episode 073: Staying Top of Mind with Instagram Stories

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Transcript

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:05]:
I am your host, Shannon McKinstrie. Welcome to Good Content, the podcast where.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:10]:
I remove the never ending content creation, guesswork and overwhelm so that you can actually enjoy being on social media again and growing your business with what has always worked. Good Content. Just gonna apologize for my voice now. Fall allergies are kicking your girl's booty, but my brain is working, so that's all that matters. I'm so excited. Today's podcast is gonna be short and sweet. We're. We are going to talk trial reels, but really the purpose of this episode is how to get new followers.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:36]:
I got a really sweet DM the other day from someone that was like, can you please cover like how to get followers? Because a couple years ago we would see a reel we like and we would literally immediately follow. That's when everyone was going crazy. Crazy bonkers, right? You would do one reel and gain like 40,000 followers. It happened for a lot of my clients. Nowadays I think we're just a little pickier because there's more content than ever, there's more apps than ever, we're consuming more than ever. So we're a little picky about who we follow. So. So when I see a reel I like, I don't typically just hit follow.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:00]:
I'll go to their account, creep around, right? Like poke around, look at their highlights, look at their bio, look at their pins posts, look at their stories. So I wanted to start with that before we get into trial reels. Because trial reels are one of the best ways to get new followers. And if you don't have trial reels, I think I may have a solution for you. So stick with me. This is gonna be really short and sweet like I said. But think about it. Think like a user, right? Every time I'm like, people are struggling.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:20]:
Like what makes you hit follow? What's your process for deciding if you're gonna follow someone? For me and is, you know, this isn't, there's no absolutes in any of this. But for me personally, if I see a reel I really like, let's say it's, I'm like scrolling and it's something about like, it's, it's a Raleigh mom who shares everything great about this area where I live. And it's all the best places to take your kids. I'm like, okay, I'm probably gonna hit follow pretty quickly. Cause I'm like, this is something specific that I love to follow other people. I'm typically gonna read their bio first. Let's Be real. We wanna.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:49]:
We're not gonna walk into a store before we are, like kind of poking inside. We're looking through the windows. Like I always say, your bio, Instagram bio is your storefront, right? Think of it like this. The bio is the signage, right? It just tells you what's inside. Like, we sell this, we sell this, we sell this, right? Or a restaurant. Think of it a restaurant. Same thing. Your bio.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:05]:
Your bio is your signage, your grid is your storefront. Mean, like they're like. Or like window shopping. Like they're looking in. Think like, you know, Macy's Thanksgiving windows, right? We're like looking in. We're just trying to see what the vibe is of the store, the restaurant, et cetera. And then your stories are the open door. I always say that invites people in.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:23]:
My business partner, Emily, we've been saying this for years. Like she used to say it, like a billboard, right? What's in it for us? We're not gonna walk into a store unless we know it's something we wanna buy or look around, right? Same for Instagram. We don't wanna have you in our feed. If it's not content, I'm going to enjoy, right? So make sure your bio is extremely clear about what it is you share, what it is you do. Now, the days of the bios that said I help people, blah, blah, blah, or I teach, those are kind of going away a little, which I'm a fan of. Cause bios feel a lot more personal. But mine, I change my bio all the time right now, I think it's. Let's go look.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:56]:
I literally changed it last week. Also a thing for great for ChatGPT. Tell ChatGPT every testimonial you've gotten, every sweet DM you've gotten, say what's. What makes your product service different, what makes your tips different. If you're someone who doesn't post all the time, but you're in stories every day, say that. Say, come hang with me in stories. Or daily blank in stories, tell us what we can expect from your feed. Oh, mine says the Instagram tips you've been missing.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:19]:
Because that's what a lot of people will say to me. They're like, oh, my gosh, these are tips. These are the ones I've been looking for. So I was like, perfect. And then I say the next line, get your views up with content. That works today. Because that's what sets me apart, is I share tips on what's working literally today, not six months ago, right? 20 years in media marketing, just so that people know, like, I've been in the game a while and I'm obsessed with it and host of Good Content. So I plug my podcast.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:39]:
You can keep it one line, you can keep it four lines. Just make sure that bio is good. Also, stay active in stories I tell everyone. And I have podcast episodes on it. If you go to my Instagram, there's a pinned posts at the top of my feed all about stories. I'm obsessed with them. I don't care if you post one story a day, 20 a day. I post around 10.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:57]:
Be active in stories because this is what I do. I go to someone's account, right? Step one, look at their bio. Step two, I'll look at their pinned posts and then I'll look at their stories and be like, is this someone I'm. Is this an account for me? And if it is, I hit follow. So that's one thing think about as a user, we're not typically just watching one piece of content and it goes viral and it leads a bunch of follows. That doesn't always happen. Sometimes it does. But make sure bio is clear.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:19]:
You've got pinned posts that say what it is you do, what it is you offer, right? Um, the way I like to say pinned post is think of a website, right? Think of like the main tabs on the top of a website about me products blog, right? So you want to kind of do that, like something about you, something that talks about your product, something that converts and then something that's more like maybe fun, lighthearted, the vibe of your account. All right, so now let's talk trials, because you just want to make sure that that is optimized. Okay? Trial reels are really good right now for getting new followers. Now, a lot of people don't have trial reels. I will put in the show notes explanation I found on Reddit. I don't want to stamp approve this. I have not tested it, but there are hacks. And it will be in the show notes because it's a pretty long explanation, but it will be in the show notes, the instructions.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:02]:
Try it. And please, if it works for you, message me back. I also think you're. Again, I don't know. I don't know if Instagram's ever said this, but it could be you need at least a thousand followers. Someone said that in the comments once and I was like, oh, that could be it too. If you don't have trials, try that hack. If it works, let me know.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:16]:
If you do have Trials, let me tell you what to do. And I did a post last week and it always gets misinterpreted because there's a lot of people in my world who. Not my world, but in the marketing, social media marketing world who speak in absolutes and should not, should not. Right? Adam Mosseri months ago came out and said, if you duplicate and redo a trial reel too many times, it won't get pushed out. People started getting warnings on a. On a piece of content saying, look, looks like this is something you shared before. It's not going to get as much reach. People took that as, Instagram's going to ruin your reach overall.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:49]:
That is not true. The actual trial reel might not work as well. But guess what? Even if the reach isn't crazy, you could still get a handful of followers, post it. I have people that have said, I still posted it and it still did well. Okay. I also know someone who says, because she does trial reels for all her clients. So again, talk to the people actually managing accounts, because a lot of these gurus out there don't get me started. They like to shock value and clickbait, but that's for another day.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:13]:
What she does is she shares it to trials first, and then she'll share another piece, the same piece of content to the grid. And they don't get that warning. So that's. That's an option. But I'm telling you right now, just because. Test things out, guys, marketing. And I'm not trying to be mean. I just, I hate that there's so much bad information out there.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:31]:
If I get an in, anything from Instagram saying, hey, Shannon, it looks like you've shared this before. It might not get more reach. You know what I'm gonna do? I'm still going to share it, because I'm gonna test it. And someone actually said, my comments are like, yeah, I got the same one. I still posted it. And it. And it did really great. So testing's out for yourself.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:45]:
You can always go into your account settings and look at your status. With Instagram, if you're in the green, you're fine. So I say this to say, and I'm holding your hand right now, I want you to picture me across the table from you having a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, being like, look, social media, if you're gonna show up and do this, it takes work. It takes testing and tweaking and trying new things and not being afraid of a little warning from Instagram that might be a glitch or Might not be true. If it's saying you're about to deactivated, you're about to get restricted. Yeah, this is just a saying. This trial reel, this one single reel might not get the reach you want. That's all it's saying.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:18]:
You're allowed to share it. So let me tell you my trial reels strategy real quick, Number one, every single reel I post on Instagram, I create it in edits, typically, because what happens is it lives in edits. So now I don't have to go in and recreate anything. You can also save your reel as a draft, tap the three dots and duplicate it. So what I want you to do is start having two reels of the same reel. One is gonna get pushed to trials, and the other is gonna get pushed to your feed. I do it every stinking time. I've never gotten the warning.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:44]:
Some of y' all have gotten the warning. I still want you to test it. But this is the trick. Do not do it over and over and over again. This is where people started getting in trouble. They were doing the same reel, like a reel go viral, and they'd post it 20 times the trials. That's hacking the algorithm. And Instagram does not like that.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:00]:
But no one has gotten suspended. I would never tell you anything. And that's where I get upset sometimes. And I get. I try not to get defensive, but people are like, oh, I'm like, you guys, I would never share anything on Instagram that's gonna harm your account. My students have done this. The mastermind. I'm in.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:12]:
Everyone is sharing every single piece of content to trials, and they're not getting this thing. If you are getting it, try it. Or try what my friend Nikki said, which was, share it to trials first and maybe wait a day and then share it to your feed. Now, a lot of people ask me, Shannon, why do you do two versions? Cause why not two birds, one stone? And even if. And someone also asked me, because you guys might be asking the same question, okay, what if the trial is going bonkers, but the one on my feet isn't? Let the trial go bonkers. Let two versions of the trial go off. Now, another question I got was, Shannon, I don't want the trial to automatically share to my account, because that's been happening too. What you do, I'm opening it right now.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:49]:
You go to the reel itself, the trial reel, and I'm going to end it on a hook that has been working well for me.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:54]:
Okay?

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:54]:
So go to trial reels. Go to the Exact trial that you don't want to spread. Tap the three dots, manage trial, and what is checked right now is turn on automatic sharing. I'm going to tap it and turn it off and that's it. And you don't have to deal with that. So trial reels. But you're like Shannon, I've heard trial reels help, but my trials suck, you guys. I share probably.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:13]:
I share about like three trials a day. A day? About three trials a day. I share the one I'm sharing on Instagram and then I. I test out some other stuff for fun. Of all the trial reels I post in the last 30 days, only two have gone, quote unquote, semi viral. I don't care if my trial reel views suck. Guess what? Even the one that sucks, Even the trial reels, views that don't do well, I still get a handful of followers. And that's great.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:38]:
Cuz they need my content, they need my help. This trial right here yesterday, 2,800 views for me, that's really low. But guess what it brought in? Let's see. It brought in 11 followers. Like that's awesome. I've been able to help 11 more people. Okay, so, but let's talk about the reel. The trial reel I share once every few weeks and it goes viral every time and it brings in hundreds of new followers.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:01]:
Ready? I'm just going to let it play.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:03]:
If you are discouraged with Instagram right now and desperately trying to get out.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:05]:
Of whatever view jail you're in, you.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:07]:
Need to hit the follow button. I share everything I know that's working right now for free.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:12]:
I have people DM me all the.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:13]:
Time saying I've learned more from your free content than any course they've paid for. And the prompts, hooks, audio scripts I give them, get them out of view jail and skyrocket their reach and growth. So what are you doing? Hit follow. Let's do this together. Right there.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:28]:
That is your next trial reel. And I want you to share something similar every few weeks, every day, if you want. I don't care. Obviously not the same one, right? All it is is me in my kitchen leaning over going, why are you not following me? Like, that's the energy you gotta come with and you gotta tell them why. What you do is you treat that trial reel like an ad for your account and I want you to take that script. If you're feeling blank, what do I hear? All the time I'm feeling discouraged. So I start with that. If you're feeling discouraged with Instagram, you need to hit the follow button.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:56]:
So that's gonna be your script. You're gonna say, if you're looking for a blank, if you're tired of spending money on this, if you're hit the follow button and then back it up with why. It leads to so many followers every time. And everyone in the comments is like, you're right, followed. You're right, follow it. And it's great. And people love it because it's just me going, hi, this is me. And it's raw.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:16]:
And it's not, you know, behind a fancy camera, there's no mic. I'm just like, look, here I am. Get in here. I am dying to help you. Um, and then in the caption, I explain more about what I do and who I am. So whether you're a product, service, whatever it is, start sharing more trials that are the ones that I love. And I've got podcasts on them.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:36]:
The

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:36]:
That's me reel, right? The one that just says, pov, you're a tired blank. Pov, you're a local whatever, looking for blah, blah, blah, and you find our account. That one goes crazy for me every time. And then the one of me just talking to the camera being like, hey, guys. So to leave you with that, I'll leave you with the other one that goes viral for me every time. And like I said, I have trial. I test them out. I test, test, test, test, test.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:56]:
And if one doesn't go well, I'm like, okay, but guess what? My viral reels, I've shared to trials, and they've been crickets. Your entire life value is not tied to your trial reel views. Okay? This other one that does really well for me, I always. I do this. I say, another day posting a trial reel so people stop wasting money on Instagram courses with outdated advice and start following me to get out of 200 view jail for good. I treat it as a.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:22]:
And then the other one is, again, pov, you are a small creator looking to break out of 200 View jail. And you find my account. Those three. I circulate with different audios, different videos, and different captions all throughout the month, and they do so well. And then do I. And then do I have some. That bomb? Yeah. Am I crying about it? No.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:39]:
Like, I need you to give yourself grace when it comes to trial reels. If they don't do well. I'm so proud of you for posting it. You tested it, and I'm over here cheering on so hard, but I. I cannot wait to Hear how those other ones do for you. Use them as. Hey, guys. Hi, I'm over here.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:53]:
Follow me. And the one that says, another day posting a trial reel. So everyone looking for blah, blah, blah, finds, finds our product until I find the right audience. Those types of ones, those are the type of reels that you share in trials, and they go bonkers. Don't overthink it. Just quick, easy. And once you find that one formula, it works. You share it once a week, once a day, with a different video, different audio, so that you don't get in trouble.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:13:15]:
There we go. I'll leave you with this. Today, I want you to. Whatever you're posting, if you're posting a reel, push it out to trials and then push one out to your feed. Two birds, one stone. If you get that warning, do it anyway and see what happens. If it still is trash, what I would do is make sure you're separating the reels. Like share one to trials and then a week later or days later, do it.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:13:37]:
And you should. You should be totally fine. That's my advice. Don't trust everything you see on the Internet. I've tested this. My students have. I've even been on threads asking people to test it for me. And that seems to be working well.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:13:48]:
That's how you're going to get new followers in the end of the year and into 2026. Make sure that bio is awesome, the right content is pinned. Your stories are popping, and you will get those followers, friend. Give it time. Those people who are out there and need you will find you, love you.