A Guide to AB Testing Your Reels to Virality

Published on 04.10.2025 by Chizoba T

While there is no magic bullet for making reels go viral, understanding your audience and what they need can put you in the lead when they are considering which reels to watch. A/B testing can help you create impactful reels that will easily go viral.

With the data-driven approach, you can make small but controlled changes to the reels to determine what clicks with your audience. A good A/B testing strategy requires a proper understanding of your analytics, providing essential lessons even from poorly-performing videos. In this article, we will guide you through A/B testing your reels to make them go viral.

What is Reel A/B Testing?

Generally, A/B testing reels involve comparing different short videos to determine which performs better. It is an effective way of refining your strategy based on your audience's behaviors rather than guesswork. That also means when A/B testing a reel, you must create two short videos with the variable you want to test, such as the audio, hook, or perfectly created call-to-action.

For instance, if you are a pregnancy exercise content creator, you can create two versions of a reel demonstrating a particular exercise. In the first version, you can use a caption like, "Want to build stronger pelvic floor muscles?" In the second version, you can use the caption, "Here are the number one pelvic muscle exercises you aren't doing." Ensure all other elements, from the video to the music and editing style, are the same. The caption is what you will be A/B testing.

This strategy works great because it is straightforward. You don't have to reinvent the whole video creation process. Instead, you make minor tweaks to help you understand what resonates with your target audience. By regularly making such simple improvements, you will end up making significant gains in the long-term social media growth strategy.

Why A/B Testing is Important for Your Reel Strategy

If you have been posting reels continuously, with some reels getting thousands of views and others getting a few views, you may be left wondering what you are doing right or wrong. Is it the hashtag, time, or content? Through A/B testing, you can get concrete and data-driven answers that can help you run a $100 campaign that feels like $10,000.

A/B testing helps you understand what resonates with your audience in your reel strategy. When you know the elements driving higher engagement, clicks, or dwell time, you can create content that resonates better with your target audience and improve your ROI.

Even when you A/B test one of your videos, the benefits will flow to all your other videos. This is because you will get some essential relations from each of your videos. For instance, your audience responds better to humor than educational reels. You might also realize they like the quick tips more than the detailed tutorials. These insights become key to your content strategy, ensuring you consistently get the desired results.

A/B testing can also help you understand upcoming changes to a platform before they happen. This is important, as what worked a few years or even a few months ago on social media may not work today. Regular testing allows you to maintain fresh content that aligns with your best practices.

Steps in A/B Testing Reels

When A/B testing your reels, follow these steps:

Have a Clear Test Hypothesis

You need to have a clear hypothesis for your A/B test. For instance, will using a question as the real hook increase the watch time than using a statement? This will define what you are testing and what success you anticipate. Avoid using vague statements, such as the best hooks will enhance the performance. Instead, determine what you want to change and how you measure the level of success. Examples of reasonable hypotheses are:

Adding reel subtitles will increase my reels' engagement by 20%.
Using trending music will increase the reach of my reels by 30%.
Posting at 2 p.m. will increase the viewership by 15% compared to posting in the morning.

You will notice that your hypothesis consists of the change you will be making and the outcomes you expect. Such clarity will provide better tests and more effective measurement of results.

Reels A/B Testing Variables

There are so many real elements you can test. However, when starting, you should test the variables likely to impact performance and align with your following. For instance, to grow your following, focus on the elements that enhance discovery and reach. If you need website traffic, focus on link and CTA strategies. Some of the top aspects to measure include:

Reel Hook

The hook of a reel consists of the first three seconds. You can track elements like the on-screen hooks, opening clips, and opening lines to see the most scroll-stopping elements. You can A/B test different hook variations, such as:

Question hooks. Ever wondered why you keep getting pimples on your face?
Visual hooks. Use a visually striking image.
Statement hook. This simple money hack saved me $500 monthly.
Audio hook. Involves using a music drop or sound effect to grab the viewer's attention.

Audio Choices

You can A/B test different audios, such as an original audio versus a trending voiceover. Does your reach increase when you use a trending audio, or does the reel engagement increase with a unique sound? When A/B testing Instagram audio, remember that the platform promotes reels using trending sounds, increasing your reel's reach.

CTAs and Captions

It's essential to experiment with different lengths or captions, such as short versus long, and the phrasing of the content. Captions allow you to add direction, content, and personality to a reel. Consider also the CTA that will drive action, as these are great A/B testing questions.

Hashtags

Another area you can A/B test is between the smaller niche hashtags and the high-volume hashtags to get insights into whether to go for massive reach or a more targeted target. Hashtags are a great way of discovering new content, but hashtag stuffing no longer works. You need to have a balance in your hashtag strategy. Here are examples of hashtag strategies you can A/B test:

Group A: Should consist of 5 to 7 hashtags, each with 1 million posts.
Group B: Should have 5 to 7 hashtags with 10k to 100k posts.

Make sure you are tracking views and engagement quality. Niche hashtags are great for attracting viewers interested in your content and can, therefore, lead to higher followings and meaningful interactions.

Best Posting Date/Time

Instagram insights can help you understand when your audience is most active. You can then post on different days to determine the best posting time. If you post when your audience is most active, you increase your chances of engagement. Therefore, check Instagram insights to understand when your followers are mostly online. Consider whether they have unique patterns according to their time zones and demographics.

You can then do an A/B test with different posting hours. For instance, if your audience is active mainly between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., you can post at 7 p.m. one week and 9 p.m. the other weeks. You can also do test posts on weekdays vs. weekends.

In Conclusion

A/B testing your reels is a great way to determine the kind of content that resonates with your target audience. It can also provide essential insights into your real campaign by showing the best posting time, the right hashtag, and even the right CTAs. If you are wondering how to A/B test reels, our guide above will be a helpful resource. We recommend you read our guide on using Instagram reels to maximize visibility and reach.