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Because likes aren't everything.
Last Wednesday (July 17, 2019) Instagram tweeted how it had started running a test that hides the total number of likes and video views for a few people in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, and New Zealand.
*We also thought it was pretty funny that these are all fairly peaceful & progressive countries*
Following the big news, everyone had something to say about it whether supportive of the new change or against it. To clarify, the change is only going to hide the total number of likes so that people seeing your post will not be able to know how many tens, hundreds, or thousands of people liked it. However, the original poster of the picture (aka you) will still be able to see the total count when they click into the insights or “liked by @blf.communications and others” section of the picture. This change will affect brands, people, and businesses differently depending on how they use the app.
Thank you to @nicholehowson for letting us use her screenshot!
FOR CONTENT CREATORS:
For influencers, the change should not affect them too much because when a brand or business hires a content creator, they pay for the influencers’ comments, clicks, reach, and engagement levels. The change will push farther away from “vanity metrics” (such as the total number of likes or how many followers an influencer has) and will help to focus more on actual sales and other KPI’s that are used by brands and business when hiring influencers.
FOR MARKETERS:
As a marketing agency whose focus is in influencer marketing, we are both supportive of it and a little hesitant about it. In the end, taking away the total number of likes is one less statistic or KPI that can be used to measure interaction on an influencer's profile. Although there are websites such as Grin and Creative IQ that allow us to see those insights unless one has access to them then bye-bye to one way of seeing how influencers and their audiences interact. However, we are also completely for it because it will encourage influencers to use comments, DMs, story’s, and other ways to engage with their audience. When done successfully and correctly then their engagement rates will increase resulting in higher quality content and measurements.
FOR AVERAGE USERS:
The regular human being in us is also supportive of the new change. In 2017, a survey by the Royal Society for Public Health conducted in the UK ranked Instagram as the “worst for young mental health” compared to other social media channels. The study determined an increase in depression and anxiety, bullying, body image problems, and FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) can be associated with Instagram. We hope this change will help others who use the platform stop feeling like it is a popularity competition and begin to use Instagram as a creative outlet where they can be inspired, influenced positively, and be part of a growing healthy community.
SO, NOW WHAT?
Now that people can't see your likes anymore, have no fear! We created a free cheat sheet so that your engagements rates continue to go up and you no longer have to worry about those hidden likes.
About the Author:
Katherine Pereda is the Founder and CEO of BLF Communications, a boutique Influencer Marketing agency based in South Florida. Her clientele list ranges from luxury houses such as Gucci, Roberto Coin, Acqua di Parma, Vacheron Constantin, Jitrois Paris, Cartier LatAm, and Jimmy Choo to beauty, home design, fashion, lifestyle, and wellness companies like Maisons Du Monde, Tampax + Always PURE, Home Made Simple by Procter & Gamble, MintedLeaf CBD, and Agnes & Dora. Katherine has also worked extensively in experiential marketing for WantedDesign, New York Fashion Week, DesignMiami/, Glossier, Create & Cultivate, Miami Swim Week, Funksion Fashion Week, and Art Basel Miami. Now specializing in talent management, campaign ideation, and execution, she helps Influencers and brands from all over the world gain exposure, connections, and collaborations to build lifelong relationships.