We all love seeing how many likes our social media posts get, right? In fact, we get so much pleasure from these likes that there have been several medical studies to decipher how our brains react to these online interactions. It has been found that social media networking can trigger our brains to release oxytocin, the “feel-good hormone”.
This sounds like a positive thing, so why would Instagram want to do away with showing how many likes a post receives? To make a long story short, Instagram is on a pursuit to become as safe as possible, and this is one of the many steps they’re taking to become safer for its users. We all know that too much of a good thing can actually become harmful, so Instagram will now begin testing the removal of like counts in the US starting this week. Instagram is hoping that this will help to reduce anxiety among its users (especially younger users), as the platform has become a place of competition. They’re also hoping that the removal of like counts will give users more space to connect with the people and things that inspire them.
*****It’s important to note that you will still be able to see your own metrics and likes, but they will not be displayed beneath the photo like they always have been in the past.*****
If you use Instagram to market your business, you’re probably wondering what steps you should be taking to make sure this change doesn’t negatively impact your efforts.
Don’t panic!
Here are our recommendations:
1. Content is STILL king.
We hope that the removal of likes will give you a bit a freedom when you’re creating content. Now is the time to post what you really enjoy, not just what you think people want to see. This doesn’t mean everything goes out the window, but we encourage you to take the time to think about your target customers and clients and truly get creative with what you’re sharing. No matter what, high quality content with top-notch visuals and calls-to-action will always perform best and give you and your business best results.
2. Get creative with how you measure success.
There are many ways to measure the success of your Instagram posts aside from likes. If you’re looking to better track engagement on your posts, we recommend including a very clear call-to-action. This could be as simple as asking your followers to comment on your post or tag a friend, offering a special discount to followers, directing them to click the link in your bio, or having them share your post in their stories. These are all good ways to measure the authentic interactions and engagements on your posts.
3. Don’t sleep on Instagram Stories!
If you haven’t been utilizing Instagram Stories, you have been missing out. When you post to your Instagram feed, you only have a fraction of a second to catch the attention of someone who is quickly scrolling through posts. With Instagram Stories, you have several seconds to capture their attention and hopefully influence a sale or action on your page. According to social media expert Mari Smith, Instagram Stories is growing at 15x the rate of feed content and all metrics have always been private on Stories. Again, metrics have always been private on Instagram Stories, and we haven’t even thought twice about it. So now that we know more people are viewing Stories than posts in the feed, we should certainly take that in to consideration when planning out content. Stories are the perfect place to show your daily, behind the scenes and bonus footage for your followers.
So maybe removing likes isn’t so bad after all.
There’s no need to panic or make any drastic changes to your Instagram strategy just because people won’t be able to see how many likes you have on your posts. We think this should be viewed merely as a shift in how we view success on Instagram. We hope that the removal of Instagram likes inspires you to get creative with what you’re posting and in turn draw more positive attention to your brand and business.
Remember, if you’re posting high quality and attention grabbing content, the results will follow.
If you have any questions regarding this Instagram update, or want to continue the conversation, give us a shout on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Thanks for reading!
Much ❤️,
Your friends at Rosey Social🌹