Hi beautiful people! I am sure by now you’ve heard that Instagram is testing removing likes from its platform. There is no secret that this topic has been a hot topic for the past few weeks. I wanted to give my thoughts on the change and how I feel it will affect influencers and brands.
Earlier this year, Instagram announced that they were testing out the removal of likes in the following countries:
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- New Zealand
There as a more recent announcement from Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, that shared that the platform would be removing the public likes. There was also a follow-up tweet where the company said they wanted users to “focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.”
Why Is Instagram Removing Likes?
Instagram has been very vocal about why they are removing likes. Instagram said that they want Instagram to be a safe place. They want to depressurize the platform and focus more on connections, community, and a positive environment. I feel that this is a good thing. Let’s think about this for a second. In your everyday life do you need people to like everything you do? Also, Instagram’s stories are very popular and you don’t see the numbers there and that doesn’t stop people from sharing.
How Does The New Instagram Change Work?
The new roll-out has already taken place in seven countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, and New Zealand). There is only a select group of U.S. citizens that have seen the change already. So now instead of seeing the number of people who liked your post, you will now see a couple of people who have liked your photo. It will say something like liked by @Linda and others. You will still be able to see who liked your posts but others will not.
What Does Removing Likes Mean For You?
This has been the major elephant in the room. How will the removal of likes affect business owners, entrepreneurs, brands, and influencers? I’m glad you asked.
What Does This Change Mean for Brands?
The new change shouldn’t be much of an issue for brands. They will still be able to see how many people are interested in their posts. The only downside may be that if users won’t be able to see how popular posts are, they might not “like” them. This isn’t a huge deal though this goes for influencers as well. Brands can use other metrics to see how their posts are performing. They can measure by such as saves, reach and impressions.
What Does The Change Mean For Influencers?
For influencers removing likes means that you can focus more on your content rather than the numbers. I think it’s a good thing and I support it. I feel that influencers will post more freely and more authentic posts. Brands will still be able to get the analytics for your sponsored posts so I don’t think that will be an issue for collaborations. Brands will focus more on long term partnerships with influencers who create on-brand content and have authentic relationships with their followers. So if you are already creating a community, being yourself, and engaging on Instagram you should have no issues at all continuing to get brand deals.
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We can’t do anything about the change but you can continue to post amazing content on Instagram. Here are a few tips on what you can do to stay top of mind on Instagram with your followers and make the algorithm work for you.
- Post more BTS and use IG stories: Instagram stories are hot right now. It’s still such a new feature on Instagram and there is so much that you can do with it.
- Be YOU! Be real, this is what your community will thrive on.
- Comments matter more than likes and follower counts. Don’t just post on IG and go ghost. Interact with your followers! Engage!!
- Utilize IGTV to create an engaging series!
- Create a hashtag strategy. Look for new ways to utilize hashtags. Switch things up and don’t use the same ones.
Instagram is changing but I think it’s for the better! We will see how it goes! You totally got this though no need to worry at all! Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments.
Xo
Michelle
