Instagram Hiding Likes and what that means for businesses
2019 was a trial year, but 2020 is coming and Adam Mosseri, Instagram CEO, seems determined to make it a like-free year for the platform.
“The idea is to de-pressurize Instagram,” he said.
It isn’t unusual for social media to propose changes in the algorithm or with new features but this is going to be one of the most controversial to date.
The aim is to bring the networking service into a new area made of community-building conversations and connections.
In this vision, fewer numbers and stats mean a safer, more inclusive virtual space, especially for young people. And, celebrities such as Cardi B and Kim Kardashian West backed up the CEO decision voicing the repercussions that numbers can have on one’s mental health when they are the symbols of popularity and likability. Others have raised concerns to the point of talking about boycotting the platform.
However, hiding likes from the public doesn’t necessarily mean that Instagram or its content won’t keep growing at the super-swift rate it’s already growing as of 2019. If this year has shown something is that features such as Facebook and Instagram Stories have been thriving becoming more and more popular regardless of the presence of public likes or numbers to show engagement.
Also, for the everyday user, not having the pressure of public likes could mean posting more of what they really enjoy, not caring that much about the public response could help Instagram go back to more authentic roots.
But what does it mean for businesses?
Up to this point, most of us have been using likes to determine the popularity and, consequentially, the marketability of a post, because they provided insights into the engagement of an account’s audience.
And, even though, the hidden analytics will still show stats and numbers necessary as a brand to understand what is working in your digital marketing plans and what isn’t, the new like-free version will make it more difficult to do competitive researches.
Some say that it could be an opportunity for brands and marketer alike to focus on what they really find interesting and captivating even in competitive researches and that this might stimulate most to try something different and see if it really works. However, this would also mean not being able to learn from others’ social media mistakes but making them instead.
Hence, brands on Instagram will have to find more creative ways to analyse their data, learn what is actually benefiting their business and what will help them reach their goals. The pressure will be on shares, comments, hashtags and Stories to deliver the overall content performance.
One thing we know for sure, social media will change times and times again adapting to the consumers’ requests and the trends, and digital marketing will evolve with it, finding new creative ways to accommodate brands necessities.
We are ready, are you?
The year is about to end, let us tell you how to get ahead in 2020 with one digital marketing trend you must employ to improve your brand’s reach on social media.
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