There has been a lot of buzz in the digital world around Instagram’s ‘test’ feature that will hide likes on a post from the followers. Well, it’s official- the feature has now been launched, and some Instagram users will no longer be able to see like counts. Instagram’s parent company Facebook confirmed at the recent F8 developer conference, that the feature may extend to all users, but it only being tested only in Canada for now.
What motivated the change?
With over 1 billion people using Instagram every month, the platform has become a setting to study social behaviour. Psychologists have recently analyzed the impact Instagram has on its users. The platform allows people only to see the glamorous or edited version of their life, and there is an increasing relationship between self-esteem and the amount of likes on a recent selfie.
Instagram developers believe that by hiding like counts, the focus will shift to the content rather than a popularity contest. However, the like count won’t be a complete mystery- the person who posted the photo/video will still be able to see the exact number of likes.
How will this impact online marketing?
Though it may be too soon to tell, there is speculation that without the ability to publicly view an influencer’s likes, it could make it more difficult to gauge how engaged their community is. The former VP of audience development at Livestrong Lia Haberman believes that hidden likes could result in a shift from paid influencer marketing to more individual paid ads from brands on Instagram.
There also is the prediction that other metrics will derive more meaning to analytics, such as reach, number of impressions or saves.
Our work with clients on the Instagram platform has always been about engagement and not so much a popularity contest and will continue to be. We will be watching closely to see how this new change will impact online marketing efforts. The test platform is likely to elicit a range of reactions, from anger to relief. Let us know your thoughts on the topic in the poll below:
