06 Jan Instagram is Getting Rid of Likes, What Does This Mean for Your Business?

There are so many businesses that rely on Instagram for their everyday marketing efforts. And they rely on their posts to get lots of attention, and of course, “likes” from their followers. However, Instagram recently announced that they are getting rid of “likes” altogether—a big switch up that is sure to change the entire fabric of the social media giant and how people today use it.

So, with Instagram ushering in this new era, what exactly does this mean for your business and your current social media marketing efforts?

Well, while it may seem like a huge departure, Instagram won’t be changing all that much. While other users won’t be able to see exactly how many people have liked a post—Instagram will post the name of a mutual person you both follow and “others” in the pot where the likes would typically appear. According to the company, it was an attempt to help young people by removing some of the pressure associated with Instagram or making it less of a competition for users. 

There has been some backlash about the change, particularly from those who think that removing “likes” will hurt businesses and influencers and that it would mean less engagement for those who professionally use Instagram. There are worries that companies will need to turn to Instagram ads or other more costly forms of marketing to get attention from the public.

However, don’t go changing your marketing budget quite yet.

The roll-out is designed to encourage people to focus more on the content they are producing and delivering, and less on making posts that are just baits for getting as many “likes” as possible. This isn’t going to be an issue for most businesses, but if you want to make sure you are adapting to these changes, the first thing that you need to do is continue to focus on quality.

To keep up with the changes, make sure to keep your focus on educating and informing your followers of the information you want them to know—and keeping your marketing focus at the forefront instead of just trying to count your “likes.”

The change may make it slightly more challenging to determine how popular your posts are. With like “counts” out of the way, this will no longer be the number one way to keep track of how content is performing. Just make sure that you have other metric back up plans to determine how your posts are doing. Whether you use impressions, your reach, or the number of saves—make sure you have other methods in place that will help you judge how your post is performing.

If you have other questions about how you can embrace these Instagram changes and create a marketing plan that works for you—contact us here at Life In Motion for help.