The Instagram BAN
If you haven’t already heard the breaking news, Instagram is running a test to ban the “like” feature. That means the “likes” count you receive will only be visible to you and not to the public or your followers. This change is already happening in countries like Canada & Australia, and it could eventually make its way to you.
I’m sure influencers and narcissists everywhere are completely distraught by this news, but most level-headed human beings will be able to identify the positives brought by this adjustment. What Instagram hopes to accomplish is to remove the competitive nature and pressure for your posts to perform based on “likes.” In turn, the company hopes to create a healthier environment on social media and take a large step towards spearheading the digital movement to improve its users’ mental health.
What does this mean for the future of Instagram, particularly brands and influencers on Instagram?
The revamp of the like feature will create a shift in the way current businesses advertise and post content, and I’m here today to tell you about those changes and how to adjust to them.
How the Ban Will Affect the Way Brands and Influencers Use Instagram
The Instagram “like” ban will create a distinct shift on the social media platform. One of them being how content is created. A main goal of this modification is to encourage users to focus more on creating high-quality, genuine content rather than posting content that they think will garner more “likes.” The chance is also intended to weed out fake profiles and like bots, thus creating a more authentic experience for everyone.
The most important change, in my opinion, is relieving the pressure of basing post performance around “likes” while putting a stop to vanity metrics in order to improve users’ mental health. If done properly, this change will help make Instagram a safer place for everyone, including the large number of young adults and children who dominate the platform.
Many brands and influencers will argue that “likes” provides them with an instant indication that a post has been successful. However, Instagram wants to steer brands and influencers in a different way by having them engage with customers and create more accurate sales metrics.
“The goal of Facebook and Instagram is to push users to Stories, since they believe the future is in short form videos, not static images or [the] News Feed,” said David Shadpour, Social Native Founder & CEO. “Because of this, they’re focusing on strategies to increase consumer consumption rate of video, get more creators making videos, and increase ROI of advertisers leveraging video.”
It seems like Instagram stories, and video in general, are going to be the best way for brands and influencers to move forward. You might be thinking, “I just got the hang of posting photos regularly on my Instagram, and now I have to change all of that?” There is no harm in sticking to your routine for now, but you’d be surprised at how easy it is to post a story and get your message across quickly and effectively using video.
Instagram Stories
Instagram offers multiple tools to spruce up your photos and videos, tools like animated stickers, photo and video effects as well as the ability to tag locations and other pages.
If you want to (and you should want to), you can also link Instagram to your Facebook Page so stories from Instagram get directly funneled to your Facebook story as well (If you don’t know what a Facebook story is, we’ll catch up with you in another article).
As far as posting content, take your time to create something that you really want to share. There’s no need to rush a posting just to get likes. Focus on what you want your page to represent and what content makes you and your brand unique. If you do that than you will start to notice that your followers are more likely to engage and leave comments.
And once you have that authentic engagement, “likes” won’t mean as much.
That’s a Wrap
If the absence of “likes” still has you concerned about how to market your brand on Instagram, consider paid advertising. In other words, if you’re really proud of the hard work you put into your post(s), give them a targeted boost and place your content in front of the people that matter to your brand the most.
Whether the “like” ban rolls out globally or not, we really can’t say, but one thing’s for certain, Instagram will always be changing.
Start using the tools I mentioned above regularly and you will have a seamless transition into the next phase of Instagram.
Personally, I’m in favor of any change that will help create a healthier, more authentic experience on one of the world’s most popular social media platforms.
What do you think?
Do you love or hate the idea of a ban on “likes?” Head on over to the Rainmaker Marketing Instagram page, and let’s chat!
