The world of social media is changing. Today, like counts are no longer relevant to the performance of an ad or content. Most social networks realized that such a measure is very obscure. You don’t know whether a person likes the post itself, just the picture, or the joke that comes with the post. This is why Facebook removed the like counts on Pages. Instead, the platform now focuses on Page followers. Instagram has been working out on a similar function. Since January 2021, Instagram is testing options to hide like counts. Today, Instagram updates its test options to hide like counts.
Three new options in hiding like counts will now be available to selected Instagram users. These are:
- Hiding Like counts on other people’s posts
- Keeping full Like counts in the app
- Switching off Like counts on your own posts
These new options give Instagrammers more freedom to choose when or where to hide like counts.
Instagram updates test options to hide like counts as of 14 April 2021.
Implications for Marketers:
Like counts have been considered as a key metric for brands and businesses alike. Removing them on Instagram can encourage marketers to focus on more valuable options like page followings and conversion. As such, it will make Instagram marketing more effective and valuable.
