Brace yourselves influencers because from this day onwards; you won’t be able to flaunt your likes on Instagram. Unless you are Gary V or Roger Federer, who needs no likes to grab the attention of their fans, you need to work ultra-hard on getting the attention of people on Instagram.
The news that broke six months ago is now live on a global scale. Instagram is not showing likes to users.
The wave first started in Canada and then took every other country like a storm. Now even in the US, you won’t be able to see the number of likes in a post.
Previously, social proof was the universal key to generating more leads. But with no likes, there will be nothing to show to the users. This means that in 2020, it will become nearly impossible for everyone to get engagement on Instagram.
Let us first look at why Instagram is hiding Likes and what steps you can take to increase your engagement in 2020.
Why is Instagram Hiding Likes in the first place?
Speaking at the Wired25 Conference, Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, broke the news. According to Mosseri, he is willing to make Instagram a safer place for people.
Initially, the experiment was just for six months, but now it is being implemented on a global scale. The reason is to expand the user base with genuine followers, not fake followers.
Thank GOD! At least someone knows what they are doing and why they are doing it.
How will Instagram Hidden Likes work?
It is necessary to mention that likes will not disappear altogether – instead, they will be hidden from followers. When you click on the others in likes, you’ll be able to see those who liked the post but not how many people liked it.
You’ll also be able to see comments made by people.
But you will be able to see your likes with just a few taps.
That’s good news. Your followers will not be able to see your likes, but you’ll see them when you tap in the others under your likes section.
How did people respond to this change?
Upon chatting with some people, CNN concluded that the majority of the people are taking this as a positive move from Insta. As likes were the reason that youngsters were facing mental health issues, there will be no such thing as anyone.
However, according to Renee Engeln, a psychology professor at Northwestern University, the mental issues will still not get resolved as users can check their likes and feel depressed upon an underperforming post.
And Then There Were Some Angry Birds
The decision to hide likes instantly sparked a heated debate among influencers. Some are not at all happy with this change and have shared their concerns on other platforms.
While some think that it is the biggest mistake by Instagram.
But as the saying goes, GOD doesn’t make a lock without first creating a key for it. So, there are some ever-green Instagram engagement tips to start the year 2020 with a big bang.
How to Boost Your Instagram Engagement in 2020?
There are two ways to deal with this change. Either you evolve, or you get lost in oblivion. I am sure you are willing to go for the first.
To evolve, you need to follow specific tips that can outsmart your competitors.
1. Begin with Engaging Users
Yeah yeah, I know. This sounds too clichéd. But still, many brands are creating content that is not all serving their marketing needs. They are trying to shove content down their audience’s throats users instead of understanding the pain points of the audience.
Remember, you don’t have likes available anymore. The only thing that can save you now is high-quality content that directly inspires your followers.
Forget the likes; comments are now your new likes.
Produce content that can tempt people to comment. When people say, it will open a gateway to start a discussion.
Make sure that you are posting content that is relevant to, interesting, and intriguing for your followers — this will be how you will be able to engage more people.
Check the example from the ASOS brand. How the brand used an old-school photo to revive old memories, and that forced people to comment on the post.
2. Longer Instagram Captions
Who doesn’t love stories? Do you know how to create stories around your posts? If not, it is time that you start polishing your storytelling skills. Because Jenna Kutcher – an influencer, suggests that writing extended captions in the form of a story can engage more people.
Check how Jenna created a beautiful story around a post and received well-deserved comments.
3. Go for Target Ads
We all know that Instagram’s algorithm follows nearly the same approach as Facebook. If there is little or no engagement, your post won’t make it to more people. One solution that everyone suggests is to run Instagram ads. Since there are no likes, you don’t need to hire influencers to get likes, you can run ads to engage people.
In a world of no likes, small businesses can leverage sponsored ads to reach their target customers; this will entail high sales, more click-through rates, and engagement.
4. Separate Fake from Genuine Influencers
If there are no likes, it will be difficult for fake influencers to reach out to people. In this way, it will be easy for brands to pick influencers who make share-worthy content.
You can easily judge the value of the influencer by the conversation going on in the comments section of the post.
People will share their authentic views about the influencer, and it will be difficult for the fake influencers to rise in such a situation.
5. Get Serious About Hashtags
Regardless of what everyone thinks about hashtags, it is a great way to reach out to more people.
But just like a right hashtag can generate a lead, a wrong hashtag can steal a point too. That’s why it is essential which hashtags you use for your brand.
For instance, if you don’t know which of the hashtags are right for your business, you can use tools like Later.com to get suggestions for your brand.
Wrapping it all up
Not everyone will respond in the same way. Some people will like it while others, as you might have seen, have vociferously rejected the change. But in the end, all that counts is how you will create and retain engagement for your customers.
What do you think about Instagram hiding likes – do you love it or hate it? Let us know in the comments!
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