Influencers across the country woke up to a new world today as Australia (and New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, Italy and Brazil) joined the removed of like totals on Instagram posts "trial change" that started in Canada in May this year.
When you open Instagram today you will see the below auto message from Instagram, however, this isn't correct, you cannot see the total number of likes, that was the Canadian trial in May. Australia just sees one name and "others".
Facebook Australia and New Zealand Director of Policy Mia Garlick said "Instagram should be a place where people feel comfortable expressing themselves, rather than judged. We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love.”
Mia continued “We are now rolling the test out to Australia so we can learn more about how this can benefit people’s experiences on Instagram, and whether this change can help people focus less on likes and more on telling their story.”
WHAT YOU'LL SEE You will see a list of people that liked your post
You will not see an overall number
I'm still very much in two minds about this new number-free world.
On one hand, I love that this could remove pressure for teenagers too concerned with like totals and that it will shake up the sometimes dodgy and obsessed influencer world as that's really needed it for a while.
On the other hand, I don't like that it'll make it harder for businesses to know which content is engaging and connecting well with their community and what content needs work and is unimportant.
To try to solve the engagement issue Social Pulse is currently looking at reporting options so that you'll still be able to easily know exactly how your posts are performing.
If you'd like Instagram reporting click here and I'll keep you updated when I've got a solution.
We are only 1 day into the change so it'll be interesting to see how it plays out over the few weeks and if it translates into a drop off in engagement or users and if you can even tell.
by Tony Ilbery
Social Pulse
Insta > @tonyilbery
Email > [email protected]