So what’s up with “Likes”?

…and what if they all went away?  How would that effect the type of content you post?

There’s a lot of talk lately about whether or not we should be concerned with LIKES on our Instagram posts. Instagram is even testing NO LIKEs on feeds in certain parts of the world. Honestly, I think this is a really positive change for Instagram and for us. Instagram Stories don’t have any public metrics, and that hasn’t stopped it from exploding in popularity with both users, brands, and influencers. I think the same will happen without LIKES on the posts.

Bottom line is this: end users (the people brands, you, me and influencers are targeting) want authentic, visually beautiful content on Instagram. These Instagram people are not going away either, not unless the platform becomes infiltrated with trashy ad-laden and spammy posts. If that happens, we’ve all lost.

What content would you post if you didn’t worry about likes?

The fact that your “like count” is out of sight means that the focus is on your content, rather than a number. This  can allow you to post more freely, be more creative, share more authentically, without being limited to when and what time you can post to get the most likes.

You can buy likes, you can buy comments, and you can buy followers, so where do we draw the line as to what is real on social media? And how do we know if we are REALLY making an impact? You want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get!  A like count doesn’t show a true picture of your success on social media. It’s engagement, saves, and follows that go deep with brands. Remember, if the likes do go away for us all, the back-end analytics and likes will still be there for you, but the front end will be free to focus on great content. At the end of the day, it’s all about building real relationships with consistent, compelling, great visual content that generates engagement. And here’s the key: engagement + great content = engagement.

“A Brand cares more about relevance and awareness than likes.” ~ Gary Vee

So if you took away the sensationalism, the perfect time to post to get the most likes, the like count, and were free to post creatively about your business, your services, and the passions in your life….what would you post?

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Sandy HIbbard Creative’s InstaBranding program provides the visual content and messages for your posts that will create relevance and awareness about your company. We will work with you to create and curate the posts for your feed and Instagram Stories. We take the work off of you so you can focus on the engagement side of Instagram. Contact Sandy for details and pricing.