INSTAGRAM has removed the NUMBER of LIKES from posts. This was a planned and reported “test” that is running in several countries, including BRAZIL.
I've seen a lot of theories on the subject, let's try to go back in time to understand this better??
The History of this Change
In 2016, Instagram had already announced that the algorithm would prioritize the moments that really matter, extremely in line with Facebook's later changes in 2018 prioritizing family and friends.
It turns out that Instagram has always been about "things you like." In its release itself, Instagram makes it clear that "the artist you prefer, the thing you engage with most, will be there when you log in"... regardless of how many people you follow. Did you get the point?
The content you want to see most will be prioritized, not just all the content from the people you follow.
Now, let's jump ahead to 2019, when we had a new vital update on the platform. Amid questions about the drop in reach, Instagram took a stand saying that the fundamental pillars of post reach were:
✅ how much we engage with the content
✅ the time we spent on the platform
✅ the times we access most
✅ the number of people we follow
Still in this update, he talks about never hiding posts from users, as long as the user scrolls the screen, he will see all the content in the feed, but basically he kills the chronological order and implements a definitive relevance algorithm, well expected for those who need to capture the user's attention in the face of exponential growth.
This ends up reducing the reach of your followers, who will no longer “scroll” for longer than the time they spend on the social network.
So, when that guru of yours talks about lower organic reach on Instagram accounts, what he should know and tell you is that "no one can have such a high level of importance for so many people, but only for the right people."
This is the big move of all the updates to online platforms, whether from Google, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn, that I've seen in recent years:
– Stay important, stay useful and interesting.
And now, we have this update that appears to be the “Zombie Apocalypse of vanity metrics.”
Why hide “number of likes”??
The first clue they give is that they want people to share the photos and videos they like without worrying about likes.
By pointing this out, he points out a major flaw in the platform, because we know of the existence of millions of bots, very similar to those that almost killed Twitter in the past.
A bot that generates a like is not a person engaging with content, it is a glitch in the matrix. ☠️
Added to the fact that likes have become increasingly automated and unconscious HUMAN actions as well.
Have you ever caught yourself making out like a robot? ?
Have you ever seen low-quality posts that people like unconsciously?
“Hey, look at my face when I discovered the 3 likes feature on Instagram”
Your brain has turned the act of liking into something meaningless.
It is also worth remembering the number of unconscious actions we perform with our lazy brain.
85% of our actions are coordinated by habits (the 85% is pure manipulation, no one knows for sure the number or how much but they are predominant)?)
If we understand that relevance is directly associated with engagement on social media, when an action stops being such a reliable indicator of engagement, what do you do? ?
✅ All social networks are reducing the value of likes and focusing on actions such as comments and content viewing. Even screen time serves as a greater indicator than a like. Semiotics is once again becoming fundamental to the strategy, as it was in email marketing for years.
✅ What if a distorted metric starts to influence user behavior? For example, do I consume content just because I notice it has more likes?
Well, we are, in this case we are generating engagement with the wrong database, again we are generating wrong conclusions with wrong premises, so the way is to hide these numbers.
Just like Facebook reduced the reach of “Like, share and win” posts back then.
If human beings are influenced by social proof and social acceptance, they will tend to like what more people like, simple as that, and often, these are not things they really care about.
Note that the metric has not been removed, you see all the people who liked your posts but not others.
Do you know why this is?
Bots used the list of likes to follow people who engaged with the content.
Finally, all the privacy and freedom defended in an official text smells to me like pure data protection, increasing the product's market value by protecting it from threats from automated organic strategies that harm the monetization model and, of course, hiding data intelligence.
Here, privacy becomes the banner of those who keep users' personal data only for themselves, making it clear that you, my friend, are the main product on this “menu”.
Sources:
Instagram, Moments that You care about:
https://instagram-press.com/…/see-the-moments-you-care-abo…/
2019, algorithm change
