We all enjoy social media for different reasons, whether it’s the ability to connect with others or to share our daily happenings in life. People thrive on knowing we can tell who sees our posts and their thoughts about our daily content.

When Instagram announced the hiding of likes, you can imagine the outpour of contrasting opinions worldwide. Instagram even tweeted: “We want your friends to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.” In reality, it seems like a great thing, but is it?

Social Stamina has some facts for you about the good, the bad, and the ugly of Instagram hiding likes!

The Pros of Instagram Hiding Likes

• Instagram made a point to let people know that cyberbullying is a significant problem on their platform. With them hiding likes, Instagram tries to lessen the competition amongst its younger users when posting content. It also helps people lose sight of who likes what pictures of their friends.

• Instagram will not take you away from enjoying your life. Sometimes, people can spend hours on their phones just looking at who is liking different posts. With Instagram practically eliminating this feature, users can fully ENJOY their friends' posts.

• This concept is already in use on Instagram Stories, which many may be completely blind to. Thousands of users post Instagram Stories each day, yet it never seems to bother anyone who views who's Story. People are more carefree with this feature, as seen through the content usually posted on Instagram Stories.

The Cons of Instagram Hiding Likes

• Companies will no longer see who views and likes their competitors' posts. Most brands engage in what we like to call: competitor stalking. This process allows a business to analyze what another company does to get the public talking about its brand. Now businesses will only see posts but never see who or how many users like them.

• Instagram influencers may suffer. Influencers are popular users on social media that begin representing companies as their ambassadors. Products from big-name companies usually obtain influencers to help market their products to the masses. Without likes, however, the Instagram algorithm may get destroyed. Users may no longer see product posts of potential purchases from influencers unless they currently follow that individual.

• People may begin to post unfiltered content too often. Facebook, unlike Instagram, gives you an option to post multiple photos in an album. On Instagram, people tend to limit their posts to maintain their like count instead. People that may not care about this will start posting as much as they want whenever they want. In return, these posts may not get to the right people at the right time!

• Companies may not have the opportunity to target potential clients anymore. Businesses pay for advertisements on Instagram that usually show up in your feed if you interacted with that brand previously. If Instagram hides likes, brands may lose opportunities to gain more customers. This scenario could cause another algorithm flaw, forcing Instagram to rework the app's structure.
  

It's still unclear if Instagram hiding likes is a good or bad idea for your brand. Realistically, it only truly matters how you adapt to it compared to your competitors. 

If you need help in that department, have no fear! Social Stamina is always up on the latest social media news and advice. Give us a call today, and we can provide you with a FREE (yes, FREE) consultation.