{"id":17053,"date":"2021-04-13T13:37:48","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T13:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand"},"modified":"2021-04-13T13:37:48","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T13:37:48","slug":"what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand","title":{"rendered":"What Hidden Instagram Likes Means for Your Brand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In March, Instagram accidentally hid the likes counter for some users due to a bug.<\/strong> This reminded us all of the importance of agility and brought us all to ponder our reliance on likes as measures of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platform has been testing hidden likes for years, and accidentally released it widely. While the bug was fixed within a day, the slip-up reminded us that Instagram is still testing this feature, and it\u2019s possible that likes will begin disappearing again in the near future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri first announced<\/a> in 2019 that the platform would begin hiding like counts, the news was received with mixed feelings. Supporters celebrated the change, citing that Instagram likes represent a vanity metric and negatively impact users\u2019 mental health. Critics, which largely make up accounts that have amassed large followings, lamented that a public measurement of their post popularity would be hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the announcement, likes started disappearing in select countries, including Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Ireland, Italy and test groups in the US. While the UK wasn\u2019t part of the original test, users worldwide have seen some version of an Instagram feed without likes. In fact, we\u2019ve found that some of our US staff with Apple products have the likes hidden while those with Android tend to be able to see the likes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Mosseri, the initiative to hide Instagram likes is to \u201ctry and depressurise Instagram, make it less of a competition, give people more space to focus on connecting with people that they love, things that inspire them.\u201d This feature was especially developed for young people, whose mental health is often affected by the social pressure to gather lots of likes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does Instagram like hiding work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Instead of showing the like counter, posts with hidden likes display \u201cand others\u201d where the like count used to be. It\u2019s important to note that while likes are hidden to the public, individual users can still look into their metrics to see how many likes each post gets. Furthermore, brands can still access this metric from Instagram Insights. Hidden Instagram likes would purely affect your content\u2019s performance visibility from the outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While discussion of hidden Instagram likes was relatively quiet following the 2019 announcement, the recent test raised speculation about whether the platform would fully roll out this feature. If so, what would this mean for your brand?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hidden Instagram likes highlights the importance of agility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Social media is ever-evolving, with new features and algorithm changes introduced every day. While we can\u2019t always control the changes we face, we can control how we adapt<\/a>. Brands that see long-term success are the ones that are nimble in the face of unexpected circumstances. Even though it hasn\u2019t been confirmed that Instagram plans to remove likes, the roll-out highlights the importance of brands to stay agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would change for your brand\u2019s Instagram account if likes are hidden again? It\u2019s possible that not being able to see likes will make it difficult for new followers to gauge a brand\u2019s credibility. Instead of relying on a high like count, brands can put more focus on creating high-quality content that speaks for itself. And since Instagram hasn\u2019t spoken about removing comments, making sure that your feed and story content encourages interaction can help maintain your account\u2019s health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rethink how you work with influencers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even if an influencer has a large follower count, that doesn\u2019t mean that they have an engaged and passionate audience. Instead of focusing on vanity metrics like follower count and likes alone, brands can start thinking about how to form long-term partnerships with content creators who create on-brand content and align closely with their brand values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As proven by the worldwide tests, hidden Instagram likes doesn\u2019t detract people from using the platform. Consumers may be more likely to like and engage with posts that they are truly passionate about, rather than simply liking because it\u2019s popular. If the change becomes more permanent, it could result in a more equitable and healthy social media environment for all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In March, Instagram accidentally hid the likes counter for some users due to a bug. This reminded us all of the importance of agility and brought us all to ponder our reliance on likes as measures of success. The platform has been testing hidden likes for years, and accidentally released it widely. While the bug…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":17054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,684],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Hidden Instagram Likes Means for Your Brand - The Social Element USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While discussion of hidden Instagram likes was relatively quiet following the 2019 announcement, the recent test raised speculation about whether the platform would fully roll out this feature.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Hidden Instagram Likes Means for Your Brand - The Social Element USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While discussion of hidden Instagram likes was relatively quiet following the 2019 announcement, the recent test raised speculation about whether the platform would fully roll out this feature.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Social Element USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-13T13:37:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/04\/pexels-prateek-katyal-2694434.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amy Gilbert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amy Gilbert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand\",\"name\":\"What Hidden Instagram Likes Means for Your Brand - The Social Element USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/04\/pexels-prateek-katyal-2694434.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-13T13:37:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-13T13:37:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/8a2b2da339747ddc5d1d0acd89ad1854\"},\"description\":\"While discussion of hidden Instagram likes was relatively quiet following the 2019 announcement, the recent test raised speculation about whether the platform would fully roll out this feature.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/04\/pexels-prateek-katyal-2694434.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/04\/pexels-prateek-katyal-2694434.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853,\"caption\":\"Instagram Likes\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Hidden Instagram Likes Means for Your Brand\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/\",\"name\":\"The Social Element USA\",\"description\":\"Be amazing on social.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/8a2b2da339747ddc5d1d0acd89ad1854\",\"name\":\"Amy Gilbert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd407248d9bcbbe0424180c8bcea1169?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd407248d9bcbbe0424180c8bcea1169?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amy Gilbert\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/author\/amy-gilbert\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Hidden Instagram Likes Means for Your Brand - The Social Element USA","description":"While discussion of hidden Instagram likes was relatively quiet following the 2019 announcement, the recent test raised speculation about whether the platform would fully roll out this feature.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Hidden Instagram Likes Means for Your Brand - The Social Element USA","og_description":"While discussion of hidden Instagram likes was relatively quiet following the 2019 announcement, the recent test raised speculation about whether the platform would fully roll out this feature.","og_url":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand","og_site_name":"The Social Element USA","article_published_time":"2021-04-13T13:37:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":853,"url":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/04\/pexels-prateek-katyal-2694434.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Amy Gilbert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amy Gilbert","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand","url":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand","name":"What Hidden Instagram Likes Means for Your Brand - The Social Element USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/04\/pexels-prateek-katyal-2694434.jpg","datePublished":"2021-04-13T13:37:48+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-13T13:37:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/8a2b2da339747ddc5d1d0acd89ad1854"},"description":"While discussion of hidden Instagram likes was relatively quiet following the 2019 announcement, the recent test raised speculation about whether the platform would fully roll out this feature.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/04\/pexels-prateek-katyal-2694434.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/04\/pexels-prateek-katyal-2694434.jpg","width":1280,"height":853,"caption":"Instagram Likes"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/what-hidden-instagram-likes-means-for-your-brand#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Hidden Instagram Likes Means for Your Brand"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/","name":"The Social Element USA","description":"Be amazing on social.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/8a2b2da339747ddc5d1d0acd89ad1854","name":"Amy Gilbert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd407248d9bcbbe0424180c8bcea1169?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd407248d9bcbbe0424180c8bcea1169?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amy Gilbert"},"url":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/author\/amy-gilbert"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17053"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}