Hidden Likes on Instagram will lead to a Boom of Influencer Marketing?

I think everyone who works in the Social Media industry thought Instagram was joking when finding out that the platform is now hiding likes for several countries.

There are so many different voices when it comes to predicting what this means for the influencer marketing industry and numerous influencers are hysterical. 

As I’m working with influencers, I’m especially interested to see if this fundamental change will have a significant impact on what the industry is basing its value on and how it is currently operating. After all, social validation is what makes or breaks a good influencer, so hiding one of the most important engagement factors could definitely disrupt the industry. 

On the other hand, did anyone consider that this change could elevate the influencer industry to a completely new level?

At the moment, businesses are struggling to determine the actual worth of the influencer's audience. Agencies move away from simple engagement calculators as they realised that the actual engagement does not automatically mean the influencer will be able to sell or influence.

If likes get removed in all countries I can imagine that the influencer industry will experience a boom. 

This fundamental change will reward creators who put a lot of effort into amassing an authentic audience and motivate accounts to express their uniqueness and creativity as the pressure of social approval through likes won’t be a concern anymore.

I believe that this will separate influencers who are mainly focused on money & public attention and accounts who are truly passionate about their content.

Instead of measuring likes, companies will search for influencers who deeply engage with their fanbase and nurture individual relationships. Passionate and committed creators are more likely to influence their followers to engage with affiliate links and partnerships. This means that the ROI for influencer campaigns will most likely increase and brands will, therefore, invest more money to replicate their results on a bigger scale- the overall spend on influencer marketing will rise. 

I’m also convinced that this is a wake-up call for many influencers who are trying to make a career on social platforms.

The future is unpredictable and it seems like big social networks do not care about the general public's opinion and can completely change the fundamentals of their networks in no time.

If you’re truly passionate about your online presence, establish your name in the market by having complete ownership over your account and stop bending to social network rules. 

Start your own website, blog, boutique shop or brand- there are so many different ways to have full ownership over your future now!

What do you think about Instagram's latest update? Let me know your thoughts below and let’s have a chat ??