Instagram hides likes in Australia and New Zealand
Instagram has extended its move to do away with ‘like’ counters to ANZ. Some influencers are less impressed than others (New York Times).
Key points:
- 'Like' hiding trial extended to seven countries, including Australia and New Zealand
- Facebook-owned platform says move aims to reduce stop Instagram “feeling like a competition”
- Not yet confirmed that policy will be permanent
- Mixed reaction from influencers
Some influencers believe Instagram’s ultimate plan is to take a bigger share of the spoils they currently enjoy.
Adam Liaw, a MasterChef Australia winner with 130,000 Instagram followers, suggested it would reduce interaction, or encourage people to comment more, creating more data points. Via Twitter, he posited it was a move to “de-influence influencers” and represented “behavioural economics” from Facebook. “If a potential advertiser can't see an influencer's reach and return, they're less likely to spend their dollars direct, and perhaps more likely to look at promote posts.” Some influencer agencies agree with that sentiment, while others suggest it may help snuff out the market for fake likes, reducing fraud, thereby encouraging marketers to spend more on the channel – direct or otherwise – while nudging platform users to seek out posts on their merits, not their like tallies.
