Instagram May Remove “Likes” — Here’s How HYPR is Preparing

As you may have heard, Instagram is debating removing the public display of “Like” counts from its platform. HYPR is continuously monitoring Instagram’s activity on the subject to get a better understanding of what the changes will entail if Instagram decides to move forward, and what that means for you, our customers.

Based on our current research it seems that:

• Users have had the option to choose whether or not to display their “Likes.” We hope this will remain the case if Instagram moves forward.
• When users chose not to display the number of “Likes” they received, they still displayed a list of accounts that have liked the post.
• This information is sufficient for computerized evaluation.
• Even when not displaying the amount publicly, the number of “Likes” was still displayed to the account owner.

Regardless, likes are just one form of evaluation of influencer performance. Looking at comments and shares provides significant insight as well and we expect the industry as they show the actually engaged audience. Over the past few years the value of a like as diminished as users like much of the content on their feed while “zipping” through it and without dedicating much attention to individual posts. As such, we feel that a focus on comments and shares provides a deeper insight.

HYPR’s Plan for Instagram (Potentially) Removing “Likes”

In the event that Instagram rolls out the change, we intend on updating our methodology to have a broader focus on:

• Users who comment and their tone of voice as well as users who share;
• Measurement of repeat v. single engagements;
• Enabling influencer opt in to share data about their own audience;
• Shifting focus to performance based metrics such as EMV and conversion rates;  

On that note we should mention HYPR was recently granted a patent for measuring how effective an influencer is online. You can review the patent and read more here.