Will the real likes please stand up?
Instagram is taking a stand against the fake likes, follows and comments by getting rid of them (took them long enough). Now if you are caught with any fake likes and follows from accounts that use third-party services (a.k.a. no more paying $25 to a sketch Instagram account for 1000 bot likes) in efforts to gain more engagement you are now going to be removed for violating Instagram’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Use, the company announced as part of policy change last fall.
Canadian users were amongst some of the first guinea pigs in the beta testing this month. In the test run, the display would allow users to post as they would normally, but people scrolling through the feed won’t see like counts. Account owners will still be able to check the like count on their own photos and videos by clicking through a prompt (doesn’t sound too complicated).
Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri said that this experiment is part of a broader effort to rethink the fundamentals of how Instagram works and create a more welcoming experience using the platform. “We don’t want Instagram to feel like a competition, we want to make it a less pressurized environment,” he said (let’s see how this idea unfolds).
With all of these platform feature changes, a very important question has risen in the marketing community…
If likes are gone, what’s next for Instagram Influencer Marketing?
In the past 5 years, Instagram has clearly seen the impact and value of influencers and its top performers on its platform (of course they…with an ad revenue increase of 985.71% in the last the 3 years who wouldn’t see value?).
Well Influencers, have no fear…. Instagram Creator Account is HERE!
Instagram Creator Account was created and is targeted specifically for Instagram MVP’s (10k or more in followers). Instagram Creator Profiles are similar to Instagram Business Profiles, offering exclusive features and analytics. The Creator Account gives influencers specialized tools to manage their account. It gives them access to more detailed analytics than currently available and filters their direct messages by ‘Primary’ and ‘General’. Instagram recognized that traditional Instagram Business Profiles didn’t quite meet all the needs of influencers, public figures and other active creators on the platform.
According to Instagram Product Manager, Ashley Yuki: “[Creators are] an important part of our community… We want to make sure that Instagram is the best place, and the easiest place, to build fan communities and also build [creators’] personal brands.”
So what’s the tea with Instagram Creator Accounts and do you need to switch?
Instagram’s new creator profiles are giving influencers a way to take back control of their accounts. And it’s no surprise that we have seen influencer collaborations and sponsorships basically replaced traditional ads and are a huge part of social media strategies today.
Benefits to Instagram Creator Accounts is that it can create an increased availability for influencer statistics and will help brands in their search for genuine influencers. With that, the creators will now be able to easily share statistics with brand and let those brand know what their audiences look like.
The new labels will make it easier for influencers to provide contact information. Brands may well find it easier to contact influencers, at least those who have indicated they are open to working with brands (who doesn’t want to be sponsored).
Clearly, the goal for Instagram is to have these features available for all its MVP users. Currently, they have invited a small, select group of beta testers to trial the new features, and will undoubtedly listen to their feedback before making Creator Accounts more widely available.
What are your thoughts about this?
Do you think Influencer Marketing will rise even more with this change or should Influencers think about coming up with a plan B for their careers?