What’s Instagram without the likes? The social media powerhouse is hoping that removing the “likes” counter below each piece of shared content will have minimal impact on the usability of the social sharing app, but will help foster positive mental health for its users.
The change, which is already being tested in some countries, could soon make its way to the U.S. The content you’re used to seeing will show up as it always has, but you won’t be able to see the total number of likes a particular piece of content has received.
What would this mean for you and your brand? Hopefully not much, but it will likely place even greater emphasis on quality content.
For now, this is just a test. But, Facebook’s (Instagram’s parent company) Mia Garlick offers some sage advice for all brands and content creators: “focus less on likes and more on telling [your] story."