Being ‘Liked’ Isn’t All in the Button
Instagram are on the cusp of removing the ‘like’ counter from its platform – something that has a lot of influencers shaking in their boots. And with good reason too. The way the world uses social media is about to change and it’s difficult to know exactly how that will look until it happens. For many years the quality of content has been in decline whereas the number of posts have been climbing, with only one aim in mind, lots of likes. Instagram hopes that the counter removal will spur on a lot more creativity and ease the pressure to gain likes.
The good news is that quality content is in the metrics, and not just the likes. If you go into your metrics and check out which of the photos or videos in the last year generated the most likes, you will see it’s not necessarily the post that got the most click throughs. With this, the days of flexing muscles or baring flesh in a bikini to get high appraisal via the like system are on their way out. Most influencers will need to go through a difficult switch to start creating quality content in order to continue dominating the social media world for rewards. This is great for musicians who have a lot of value to share with the world.
The ‘likes’ are an actionable metric, without having to visit your profile. It is the least effort of what they can do (whic is why I call it vanity metrics).
So let’s take a look at some actionable metrics (other than likes) you need to monitor:
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Comments: Followers have taken the time to respond and engage with your content, even though they don’t necessarily visit your profile or your website (which is normally where you want them to go) they saw value in your content to comment. Also look at the content pieces that received other comments other than just emojis. If people write their thoughts or something of value, etc. they are engaging on a deeper level.
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Profile Visit: That is when they have seen your content piece and based on this decided to head over to your profile to see more. That means they like what they have seen and they are coming back for more.
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Website Clicks: If they have (a) seen your content, (b) gone to your profile, and then (c) clicked your website (bio link) – they are what you would call hot leads. That piece of content generated a lot of action.
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Follow: This is important for building a fanbase. When people follow you they want to get regular updates from you.
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Saved: If people save your content that means they want to come back to it later. Meaning they see some value in the content you created.
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Shares: If people share your content (either to 1 person or on their story) they also want to communicate the same message as you are communicating, and see value in sharing this with their friends as well.
The world is going to get more creative with the content. We will get better content! By removing the likes you start focusing on the REAL metrics which will help you to create the best content.
Take a look through your real metrics now and see how your content did on all the parameters. Use this information to plan why types of content your followers engaged with in the past and build on this.
On your phone:
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Go to the Instagram dashboard
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Click ‘Content’
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Click ‘See All Posts’
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Select ‘All’
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Go to 1 Year
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This allows you to see profile visits, website clicks, saves, shares, and follows
Metrics are a very important tool to utilise when using social media to promote your brand / message. By acknowledging the numbers you’re able to build a better understanding of what content is working to your advantage and create a strategy to deliver similar kinds of posts that will generate actions.
