Instagram Quietly Makes Share Counts Public

Likes were already becoming a less relevant metric two years ago when Instagram gave users the option to hide their like counts, and industry understanding grew that likes and followers could be bought.

Brands also have less need for likes and shares with the availability of Instagram’s partnership ads, originally launched as branded content ads in June 2019, which let brands amplify content from creators. Traditionally, ad buying on Instagram was creator-agnostic, and brands could not amplify creators’ posts with paid media.

“The second you as a brand could boost influencer content, [likes and comments] stopped mattering,” Perlman said. “Then you could replace those likes with buying the necessary reach.”

Still, some brands are hanging onto older metrics like followers to validate social success, even though sharing can help grow follower count, said social strategist Kendall Dickieson, who has worked for advertisers like olive oil brand Graza and beer brand Talea.

“’We want more followers’ was the No. 1 KPI (key performance indicator),” she said. “Now, brands are recognizing that to have more followers, you need to create content that your customer wants.”

‘Group-chat worthy’ content

In the wake of likes and comments, shares and saves are increasingly important KPIs for social pros, with three strategists saying that they aim to create content that is “group-chat worthy.”

“We’ve weighted measurement [of organic social] toward active participation,” McDonald said. “Shares and saves are the most active form. Comments can get spammy. Likes are very passive.”

If Instagram makes public share counts more widespread, it will be a helpful indicator for marketers deciding whether to implement a particular content strategy, Dickieson said.

However, some brands might not want competitors to know how popular their content is.

With share counts public, effective social strategy will be judged on whether the content chimes with audiences, which puts more pressure on brands to devise posts that work, McDonald said.

“You cannot exist within organic social unless you’re not primarily there to spark connection,” she added. “There is no [other] reason to be there.”