Like it or lump it, social comparison is diminishing on Facebook
First Instagram, now Facebook! Australians are being prevented from seeing the number of likes, reactions and video views on other users’ posts in a world-first trial.
First Instagram, now Facebook! Australians are being prevented from seeing the number of likes, reactions and video views on other users’ posts in a world-first trial.
The move follows what Facebook Australia’s policy director Mia Garlick has called “initial positive feedback from the public” about the decision by Instagram mid-year to hide likes on that platform within selected markets, including Australia, in an open-ended experiment.
Amid fears that the change may result in posts receiving less “thumbs up” reactions, Facebook says their focus is on improving he quality of interactions than people being obsessed by the like count. Although labelled by some as a PR move, Facebook is essentially packaging it as a step towards improving users’ wellbeing by reducing their ability to compare the popularity of their own posts with others.
How will Facebook business pages be affected?
Individual users and business page admins will still be able to see data relating to their own posts, with the statistics only hidden from other users.
Some business accounts on Instagram have experienced a negative impact since the introduction of the trial on that platform, in terms of engagement and reach achieved, however overall it has been minor.
At Kook we encourage business owners to not get too caught up in the vanity metrics, such as likes, but focus more on the KPIs relevant to their overall business goals – such increasing social traffic to their website and associated conversions, whether leads or sales.
Despite the hidden likes, on both social media platforms the first step towards success remains the same for businesses: posting strategically based on your particular objectives, with a content mix that will resonate with your target audience.
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