Instagram has annouced that this week they are beta-testing the removal of “Likes” from all photos posted by Canadian users.

I am linking to the PetaPixel Facebook post because I noticed many snarky comments from seasoned photographers stating “This Is The End of Influencer Marketing.”

Ha! If they believe that then there’s a good reason why they’re not influencers!

Influencers. Everything Is Going To Be Fine!

Brands NEED content now more than ever.

People are spending hours a day on their phones looking to entertain themselves…

Think about it.

You can only fit a few commercial ads into an online article, right? And these commercial ads are generally scorned. Web Users hate pop-ups. We hate side bars. We want to fast forward commercials.

So what do us tech-addicted folks want?

We want stories. We want inspiring imagery. We want to laugh. And we want to be social.

(We also don’t want to look at “old fashioned” perfectly curated Instagram photos but I will get in to that in another post. Click Here for a bit more on that.)

All these trends point to authentic storytelling as a dominating form of advertising.

I can tell you as an Influencer that there are many ways to still work as an Influencer without the “likes” view!

In fact Instagram makes it easy!

They supply all the marketing information our advertisers want through the “Insights.”

Do I think Instagram is gearing up to take a cut or limit Influencer visibility?!

YES!!! But that is a different topic for another time.

Influencer Insight Examples:

Finally, I just want to say that I love a world without “likes.”

Social media does feel a bit like a popularity contest.

That has not bothered me much because I am older and not really aiming to please anyone.

However I worry about my kids.

I think this is definitely a step in the right direction and I am crossing my fingers that it will happen around the world and not just in Canada! For now, I can’t wait to hear what my Canadian friends think!

Thank you, Instagram!