Of all the social media platforms, we are partial to Instagram big time. And there is a valid reason for it. The photo-sharing site continuously adds new tools and features that uplift content creators.
From shoppable tags to Reels to long-form Guides, Instagram does the utmost to support creators. And it has done it once again!
Mark Zuckerberg announced some cool new features during a Live session with Adam Mosseri a few days back. And we’re waiting with bated breath.
Why? Because the tools help creators earn more.
Instagram’s affiliate commerce
One of the tools that Instagram plans to release is an affiliate commerce program for creators.
What does it mean? Every time a creator helps a brand make a sale on the app; they get a commission. So, you’re not only earning through your content but also getting a cut of the sale amount!
While Zuckerberg didn’t give any further details except that you “should be able to get a cut of the sales,” expect it to be lucrative.
Generally, commissions vary from 5 to 30% based on the product being promoted and the brand. That’s a lot of additional moolah for creators!
Creator shops on Instagram
Another part of the new suite of tools is Creator Shops. Given that 70% of shopping enthusiasts turn to Instagram for product discovery, that’s a great feature to launch.
What’s a creator shop? A tab on your profile page where you can curate shoppable products from brands you love!
Again, exactly how Creator Shops will work, Mark didn’t share. But one thing is obvious, it adds to the methods creators can monetise through Instagram.
Instagram hiding likes, again!
The next upcoming Instagram feature is not actually new. It’s an update on an older one. Back in 2019, the platform decided to test removing likes. It launched the feature for some users in the US, NZ, Italy, Canada, Australia and more.
Why? Because hiding those pesky numbers made Instagram a safer place on the internet. While many users loved the change because it removed peer pressure to gain more double taps, some did not cosy up to it.
For creators, like count is a necessary evil because brands use it as a metric to judge the success of influencer marketing campaigns. Remove likes, and you impact the engagement rate.
An update on like counts.
Last year we started hiding like counts for a small group of people to see if it lessens some pressure when posting to Instagram. Some found this helpful and some still wanted to see like counts, in particular to track what’s popular.
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) April 14, 2021
So, the powers-that-be at Instagram found a middle path. The new feature gives users the option to choose if they want to hide like counts or not. There are 4 options:
- You can leave the Like count as-is.
- You can turn them off for your posts.
- You can opt not to see the count on others posts.
- You can enable or disable likes for each individual post.
You can do so by tapping the 3 dots on the right upper hand corner of any published post.
Do your Instagram Likes disappear forever?
No. It is merely hidden.
A person can still see who has liked your post by tapping on “others” under a published post. It will give a complete list of users who double-tapped the image, video, Reel, etc.
And as Mosseri puts it, “if you have the time, you can add them all up yourself” to find out the total count!
Can you see the total Like count?
Yes, you can.
If you choose to disable the Like count for yourself, you will have to put more effort to see the total number.
Under your post, you’ll see “Liked by @DYT and others.” Tap on it, and the new page will show you the total number of Likes.
We don’t know when all these upcoming Instagram features will be available to Indian users. But we do hope they happen soon!
