The leading social media colossal, Instagram has successfully transpired to be a business promotion platform that has some of the highest engagement rates in the industry. The ever-growing platform holds no bounds to one’s creativity, and monetizing content has never been easier for any independent creator or even the business entities. The popular social media platform runs on basic foundations – gaining likes and followers. But people also buy instagram likes and followers for this purpose, lets analyze.
However, how does gaining ‘Likes’ help?
While one contemplates the importance of banking maximum number of likes, it is also crucial to understand the psychology behind the eagerness to earn the heart icon pop-up continuously within seconds of a post being uploaded.
Watching the heart reaction can be tempting, and for some time now, aspiring influencers have managed to manipulate Instagram’s algorithm. These algorithmic patterns have kept businesses and influencers on toes, and they feel that over time it’s becoming more challenging to get enough views and likes on their posts. Instagram thrives upon 6 key elements that influence the users feed, namely, Interests, Relationship, Timeliness, Frequency, Usage.
1) Interests– Instagram interests- Instagram keeps a track of the users’ accounts based on the types of posts he/she has liked repetitively. It helps the social media platform curates and tenders a certain type of post or content. In simple terms, what a user sees on his Instagram feed is a combination of all his Instagram behaviours.
2) Relationship– The image and information sharing app gives the user an opportunity to prioritize posts from friends, family, and accounts. that you care about.
3) Timeliness– Instagram users’ posts are under the watchful eyes of the platform’s algorithm as it also tracks the engagement of the posts. Apart from that, it also looks at how long ago the photo was posted. Therefore, it helps the user personalize the best time to post on Instagram based on the engagement time for its followers.
4) Frequency– More often a business or an influencer posts, it will make its feed look more chronological since Instagram tries to show the best posts since your last visit.
5) Usage– Spending a lot of time on Instagram can help the platform serve its users with more relevant content by digging deeper into its catalogue.
Considering the lengths a user goes to, only one conclusion can be drawn – boasting strong social media presence comes with perks. Although acquiring the fruits was never easy.
There are several factors that go into obtaining those perks and it’s worth a thought, how a single like can help an aspiring influencer grab the desired opportunities he/she aims for.
Do Instagram Likes really matter?
Yes, they definitely do! Likes matter even more for an aspiring influencer to offer an opportunity to create a platform for themselves where their content is easily monetized.
Back in April 2019, Instagram reportedly experimented with not showing the number of likes a post has received (AKA ‘like counts’) in the feeds of Canadian users. The idea was to make the whole experience healthier and less competitive for users.
Instagram explained: “We want your friends to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.”
However, even in 2021, likes are still a key measure of success, engagement and reach on Instagram.
What drives people to buy Instagram likes?
The Instagram community has managed to survive through its wide array of users. For business, it gives a chance to enhance their brand visibility through interaction and engagement. For celebrities, it is a simpler way of gaining popularity. While aspiring influencers are trying to carve a niche for themselves across the globe.
Expanding the sphere of Influence (Quick Boost)
Online presence is dependent on views and shares that a content receives and this enhances the influencers capability. Social media marketers use popular pages in online marketing. Several independent creators are driving a lot of traffic to their website just using their Instagram account. Having more likes on posts can make the post popular and it’s more likely for other people to discover it on Instagram.
Now having more likes on posts can make your post popular and it’s more likely for other people to discover it on Instagram and become your follower.
Opportunity to Monetize (Business)
Instagram is one of the best ‘business promotion platforms’. It creates opportunities to reach a wider market niche depending on the followers an account holds and the lengths of interaction or engagement is being created. So gaining more followers can mean money for some. The basic idea is to make sure the brands know about the existence of one’s account. The best part is, one can even link all other social media platforms!
Interlinking an account helps the user to spread the content, and reach a wider market niche. Potential clients who visit the site may also check reviews and feedback from the users online followers helping the user giving credibility to his business. Conversion rate increases due to more leads which can be converted into sales. Search engine ratings increase when the user gets more Instagram likes and followers.
Maintaining the uber ‘cool’ appearance (Desperation)
People love celebrities and being associated with them. The more an influencers page attracts likes, he is more likely to reach the desired audience sooner. Reportedly, research from ViralRace shows that posts or pictures of celebrities get many comments and likes. Social media has helped the people boost their craft and build their reputation. As long as a user continues receiving likes on his posts, the more traction he attracts. This influences other people to also visit a page, and follow the posts building one’s reputation. Often people are used to following a page or user based on the likes either of them possess leading to a chain reaction of engagement. Likes are directly influenced by the quality of content. This will help the user build loyalty among his followers.
Conclusion
Missing out on business? Go ahead, however, it’s not an uncommon phenomenon for accounts to see a slight decrease in engagement as their follower count grows. Make sure the account is receiving organic likes and not artificial ones. A devastating consequence of buying instagram followers or likes and using automation services and it can lead to Instagram taking action against the account. It may involve suspension, removing content, or even removing the account completely for going against the terms of use.
Andrea Parker is a reporter for Zobuz. She previously worked at Huffington Post and Vanity Fair. Andrea is based in NYC and covers issues affecting her city. In addition to her severe coffee addiction, she’s a Netflix enthusiast, a red wine drinker, and a voracious reader.
