Instagram threw the world of influencers into tizzy this week when it announced that it may no longer publicly display how many likes each post gets. Some Canadians get to be the guinea pigs, but this initiative has a chance to go systemwide. 

The real question has become a focus of all influencers and brands and that is what did the likes actually tell us about the content being pushed? Did likes really translate as a measure of value to the creator and the brand they may include in their work? 

I spoke with many influencers who make money through creating content for their instagram page and they seemed to agree that likes were not an accurate measure of engagement. They preferred comments, tags and shares as better way to measure value. That value score then plays a huge part of the Return on Investment (ROI) which would determine going forward what an influencer should invest into their content and thus what a brand may be willing to pay for it.