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So this week, we received news that Instagram is rolling out an experiment to see what happens when it hides the number of likes on photos and other posts.
It affects users in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. Canada has just finished its trial.
No longer will the number of “likes” be shown, rather it will be replaced by one user name and “others”.

Under this new system, you can see how many likes your posts get, but your followers won’t be able to – unless they click into the post and count individually… but who would?
I would imagine that there are plenty of “influencers” both large and small who are widely impacted by this, as existing and future business opportunities are reliant on the perception of popularity, usually garnered by the number of followers and likes.
Indeed, I spoke to a couple of buddies with a decent level of follower base (10,000+) who believe that Instagram has effectively killed the viability of the influencer business model.
But ya know, I can’t help but see some parallels of this in the investing world, especially how there are some crucial lessons taught…
Start Early
With the Instagram model, those who embraced the platform early, and were canny enough to identify what works and what doesn’t, were able to significantly build a large follower base.
These days, it is incredibly difficult to stand out from the crowd, if you are starting out.
The perfect travel shots, sitting on a beach, food snaps, bikini bods… the market is saturated with photos upon photos of this stuff.

But in 2010 (when IG started), it was so much easier to carve out a share of a particular niche.
Similarly in investing, the easy and (often big), money is made if you can pick the trend early and ride the wave.
When everyone starts talking about a stock at $40, you can sit pretty knowing you got in at $4.
Be consistent
Just because you are an early entrant doesn’t guarantee success.
In reality, the earlier you are, the bigger risk you take, as there is a longer duration before you discover whether you’ve made the right move or not.
But true success rewards consistency in the long-run, not just on Instagram (regular and consistent posts), or investing (regular and consistent investments), but in life.
If you can do 1% extra on a particular task every-day, the compounded efforts are magnificent.
This is how the mega-influencers built their followings, or how the business titans of industry came to be.
Although, consistency achieves little if there is…
Change
And this is where the latest bruhaha comes in, understanding that businesses (like social media platforms) can change at any time.
Be it a change in business conditions (economic down-turn), or a change in operating conditions (removing visibility of likes), or even a change in key personnel – change is constant.

Recognizing that change is ever-present and can occur at any time, but most importantly, adapting to this change – is the greatest strength an investor or social media influencer can have.
Don’t aim to be the most profitable (biggest), aim to be the one which can survive the longest.
Diversify
Which brings us to the fundamental concept of diversification.
Diversifying revenue streams, diversifying social media platforms, diversifying investment asset classes; it’s part and parcel of good business strategy.
If one leg falls down, there are plenty more legs to stand on.
Which is why I think those Instagram users who have their primary source of online presence solely on Instagram, will struggle – whereas those who have a presence on multi-platforms, will still do OK.
How does this change affect you TFS?
Yours truly ain’t on Instagram (not that I’m aware), so it doesn’t affect me at all – but MrsFrugalSamurai is, and so what affects her, affects me (it’s OK dear, we’ll survive).
However, I can say my opinion of the matter.
Which is, that if Instagram is truly doing this for the benefit of mental health – then good on ’em.
Social media has rightly or wrongly ingrained into our daily lives, and for those who are addicted and have their self-esteem rise and fall through public affirmations, taking away some of that is a positive.
However I can’t help but think that as humans, we all want a bit of that endorphin hit.
I mean who doesn’t like that ego boost when they see the number of likes, or comments, or subscribers?
Which is why I think in the long-term, less users will be active on Instagram and migrate more onto some of the other platforms which allow us a self-congratulatory chuckle at how witty we are blogging about Instagram and how it relates to investing…
Tik Tok anyone?
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39 Comments
Saea
I have never considered Instagram from this prospective. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and applicable tips!
The Frugal Samurai
That’s OK! Thanks for enjoying my ramblings 🙂
simplywendi
another great post……….hope all is well in your neck-of-the-woods!
The Frugal Samurai
Thank you! Loved your latest one btw…
simplywendi
God bless you all……..
clmuileboom
I understand now why the likes were basically removed. As in no one is to appear better then the other. I have an IG myself, but it’s strictly for self marketing my writing career. A way to show some media, and get info on my stories out there. I don’t go on as often, as other social media, so I guess this doesn’t necessarily matter to me. Change can be good though, and I guess it will just be a matter of time, to see where this change takes us.
The Frugal Samurai
Oh yeah… go egalitarianism! Though I thought social media was all about stroking your own ego to show how much more “popular” you are with others! How’s your IG going btw… good luck with it all! Never took the plunge on IG myself.
clmuileboom
I don’t go on it much. It’s just a few graphics I made for my writing. My own attempt of self marketing/promoting. I plan to self publish so I won’t have any help on those ends, all on me. Thanks though. I will also wish you luck if you plan on using IG in the future.
The Frugal Samurai
How do you find self-publishing can I ask? Is it time intensive? No problem, I’ve never really considered IG for moi… mostly Twitter! https://twitter.com/frugal_samurai 🙂
Jaana McEntee
I don’t use Instagram as much.. I do understand how this decision can be good for somebody’s mental health but bad for business..Interesting if they will stick with it..
The Frugal Samurai
Well Canada just went through with it, not sure what the results of that was?
Vanessa Cast (@MomInBusiness_)
I think that vanity metrics are not necessary, engagement is the real thing. The idea of Instagram is to improve engagement, more human interaction, comments, so this “likes” removing is huge, but not as huge as we think.
Thanks for the great post!
The Frugal Samurai
That’s what they said their reason was – to generate more interaction and “genuineness”…
sn1463
These are helpful tips!
The Frugal Samurai
Thank you!
Unta
I can’t wait the change, to see what is the next big thing on internet. I like IG but getting tired of it slowly. 🙂
The Frugal Samurai
Yeah same! I quite like Tik Tok actually… yeah I think IG is becoming more and more saturated.
Ashli
I have mixed feelings about Instagram. It seems good sometimes then it seems not other times. I still use it though haha
The Frugal Samurai
When it does seem good and bad?
Polly Amora
I play the stock myself so I know how it feels. Then again, its super unpredictable at least here in our country. About Instagram, I’m glad I’m not addicted to it. It doesn’t bother me if they hide the ‘likes’ (even though I have a decent amount on my latest). Just doesn’t make any sense because they’re trying to fix things that aren’t broken.
The Frugal Samurai
All investing has an element of risk! Just the way you go about things… lucky you and your relationship with IG, know some people who are absolutely obsessed with it! Be interesting to see where their experiment takes them.
Martin - MPG TRAVEL TOURS
Really interesting post about the IG likes. I blog but dont really use IG, like you said so many people have that beach photo, why do we need 1000s more of the same beach with a diffrent filter.
Thanks for sharing this 🙂
The Frugal Samurai
Glad you liked it! Haha yeah, was being a bit cynical but felt like a point needed to be made!
Mr. MFC | Morning Fresh Cent
I like the correlation and never thought about it in that way. Thanks for sharing.
The Frugal Samurai
It was my pleasure – thanks for reading!
amayszingblogs
This post it helps me a lot about using Instagram for now I’ am working gain followers on my Instagram to engage my blog 🙂 great post!
The Frugal Samurai
Good luck with it! You’ve got a great little thing going there, thank you for reading and all the best with the IG progress 🙂
Neil Alvin Nicerio
Great list. I learned something from it. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
The Frugal Samurai
No problem, thanks for reading!
onehoppymomma
Yes, I totally agree that you want to take chances and get in early
The Frugal Samurai
Thanks for reading!
Pool Operator Talk
this are all great tips for a platform that has become oversaturated but still has a lot of opportunity. you are correct, it is all about presentation & diversity. Nicely done!
The Frugal Samurai
Thanks for those kind words!
clydequin93
Well, I didn’t know there’s this thing going on, now I know. If there would be changes soon, we’ll see and watch how these would affect us.
The Frugal Samurai
Great! Some value added by this humble blog. I’m glad and hope you enjoyed the post – hoping it doesn’t affect yourself too badly?
Laithan
It will be interesting how the instagram influencer market will change, where the number of likes, and general engagement relative to followers was a traditional way to find how much a page could offer a brand. By removing the number of likes, it will be hard for companies to find the best accounts to promote their accounts.
The Frugal Samurai
Nailed it. I think it’ll be a test of who comes across as sincere and “genuine” and who is not… which is the way it should be right?
ansh997x
Wow. Really nice tips. I was wondering how to use Instagram more effectively. You have spoken the right thing.
The Frugal Samurai
I’m glad I spoke the right thing! Hahahaha… just trying to call it like it is.