Facebook announced that it may begin hiding “Likes” on its News Feed. Instagram – which is owned by Facebook – is currently testing a similar approach in 7 countries, with the idea to keep users from comparing themselves to what they see and potentially feeling less-than if their posts don’t measure up in Likes, although Facebook has not confirmed a particular motive. Experts believe—however— that if usage or ad revenue are negatively impacted by removing Like counts, that Facebook would likely think twice.

Why this is important for your business:

Would having less likes on your Facebook or Instagram posts impact your business? For most, probably not. But if your business relies on social media and you use likes as a metric to demonstrate the engagement results of your campaigns and activities this could be a big deal. My prediction is that the future of “likes” is seriously in doubt.