What Hiding Instagram Likes Means For Your Business

Instagram is making some changes…

You may have heard that Instagram plans on rolling out a test to hide likes on posts this week.

We thought we'd take a minute to give you some more information and let you know what this means for your own presence on Instagram, if it's something that interests you.

Last Friday, Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri spoke at the WIRED25 Summit in San Francisco and confirmed this to be true. For those of us that follow these conversations in our industry, this isn't very surprising. They've been testing this with users of the platform in Canada, Japan, Brazil, and other countries for months.

Why is Instagram doing it?

The affect that social media has on mental health, young people's especially, has been a hot button issue for quite some time. While social media hasn't been around long enough for us to know how negative these affects may be scientifically, this test is Instagram's way of being proactive about it. Mosseri said they're trying to "depressurize" the platform and "make it less of a competition."

What does hiding likes mean?

Right now, when you go to your Instagram Feed, you'll see that below every post that's been shared, there is a "like" count. Instagram does this with ❤️ hearts. This change will eliminate the visibility of those like counts to others, hiding them from everyone but you and those with access to your Instagram account. You'll still be able to see insights, like counts, and other metrics through the backend.

Why are we telling you this?

While something changes every day in the world of social media marketing, we wanted to point this out to you because likes are one of the most popular metrics people use to determine if their post is "successful".

The problem is that for many, a high like count also serves as constant validation from others. Regardless of whether you're simply a personal user of the platform or run a global company, this kind of validation becomes addictive and affects self-esteem.

We lose sight of what these platforms can do if we use them strategically when we get all caught up in things that have no affect on our business or worse, are harmful to our own wellbeing. There's a reason there's a name for this: vanity metrics!

How does this affect my business?

It may not. If we've been doing our job, then it shouldn't, but we probably won't see this test anyway.

We've always tried to emphasize that social media is just a small piece of your overall success as a business. While a necessary one for the world we live in, the things that translate to business growth and success for you have never been these superficial counts of likes and followers.

Lots of people out there, however, have fallen into the trap. Unfortunately, they've become misguided on where the value in social media lies in the first place.

It's not about perfectly curated feeds, a million followers, professionally altered photos, and vanity metrics. It's about connecting with your customers, adding to their experience by engaging with them beyond your four walls, and building trust by showing them who you and what you're all about, as authentically as possible.

Of course it's too early to tell, but this change could be a great thing!

What do you think?

Dear Charleston Restauranteurs

While Jeff and I were trapped in the house last week after trying to beat the hurricane home from a trip to Boston, we got to talking. Hurricanes can be devastating at their worst, a reminder about what we take for granted when we’re spared from them, and always inconvenient, especially for the restaurant industry.

It made me want to run something by you.

Restaurant Week

This week is Charleston Restaurant Week, a promotion each year after Labor Day that began as a way to encourage locals to dine out during the off season. Participating restaurants develop special pre fixe menus, generally at a discount, to give new guests a taste of what they offer.

In theory, this sounds great. Lately, it’s become a burden that adds to the cloud of uncertainty surrounding our restaurant scene; an added stressor to already small margins and serious labor shortages. As you’re likely well aware, a hurricane only increases the negative impact on profits, so to open back up to participate in a promotion that’s motivated by discounts is not great timing.

That’s not to say the intention behind Restaurant Week is bad.

Quite the opposite, really. 

It’s no secret that it’s getting harder to hit all the new places popping up all over town, much less consistently support those who’ve been around for decades. It’s disheartening to see another restaurant close almost every other week.

Restaurants could benefit from a week that celebrates and brings our food community together, but maybe our approach is outdated. 

Guests have so much to choose from that restaurants feel more pressure to execute once they do win their visit. Unfortunately, this can also mean playing it safe menu-wise and resorting to discounts. This kind of thing is most dangerous for a place that isn’t clear on the story they’re trying to tell about why they’re making the food they make in the first place. Even if they are clear on the bigger picture, it’s easy to sacrifice telling that story to people for the short-term benefit of getting people through the door. 

This is where we go wrong. 

There’s so much to worry about when running a restaurant in Charleston that it’s no wonder that we’ve collectively lost our mojo. Sometimes it seems like restauranteurs are waiting on permission to be bold from the same people they water their menus down for. 

And yes, that’s easy for me to say because I don’t own a restaurant. 

But I do know a thing or two about risk and how not investing in resources at your disposal can be a reflection of people acting out of fear. Fear that leads to cost cutting and mediocrity and at its worst: closed doors. There are too many real threats, like labor and ridiculous rents, to not jump on an opportunity like Restaurant Week if you’re doing it anyway… just a Restaurant Week that’s restructured. One that offers new experiences, highlights creativity, showcases our community versus one that’s motivated by a 3 for menu discount to entice a guest that may not ever come back.

We diners of Charleston are waiting on your lead, restauranteurs, not the other way around. You’re the way out of the lingering cyncism that shrouds our food scene. I know you’re tired, so maybe we’re at a point where we need to band together to rise to the challenge, newcomers and Charleston food institutions alike, to get a better idea of where we want to go. And who we want to be. 

Use the built-in marketing for Restaurant Week to shift the conversation.

There are clear signs that we’re headed in the right direction, even without the marketing push of this week’s promotion.

Kwei Fei opens its doors every so often for a new concept to take over their space while they travel to learn more about how to offer Charleston something new. John Lewis hosts a Hatch Chile Fest each year in his parking lot; a call for chefs all over town to get creative around his favorite ingredient. But, the reality is that these two places are chef-owned, while most of the restaurants that can afford to hang in there longterm are owned by restaurant groups, often backed by capital and inherently more business-minded. That’s a great thing if they’re able to empower their chefs’ creativity while making smart business decisions. 

For concepts that don’t stop to ask themselves the bigger questions of what they’re trying to share and how they fit into our community, it’s much more common to see creativity stifled. That responsibility, big picture thinking that empowers chefs and drives profits, lies with you, the restauranteur. David Chang’s empire is a great example, one that he could only create with the help of a leader who understands business and the power of storytelling.

Maybe, amidst our growing pains to define our culinary style as a city, we can use a week like this to shift our focus from the everyguest and celebrate those within our f&b community instead. What if the goal of Restaurant Week was for participants to do whatever they wanted? A friendly competition for restaurants to do the most in showcasing the creativity and potential inside their four walls? Dollars and discounts can only go so far, but a week of tasting menus that allows chefs and cooks and bartenders to play breeds innovation.

Maybe even a breakthrough on why we’re all here in Charleston doing all this in the first place. Butcher & Bee is already leading the way.

Consider this your impetus to bring some joy and energy back to the industry, despite the unavoidable challenges we may face.

Where chefs and foodies go, dollars and diners follow. 

Be bold!

“I’ve long believed that good food, good eating, is all about risk. Whether we’re talking about unpasteurized Stilton, raw oysters or working for organized crime ‘associates’, food, for me, has always been an adventure.”  - Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential

How To Support Restaurants After A Hurricane

Hope everyone’s hanging in there after this Hurricane Dorian.

Maybe it’s still going on, not sure as I’m writing this on Wednesday afternoon. Jeff and I are trapped in the house after trying to beat the hurricane home from a trip to Boston. We got to talking about just how inconvenient a hurricane really is, especially for the restaurant industry. Tack on Charleston Restaurant Week, set to run once places reopen, and owning a restaurant becomes extra stressful.

Originally, I was headed in a different direction with this post, which you can read here later.

For now, in lieu of a marketing tip, here’s what restaurants in town are dealing with and some ways to support them during and after Dorian. 

Hurricanes mean forced closures due to delayed or cancelled food deliveries and the inability of their staff to physically get to work. Days worth of inventory sits in the walk-in unused, ultimately turning into waste and increased food cost. Sure, there’s insurance, but there’s a finite number of days in the year and seats in the building, so every day closed is a huge loss.

And that’s before the storm even arrives. 

Once it passes, keep all this in mind.

Go out to eat once it’s safe to again, but realize it will take a while to get things running at 100%. Know that even next week once they reopen, restaurants and their teams are doing the best they can.

Be patient.

If restaurants are open today, they’re working with a skeleton staff and limited menu.

Again, be patient.

Don’t write a bad review if you go expecting your favorite dish and they’re out. Maybe it takes a little longer for you to be seated. If it’s the only place around that’s open, it may even be busier than what you’re used to. Reconsider if you’re thinking about sending something back to the kitchen (who does this!?), it’s almost certainly not the usual cook that’s preparing your food for you.

Be kind.

Be kind to the bartenders and servers that have shown up so that you’re able to get out of the house for a little while. They’ve lost income they depend on that they might not have the chance to get back. So, pay full price and maybe tip a little extra. Relax and enjoy yourself, get to know the people who are serving you.

Let go of your expectations and you’ll probably end up having the one of the most memorable nights out in a while.

Whatever you do, stay safe out there! 

Img Source: https://charleston.eater.com/2019/9/3/20847467/hurricane-dorian-restaurants