5 Ways to Stop Caring About Likes and Engagement on Instagram

I had a low-key nightmare (about high school classmates and a religious cult) and woke up at 2 am. I went to the bathroom and saw a roach in the tub. I got a jar, got the roach, put him outside in the garden, and then couldn't get back to sleep. I started thinking about this newsletter, and the idea came to me to write about something I've been thinking about in relation to Instagram. I tried to ignore the call to get up and write (I'll remember it in the morning, I thought), but here I am anyway, at 3 am Sydney time, typing this message out to all 50,000 of you.

This email is inspired by all the posts I'm seeing from photographers who are leaving Instagram. The photographers I'm referring to are not fleeing because of the recent AI scrapping news (which is concerning), but because of the algorithm. They were once getting hundreds of likes and comments and now are getting a handful. The departure post from these photographers usually goes something like this:

There is usually more to it; obviously, it's worded better, but you get the gist. 

Before I go further, I want to say that if Instagram is affecting your mental health in a negative way, then, of course, go dark. Do what you need to do. 

But for many of us, I think a shift in mindset is needed. 

A few years ago I was invited to join a private Facebook group called "Meta Creators Community US." Even though Feature Shoot does not make a dime from social media platforms, I joined out of curiosity. Ninety percent of the posts in the group (which is run and moderated by Meta) are from influencers who make money off the platform, complaining bitterly about recent changes in the algorithm. As a side note, let me say that there are ALWAYS recent changes to the algorithm that negatively affect traffic. This has been going on for many years to force media (and others) to pay-to-play. This is nothing new and has only worsened over time (even for those who decide to pay).  

Plummeting traffic and engagement are out of your control, and everyone on the platform is experiencing the same decline in reach and engagement. It's not personal. However, if this is still getting you down, I invite you to reframe your idea about posting on social media to be more about your stories and what you are communicating through your images and less about trying to reach as many people as possible.

Consider: What if it's not about how many people see your work but who sees it? What if you simply trusted that the right people who need to see that particular post will see it?

Remember, it only takes one person to make a difference in your career. Whether that's with something big like an advertising job for YSL or a gallery show or something seemingly small like a positive comment on a day that you really need one. OR something that one of your followers needs to see on a day that they need to see it. 

Here is how to stop caring about likes and engagement in 5 easy steps:

1. Open Instagram when you are ready to post your next image. Then find “Advanced Settings” and hide the like and view counts on your posts. From this point on, when you look at your feed, you won't see the number of likes for your post unless you "View Insights." 

2. Do not "View Insights." Ever.

3. Simply take two minutes to post your photo and then immediately close the app.

4. Don't go back to your page until you're ready to post something else.

5. Rinse and repeat.

After a while, this will become normal, and you will feel more free to post whatever you want without the annoying thought of "Will this be popular?" entering into your brain. 

This email is almost over (promise) but stay with me while I have a midlife moment and go back to when I was an aspiring photographer living in Brooklyn circa 2002. Our portfolios of work were nowhere online but were instead kept in these big leather books with our names embossed on them, and our photos were professionally printed on photo paper (I printed my work in an actual darkroom). 

In order to get this physical portfolio of work seen, which I edited and fussed over for many months (one was judged quite harshly on presentation), I would go around NYC via the subway and drop it off with magazines, ad agencies, etc. Fun fact: Martin Schoeller went around on rollerblades delivering his. 

I was young and broke, so I only had one portfolio (they were like $500!). Sometimes, I'd drop it off, and they'd keep it for a week. Hopefully, it got passed around the office, but I would say maybe 10 people saw it in a week, max.

Do you see where I'm going with this? 

It’s important to be reminded from time to time that through Instagram, we can reach people through our work in a way that was never possible before. Yeah, it’s not as great as it used to be, but that’s no reason to take it for granted. Whether you have 500 followers or 50,000, don’t underestimate your power and use it wisely.