Why no one is engaging on Instagram anymore
Something has shifted on Instagram, and if your likes have dropped off a cliff recently, you are not imagining it. Engagement feels like it has collapsed across the board. The new changes to the platform have not helped, but the bigger picture is that people are behaving differently with what they like, share and interact with.
The public likes problem
Instagram’s decision to make liked reels publicly visible has created a new layer of awkwardness. What was once a harmless tap of support is now a small act of public curation. It is not just you double-tapping a post, it is you essentially telling your entire audience: this is something I am happy to be associated with.
That subtle shift makes a huge difference. Liking a brand update or a campaign reel now feels strangely exposing, as though you are endorsing it in a way you may not want to. Plenty of people have admitted that they are thinking twice before liking anything, saving their taps only for things that are genuinely funny, clever or aesthetically impressive. Casual support has disappeared.
For brands, this is a disaster. It means the safety net of loyal followers liking out of politeness is gone, which is why many accounts are seeing engagement dip dramatically.
Why reach matters more than likes
If likes are dead, what should you be measuring instead? The most important number now is reach. How many people actually saw your post? That figure tells you far more than a dwindling handful of likes ever could.
The strange part is that reach and engagement are no longer adding up. You may reach thousands of people, yet only have a few visible interactions. This does not necessarily mean your content failed. It means the way people interact has changed. Likes are out, shares and saves are in. And unfortunately, shares are harder to earn unless your content is entertaining or useful in some way.
What people actually like
You only have to scroll through the “liked reels” section of your friends to see the trend. The overwhelming majority of visible likes sit in a few buckets: comedy, activism, or relatable lifestyle content (being a parent, dating disasters, everyday frustrations). It is entertaining, emotive and often deeply personal.
What you will not find much of is brands. This is not because brands are producing worse content, but because the platform has created an environment where people feel awkward about visibly supporting them. The result is that businesses get cut out of the most visible loop of interaction, regardless of effort or quality.
The brand dilemma
This creates a difficult question: should brands try to adapt by mimicking comedy and relatability, or should they stay true to who they are? For some companies, trying to slot into trending content makes sense. For others, it is brand suicide.
If you are a high-end fashion label, leaning into slapstick humour jars with your positioning. If you are a serious medical business, pushing memes risks undermining your credibility. Not every brand should try to fit into the viral mould, because it simply is not on brand for them.
That tension is what many businesses are grappling with right now. Do you stay authentic and risk low engagement, or do you contort yourself to fit a culture that does not suit your identity? There is no easy answer, but it is a conversation worth having.
How the algorithm decides
Instagram’s algorithm still prioritises early engagement, and it does so brutally. In the first three to five minutes of your post going live, the platform measures the reach-to-like, comment or share ratio. If those numbers are not strong, your post will be pushed further down, effectively buried before it had a chance.
Shares are the most valuable currency, but this is exactly where brands are losing out. If people are reluctant to engage at all, the algorithm reads that as content not worth distributing, even if it is simply down to the cultural awkwardness of public likes.
The holiday photo problem
For individuals, the issue looks different but the principle is the same. Posting once in a blue moon no longer gives you a boost. In fact, the opposite happens. If you only share your holiday snaps every six months, Instagram will not reward you for showing up. Sporadic posting is treated as low-value, and your photos sink into the abyss of forgotten content.
That is why so many casual users feel like they are shouting into a cave. It is not that their friends do not care, it is that Instagram has decided their content does not deserve reach.
What brands can do about it
If engagement is slipping out of reach, the smart response is not to panic but to adapt. A few strategies that can still work:
Focus on shares, not likes. Create content that is useful, entertaining or surprising enough that people want to pass it on privately or publicly. Think tips, humour, or something that feels clever to reshare.
Invest in storytelling. A reel with a hook, a narrative, or a reveal is far more likely to be watched and shared than a static update.
Measure reach consistently. Benchmark how many people are seeing your posts and use that as your true north. If reach is growing, you are still in front of the right audience, even if the likes are not visible.
Post with consistency. Regular activity signals to Instagram that you are an active account. Sporadic bursts will not get rewarded.
Know your lane. Not every brand needs to be funny. Staying authentic to your voice is more important than forcing yourself into trends that do not fit. Omni-posting across different channels lets you be strategic: serious content where it makes sense, lighter content where it fits.
Encourage interaction beyond likes. Polls, questions and story formats are all still alive and well, and they do not carry the same baggage as public likes.
The main thing to remember is that this is not personal, it is systemic. Engagement has shifted, but reach is still there if you create content that earns attention. The landscape is changing, and for brands, the real challenge is deciding whether to bend with it or hold your ground.