Ten years ago when Facebook and Instagram were photo sharing apps, “Likes” were the most important engagement metric. Now in a social media landscape that’s dominated by video, “Likes” are probably the 5th most important engagement metric. If a post has a high amount of likes, there’s a good chance that at least 1 or 2 of the higher ranking metrics listed below are at a high count as well. So with that being said, here is Creator.co‘s list of engagement metrics that are more important than “Likes” on today’s video sharing apps.

#1 – Watch Time

If users are watching your entire video, you’re in a great spot. If users are watching your entire video multiple times, you’re a superstar. In a previous blog, we spoke about how rewatchability is the key to going viral, but that still doesn’t all the way take into account the power of getting users to be stuck on one video for an extended period of time. If you can pull this off, the algorithms will reward your content, and the “Likes” will come.

#2 – Shares

“Shares” are an amazing engagement metric because it literally informs algorithms of the types of people that could be interested in your content. It’s very powerful because it’s the social media version of “word of mouth,” which has always been the most effective form of marketing. You know when you send a video to a friend with the note “I saw this and I thought of you”? This what other users should be saying about your content. If you do that, the “Likes” will come.

#3 – Saves

The “Save” button on TikTok and Instagram is their version of the “Superlike” button on Tinder. A “Like” can often times be very casual showing of approval. But a “Save” means that the user loved the content so much that they intend to watch it again and again. A “Save” tells the algorithm that this is memorable content that should be shown to potentially many other users. If you can pull this off, “Likes” will be the least of your worries.

#4 – Comments

Comments are more powerful than “Likes” because they simply take more time. It means that the user had an emotional reaction to your content. So much so, that they felt the need to communicate that reaction to the content creator. Now obviously, comment sections can be very toxic. The metrics listed above are a much better way to measure the positive impact of your content. But if engagement is what you want, comments are a better version of it than “Likes”.

Try to think about these metrics the next time you’re creating a video! Good luck!