"Vanity metrics or not, Instagram likes have been the influencer validation gold standard for years, and removing them will be a major inflection point in the industry," said Matt Zuvella, cofounder and VP of Marketing at FamePick , a platform that provides business tools for influencers. "Creators will face a steeper uphill battle to differentiate themselves upon first impression. Brands need to know what type of audience is following, so creators will need to turn to third party platforms/tools to help showcase not only their work, but the audience metrics that now lie beneath the surface."