Now, this is dependent on what your business does and what your ideal audience looks like, but asking friends and family to like your Instagram posts, even though giving you a temporary boost in likes, can actually hurt the algorithm and lower your reach.
When Instagram’s algorithm analyzes someone’s profile and the content they engage with, it tries to recommend similar content to them. This is also the same in reverse of when your business content is being put out there and the algorithm is analyzing previous engagements.
If you ask friends and family to like your posts, the algorithm may become confused and not recommend your content to your ideal customers. This can lead to poor reach, a lack of targeted followers, and a waste of time creating content. This can make it very hard for business social channels to grow when it comes to B2B or niche products/services.
To get the most out of Instagram, don’t worry about those initial likes and numbers, focus on creating good quality content with value for your ideal customer.