We prove, under some assumptions, a Greenberg type equality relating the characteristic power series of the Selmer groups over $\mathbb{Q}$ of higher symmetric powers of the Galois representation associated to a Hida family and congruence ideals associated to (different) higher symmetric powers of that Hida family. We use $R=T$ theorems and a sort of induction based on branching laws for adjoint representations. This method also applies to other Langlands transfers, like the transfer from $\text{GSp}(4)$ to $U(4)$. In that case we obtain a corollary for abelian surfaces.