3 Reasons to STOP using Instagram Pods — THE CREATIVE COMMUNICATOR

So you’re looking to grow your follower list on Instagram? A quick Google search might yield quite a few results suggesting that you employ the “Instagram hack” called a “pod” to significantly increase engagement on your posts and boost your content right on up to the explore page. Sounds like a plan, right?

Wrong.

Instagram pods first emerged in the social media world sometime in late 2016 or early 2017. People essentially join a group where all of the members “support” each other’s IG content by liking and commenting. When a user posts, they alert the others to head to their page and tap the heart and drop a line so that the platform is “tricked” into believing the post is racking up organic/paid views and its popularity is deserving of a tile on the Explore page.

It’s like the “like for like” or “comment for comment” status back when Facebook for teenagers/young adults was “cool”. (I thank Gabriela Barkho for this reference, because this really boils down this concept.)

It’s like that -- but a lot more work. It’s more time consuming and less genuine.

Picture this: You are in a group with 20 other bloggers or content creators, who each post two to four times a day. When they upload their latest image, you’ve got to drop what you’re doing, head to their profile and rapid-fire affection and praise to their post because, after all, the groups are on a strict(ish) time deadline. (You have to “prove” to IG that the content is “cool” enough with quick engagement!)

And you may not even like their post.

Before you know it, you’re caught in a sinking ship of Instagram overload -- so much so that you don’t have time to focus on your own content.

Small Talk Social star, Stephanie Gilbert, who was a member of not one, but two pods in early 2017, notes that being involved in this practice “is not for the faint of heart.”

Soloprenuers or other folks who are strapped for time, this likely isn’t really a viable option for your Insta-growth.

Barkho, who tried podding for a week, considered this a “round-the-clock investment.”

Even if your days are super free and filled with hours of scrolling and interacting with your social fam, this may still be the lesser option for you.

In addition to the efforts being a part-time job, social media experts are finding that the social aspect isn’t quite yielding the real-life results that users might have expected. The reach becomes limited. With Instagram’s updated algorithms, content most frequently gets shown to people who have previously interacted with the posts in the past, which means, it’s likely to be seen most by the same group of podders if they’re the main ones that are running to your page each and every time you post. Now, your content visibility becomes slightly stifled. And, even if your content is racking up likes and comments from your fellow podders, your popular posts may not be yielding conversions -- you know, clients? customers? coins?

This way, it’s much harder for your content to jump from the feeds. Instead, you’re just boosting your vanity metrics and making no real ROI.

Bottom line: Does it work? Well…

Should you invest your time and energy in it? Maybe not.

If you’re not convinced that this podding may not be the greatest option, here’s one more (IMPORTANT) reason:

The ‘gram’s social media parent, Facebook, is making a conscious effort to crack down on podders. The system’s trackers don’t have to search long or hard to find posts that are getting engagement from the same 20 to 30 people each time. And the parent company is planning on seeking out and dismissing users who are involved in pod activity in the near future, which means that you could be playing a game of Russian Roulette with your account.

Earlier this week, Facebook/Instagram has reported to have already taken down more than 10 large pods with the explanation of “violation of terms and conditions”.

If you’re already in one or considering joining one, know that your account could be suspended or removed by using this as part of your growth strategy.

Sorry about that.