Around mid 2016, Instagram changed their timeline algorithm in a way that made the posts appear in a different order than how they used to be. This resulted in decrease in engagement rates for a lot of accounts. Later, the Instagram stories update has reportedly been another cause for the decrease in engagement rates. All of this lead to a change in Instagram marketing strategies & made increasing engagement rates organically and for free more tricky. In this article, I am talking about an organic and free way to grow your Instagram engagement rates and possibly to gain more followers.
Recently, the idea of starting Instagram groups called pods has popped up. Those type of groups have been an effective way for increasing engagement on Instagram posts.
What is an Instagram Pod ?
I don’t who proposed this naming to such groups. A pod is a group of dolphins living together and supporting each other. According to Wikipedia, a pod is:
Dolphins are highly social animals, often living in pods of up to a dozen individuals. Membership in pods is not rigid; interchange is common. Dolphins can, however, establish strong social bonds.
And this is how Instagram pods work. Once a member posts something new, he/she sends it to the group. The group members get notified, and then they like and comment on the new post. Joining multiple pods can be very effective for getting better results but it means that you need to invest more time into this.
Is joining a Pod right for you?
Joining a pod can be a bad idea if you are a top Instagram influencer with tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of followers. But if you are still in the beginning or midway of building your Instagram presence, it can be really a great idea.
How can you benefit from joining an Instagram Pod ?
Joining an Instagram pod can be beneficial in several ways, like:
- Increasing engagement rates on your posts.
- If you select your hashtags carefully, joining multiple pods can help your post getting featured on some specific hashtags.
- Some pod members do shoutouts & featuring which can help getting more followers.
- You can possibly increase your professional network through a pod. Usually, pods are created to include similar profiles like travel bloggers pod, food bloggers pod, .. etc.
In conclusion, growing you Instagram following base & increasing the engagement isn’t a straightforward process & it is getting tougher overtime. To do it organically, you need more dedication, research, time & commitment. Using pods is one way effective, free & organic way to increase your engagement rates on your account. I have created several pods and it is working well for me until now. Feel free to DM me on Instagram @NomadicPharaoh & I can help you to joing a pod or multiple pods.
I am the creator of Nomadic Memoir and the author of this article :D; Living as a Digital Nomad since 2016; Founder of the remote digital agency, Web Leap Garage. I share my experience as a Digital Nomad. Also tips, destination info, and travel stories.
I guess we’re kind of like groups of dolphins… 😉
I like instagram pods because they’re really supportive and you get great ideas from people as well.
I have been seeing this Instagram pods a lot lately but never gave it a serious thought or a read. Thanks for sharing, this seems an effective way of increasing the follower base as well as engagement organically. I would love to join one for starters.
I have a few pods i have been a part of and some work really well and others not, one of them 5 people never checked in from the first message. but the other one is great and i am looking to join more!
I have never heard of these pods! Where do you find them? Very useful post, thanks for sharing
Hello Sarah,
You can find pod requests on facebook groups or through other Instagram members you are in contact with. You can contact me on Instagram & I will be glad to help. This is my handle @NomadicPharaoh
Thanks for the tip! How do you find a pod? Or should you create a “pod” on your own?
I have heard of these instagram pods before and after reading this i might have to try one out!
Yeah I never used to be active on some pods but now I am and I can see the difference it makes. Thanks for confirming this for me.
I’ve never heard of pods, how would one know where to look for them on instagram?
I haven’t joined any pods, but it does sound like a great way to increase engagement and reach. I’ll have to look more into it. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this post. I keep seeing people mentioning Instagram Pods but, as I don’t really use Instagram I’ve never investigated what they were. I’m planning to add Instagram to my social media platforms list over the next month or so and pods seem like a great thing to get involved in.
Pinning this post to come back to once I take the Instagram leap!
Dani x | http://www.flourishingfreelancer.com
I was in a few pods. I liked it at first, but over time, the comments seemed forced. I would love to start another pod though.
I’m in a couple of pods and they are useful for getting quick likes and comments. I agree with everything you’ve said about Instagram pods.
Really useful tips! Started being active in my pods lately and it definitely is making a difference! Just crossed the 500 followers mark and actually staying there!
Thank you for this information! I have been wondering more about Instagram pods since my engagement has gone WAY down this month!
i never got around to becoming active on IG pods. Thanks for the reminder. I need to start. I am not exactly sure how though!
I tried being in an Insta pod but found that it was difficult to keep up with all the posts and I felt weird commenting on photos that I really didn’t like. I may give it another go at some point though
I’ve tried Instagram pods and they really help a lot. We’ve noticed we get a much better response since we’ve been doing pods. Plus you get to see some other people’s cool instagram pages.