Exposing the Truth About Engagement Pods
Often described as The Dark Side of Social Media Growth … but do engagement pods really help your business.
WHAT ARE ENGAGEMENT PODS?
Engagement pods are groups where members agree to like, comment, and share each other’s social media posts to artificially boost visibility.
Pods are often used on LinkedIn or Instagram rather than Facebook or Twitter/X.
Usually organised on platforms like WhatsApp, what often happens is a three-stage process:
- Individual posts
- Copies the link into a WhatsApp group and asks for likes and comments
- 30 members like and comment
It’s easy to be seduced and tempted into joining engagement pods with the promise of increased visibility and the pressure to compete with larger businesses.
I totally understand how scary it is putting out content and not knowing if people will respond or not.
I’ve been there on every platform with zero followers and have taken the time to build up to larger audiences so I know How you feel.
HOW DO YOU SPOT IF A PERSON IS PART OF AN ENGAGEMENT POD
There are several ways, but these are the common ways to spot them:
Low-quality posts with large amounts of likes and comments
A large number of comments on a post in a very short period of time, i.e., 30 comments in 15 minutes
Short, low-quality comments
The same people commenting on every post
Other giveaways of pods are often:
Bright multicoloured background on LinkedIn profile photo
“Helping” in their LinkedIn professional headline
Facebook membership group
7-day or 30-day challenges being part of their business model
Spotting these patterns can often prevent you from being misled by competitors or potential partners.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A MEMBER OF AN ENGAGEMENT POD, ALEX?
Never.
Like anyone, I’ve been in a WhatsApp group for a networking group.
In SUBS Altrincham, we occasionally shared vital posts in the group, but by occasionally I mean once a month or less.
The core function of the WhatsApp group was not to share social media posts in it, and members respected it.
In the long run being authentic with your networking and your social media will lead to actual sales and business.
And now you know what to look for, here are 5 reasons engagement pods are a terrible idea:
Engagement Pods Lead to Social Media Fatigue
Think about the last time you went on holiday and met a group of people.
Someone suggested setting up a WhatsApp group to keep in touch, and within 1 hour you’re already regretting it.
Dave and Anna are sending a constant stream of memes, so you put the chat on mute.
Engagement pods will make you feel the same about WhatsApp and social media.
If every day at 8 am you’re getting 30 messages asking for people to comment on their posts, then social media fatigue will set in within the week.
It will become an entirely joyless experience where you’re only turning up out of a sense of duty.
That doesn’t feel like a good way to approach marketing for life to me.
Engagement Pods Are Inauthentic
Why do people join engagement pods?
It’s a good question, but one of the main reasons is that members think more likes and comments on each post create more credibility and kudos.
You’re trying to build a brand on a lie, and that’s a rocky foundation.
You are lying to everyone who follows you and every potential customer.
You’ve essentially bribed people to make you look popular and pretend to be a supporter.
How would you feel if that information was ever found out? Proud or embarrassed?
You Can’t Measure Content Performance With Engagement Pods
At the end of each month, I look at my analytics.
I analyse my top 5 posts and bottom 5 posts on each platform.
By doing this, my content is in a continual process of improvement as I understand what resonates with my audiences.
I actually learn as much from the posts that don’t land as I do from the ones that do.
If you’re part of an engagement pod, how do you know what is good or bad content when every piece of content has been falsely inflated?
By being part of an engagement pod, you could actually be amplifying terrible content that puts real customers off.
Engagement Pods Mess Up the Algorithm for You
With every single interaction on social media platforms, you’re sending signals that you want to see more from those people.
The people you ultimately should be interacting with on social media are:
- Your existing clients
- Potential clients
- Your network
By doing this, you’ll see more of them and build deeper relationships.
By joining an engagement pod, you are essentially telling the platform to show you more of the people with poor content that you’re forced to comment on.
The chances are most of the group will never ever be your clients, nor would you want them to be – they are people looking for a cheap fix rather than a long-term solution.
Engagement Pods Are Not Customer Focused
Stop following the vanity metrics.
As I’ve said many times before, social media should deliver a return on the investment as well as the warm fuzzy feelings you get with engagement.
Likes, comments, and shares don’t pay the bills – but actual business does.
Your content, engagement, and relationship building should be geared towards your ideal customers rather than 30 unfocused people.
If you’re part of an engagement pod, I want you to look through the list of members and do the maths on how many are your ideal customers.
If you’re honest, it will be a low number!
CONCLUSION ON ENGAGEMENT PODS
Should you join an engagement pod?
The case above is fairly conclusive.
The perceived wins from joining one will harm your business in the long term.
If you feel your social media feed needs a cleanse from members of engagement pods, remember you can mute or unfollow the said accounts.
A few years ago, I removed just one person from my LinkedIn feed who I suspected was part of an engagement pod. My newsfeed improved overnight. It really was that simple.
If you’d like help with increasing your visibility, producing authentic engaging content, and building real relationships on social media, just email us at alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk.
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