When we first heard about Instagram pods we were intrigued by the name. In nature, a pod is family of dolphins who live together in harmony and support one another. This so beautifully parallels the purpose of these engagement boost groups that are changing the face of the online marketing world. The members of your pod become your Instagram family and work to support you as you grow your platform.

Think of pods like a group of cheerleaders who help one another on Instagram through likes and meaningful comments. The members of the pod engage with the content of others in their pod as soon as the post goes live in order to communicate to Instagram that a particular piece of content is generating engagement. It’s an algorithm hack that is something we can truly get behind in the spirit of community!

Three Types of Instagram Pod:

1. Add everyone that you want in your pod to a group message on Instagram (and come up with a clever name for your pod). Have everyone post in the group message whenever they post an image. Then, everyone else can go comment and ‘like’ that image.
2. Add everyone that you want to be in your pod to a group message on Instagram and have them turn on post notifications for everyone. Then whenever someone in your pod posts a picture, everyone will be notified and they can go leave it some love!
3. Create a boost group on Facebook and have a daily thread. Ask members of the boost group to comment with a direct link to their latest Instagram post. Require each person who posts to comment on the five links above theirs.

Also, commenting on each other’s images with more than four words is a great way to boost them with the algorithm, and an added bonus: it’s always a great feeling having genuine comments! With so many robots posting thoughtless comments into the virtual abyss, it is important to ensure that you engage with content in an authentic and meaningful way.

Quick Commenting Tips:

• Write authentic comments (guideline: use more than four words)
• Avoid generic phrases like “love it!” or a series of straight emoticons
• Tailor your comment to the image or caption (show intention)
• Consider tagging the person in the comment @namehere for an even more personal touch

The most important thing to remember when creating or joining a pod is that you should go into the experience for the right reasons. Simply joining to see your comment number increase is short-sighted and eventually will leave you feeling unfulfilled. Remember that engagement groups like pods offer a unique opportunity to connect with others, build community, and cheer on other creative entrepreneurs in your daily life.

Enter into your pod with a desire to invest in others and strive to always be the most supportive member of  your group. We’ve found that we rise when we first lift others!