Inside Instagram Comment Pods: The Secret To Increasing Your Engagement

There’s no doubt the aftermath of the Instagram algorithm change had led to a lot confusion on how to keep engagement afloat. Countless techniques began to arise from hashtag strategies to story shoutouts, with little insight into which tactic is actually worthwhile. Over time, users began conspiring ways to outsmart the algorithm, and a little thing called an Instagram comment pod was born.

What is an Instagram comment pod you ask?

Don’t worry you’re not alone. This technique has managed to stay semi under the radar for quite some time.

In an effort to keep up with the ever changing Instagram algorithm, users began to team up with other accounts in their industry to support one another and keep their content relevant.

The general idea behind a comment pod is to get a group of 10-15 similar accounts together (20 max) to interact and engage with each other. Every time a user publishes a new post, they send a link in a direct message to the comment pod, and from there everyone in the pod will engage with the post whether it’s in the form of liking, commenting or both. This then encourages others to engage with your content, boosting your engagement overall.

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Ultimately, this tactic goes off the idea that if you get a surplus of likes and comments within the first several minutes of posting, your post will be favored in the Instgram algorithm and the app will then funnel more traffic to your page since your new post appears to be popular amongst the crowd. You’ll then move higher up on people’s feeds and potentially land a spot on the explore page. While this is all speculation, there does appear to be some truth behind it. After all, Instagram is a social app and seems to favor those who interact with their community.

How do you decide which Instagram comment pod is right for you?

One of the most important factors to consider when searching for an Instagram comment pod is to make sure all accounts in the group are within your target audience.

For instance, if you’re in the fashion industry, you’ll want to join a pod of fashion bloggers, brands or designers. A pod of travel bloggers would be a bit irrelevant for your page and people may find it odd that random non-industry accounts are reaching out to you. This will make your profile seem spammy or fake and will not bring in the appropriate growth to your account.

Another example is if you were a producer of beef jerky, joined a vegan comment pod and all of your comments were from vegan Instagram accounts. Essentially you’re not gaining any potential customers and ruining the validity of your account.

In fact, it’s pretty important to be picky with your Instagram comment pod selection because this group of accounts will eventually become a part of your community and in turn inevitably direct traffic to your profile.

Additionally, Instagram will sooner or later connect your account to the accounts of those who are interacting with you and you’ll want to be paired with relevant accounts in order to successfully grow your following.

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Sounds easy right? Post your content and get awesome comments and likes every time you post. Yeah that’s definitely one of the perks of being in the group, however, being a part of a comment pod takes a lot of work.

Think of it this way: you get what you put in. People are posting content every day and you’ll have to be on your A game to try and keep up with all 10-20 people in your comment pod in order for the actions to be reciprocated. Every. Single. Day.

Additionally, there are some rules you’ll have to follow which differ from group to group.

What are the rules?

So you reach out to some of your favourite accounts or get asked to be apart of a pod. What’s next?

There’s going to need to be a set of guidelines that are pretty widely known, but rules will vary depending upon the pod. If you’re being invited into the pod, make sure you know that pod’s rules before you begin work just to make sure you’re playing fair. Plus you wouldn’t want to be that person who is clearly not following directions. If you’re the creator of the pod, make sure you clearly state a set of rules from the very beginning so everyone is on the same page.

The general rules of an Instagram comment pod may look something like this:

Follow everyone in the pod.

Comments must be FIVE(5) words (Emojis don’t count) or more. Also, don’t use generic comments and try to make them relatable to the caption.

Additionally please watch the videos for at least THREE(3) seconds.

Don’t send your post through until you’ve caught up on everyone’s post for the day.

Like the persons message once you’ve commented.

While it may seem rigid, it’s just to make sure everyone is putting in the same amount of effort as everyone else. No one wants to be stiffed when they’re putting in so much work and commenting on every single post.

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Even with rules in place, things still come up and life happens. Usually people are pretty understanding that life gets busy, but just be communicative and let the people in the comment pod know what’s up! Plus, the benefits of the group definitely way out the cons so it’s worth it in the end.

What other benefits are there aside from higher engagement?

At first glance, it seems as though the major benefit of an Instagram comment pod is solely the engagement. However, as you become more acquainted with the technique, you’ll quickly realize there are many other benefits as well!

If and when you decide to join a pod, this connects you to a community of like-minded accounts, making your community that much smaller. Even if you decide somewhere down the line that you can’t keep up with the pod, you can meet some pretty cool people and it’s a great way to connect. Think of it as a sure way to make friends!

It’s also a great way to motivate yourself to interact. There’s a responsibility you have to the pod and it will push you to do your part and engage. Additionally, when you comment on other content, you’ll increase your exposure as the active followers of those accounts now have a greater chance of stumbling upon your page.

Lastly, it puts you back in control of what ends up at the top of your feed, and is a way to keep up with the current trends in your niche. People are constantly rolling out new content and it could be difficult to see what is trending if it gets buried deep in your feed aka the abyss of the algorithm.

How do I begin?

Why not start your own Instagram comment pod? Write out a little template that’s short, sweet and to the point, and begin DM’ing some of your favorite accounts. You’d be surprised at how many people are interested! Just make sure you research each account a bit by looking through their followers and current comments to see if they have an authentic audience (not purchased bots).

Or if you’d prefer to not have all the responsibility on you, start reaching out to accounts asking if they are a part of any pods and if there’s room for one more. It’s definitely an ‘ask and you shall receive’ type of thing, so start asking around! Just be ready for the commitment because it will be a bit time consuming. But if you already spend a lot of time on the app, it shouldn’t be an issue!

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Isn’t all of this against the rules?

There’s been a lot of talk about the safety of Instagram comment pods since it’s technically a way to beat the system. The algorithm changes really messed with everyone’s engagement so people adapted and figured out a way to mess with it right back. Some people are hesitant in joining pods thinking that perhaps Instagram will punish them if they’re linked to a comment group. Some have even taken their pods to different apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram to really go the extra mile and ensure Instagram is unable to trace anything.

Ultimately, being part of an Instagram comment pod is a way to make friends and interact with new accounts you may not have discovered otherwise. It’s a motivator to be social and engage. Hence why it’s quite difficult to imagine the app punishing users for doing exactly what the creation of the app was intended for – connecting.

Users still vacillate back and forth between whether or not Instagram comment pods are a useful engagement tactic. Findings have differed for everyone, but all in all, it can gain you some free quality likes, comments and follows, so it certainly doesn’t hurt to test it out!

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