Comment Pods – What Are They?
WHO: An Instagram Comment Pod is a group not to exceed 15 people who are in the same niche and have a mutual goal to increase their following.
WHAT: The goal of the group is to leverage the algorithm to favor their posts. The way this is done is by commenting on each other’s photos EACH and EVERY TIME.
HOW: Typically you form your Team of IG friends, form a group and notify each other when a post is up.
IN THE PERFECT SCENARIO: Everyone would comment within 90 minutes of the post going up. And in theory – if everyone did this – your post “might” have a better chance in showing up in the Explore Feed. But in reality …. the requirement to reply within 90 minutes – isn’t achievable for most people because of … well life. Everyone schedules are different.
WHY DID IT START? When Instagram changed the Algorithm (March 2016) it upset a lot of IGers because they felt that their posts were not being seen by their followers anymore. So those that are in marketing or other Instagram Experts developed this methodology to help leverage the algorithm in their favor.
DID IT WORK? In the beginning it “appeared” to actually work. You got more comments, you made new friends and it everyone was hunky dory happy.
YOU JUST CAN’T FAKE REAL COMMENTS: So as part of this comment pod you typically find yourself in a group of 14 others, where your commitment is to reply to a post. Well if you’re not familiar with the account, don’t know much about them, but have a requirement to reply with a post – it’s not always the easiest task to do. It’s like meeting a stranger at a restaurant but being required to have an authentic heart open conversation.
Maybe some are able to do it – but I couldn’t do it naturally. I’m a bit of a wordy IGer already – most of my captions are long form or in marketing people who write as much as I do – use Instagram for micro-blogging.
After a few trials … I politely excused myself and withdrew from the pods. The requirement to comment, the stress of trying to keep up with the posts, and the unfairness of some of the podmates who didn’t reciprocate made it Not Fun At All.[/fusion_text][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]You Cannot Outsmart the Algorithm or Artificial Intelligence[/title][fusion_text]There have been 25 updates to Instagram since Jan 2017 through last week. It might even be 26 as of this week due to the bug they fixed late last week.
A tactic that was formulated in March of 2016 and used today – is simply outdated at this point.
Here’s a few things to consider when you’re in a pod.
When a new Instagrammer asks me about these pods, I explain as I have in this article all the ways it could hurt your account, your visibility, your authenticity. But if you enter them with knowing what you’re getting into … and enter them with the intention of meeting new people (like a virtual meet up) then it could help you in the very short run. But don’t count on it as a way to increase your following.
CONTENT ALWAYS WINS: If you look at your favorite accounts … irregardless of their number or engagement … and analyze WHY you like that account. It’s because there’s something that resonates with you. It might be the visuals or the writing. Either way it’s the Content not What they do that compels and attracts you to them. So I always say to someone – focus on your Content first. That time you spend looking at numbers could be better spent in trying to take your favorite photo ever. Notice I don’t say BEST because there are a lot of non-photographer IGers who take amazing photos and tell memorable stories All. On. Their. Mobile. Phone.
BE ORIGINAL. As cliche as this is – be yourself. Everyone is already taken. I was having a conversation with someone who doesn’t have dogs. He has a collection of his favorite dog accounts and he told me – look all the dogs look the same to me – but it’s the visual element and the captions I love.
SERVE OTHERS: I think back to when I was just randomly posting photos of Maggie. She was a puppy. I work at home. She would nap and play as puppies do – and I’d post 2 to 4 photos a day. Yes I was that person. And in my free time I’d go look at other people’s accounts, comment like comment like comment like. I’d get a look from my significant other and he’d ask – what are you doing on your phone so much. And I’d reply – oh looking at dogs. And he’d just look confused and go back to what he was doing.
But interacting first, by going out and meeting new people … those people came to take a peek at my account … and relationships happened but ORGANICALLY.
I remember back in 2004 I was having a conversation with someone about how banks did marketing and he said – it’s a Contact Sport. You can’t make friends if you don’t go out and connect with someone.
Same thing – if your goal is to make genuine friends – then you need to go out of your own account and meet people.
BE AUTHENTIC: Trust me when I say today everyone’s BS Meter is highly sophisticated. Just Be Real and Be Honest. And Be Caring.
Conversely, in this case – my advice to you is to: Go back to that time when you got your first comment. And when you first started to comment and like other photos. Remember how naturaly your engagement was and how much fun it was? Replicate that. Use Instagram like you just started. And that means …. using your explore, meeting new accounts, liking others and genuinely forming connections. Some other things you could do:
Note: If you are in a pod now and enjoy it there is nothing wrong with your pod. Just have the right intentions and that is that the pod is to meet other like minded people but remember, to not rely on that pod to grow your account but to form genuine friendships.
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