I know what you’re thinking, SHADOW BAN!! Nope, that’s not it. Here are the 3 reasons I decided to leave my Instagram Pods behind:
Forced Engagement with accounts that I’m not particularly interested in. As much as I love my feed, I know everyone won’t be interested in it and that’s okay, we’re all entitled to our own taste. For that reason, I don’t really like the idea of “forcing” my feed on someone who may have zero interest in what I’m showing. One of my first pods had a large number of photographers in it and this one photographer in particular must have LIVED on Instagram because they had a habit of updating the group AT MINIMUM 5 times a day with new post they wanted engagement on … I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time for that. Not only was there the constant engagement issue, there was the …
Forced Following of accounts I likely wouldn’t have followed otherwise. The problem with following accounts that are of no interest to you is they become part of what you see in your feed and eventually end up burying the accounts you actually do want to see. There are accounts I was following … that I totally forgot I followed … and LOVE, but didn’t ever see because of other accounts I didn’t even particularly like, but HAD to follow as part of the pod rules. If you broke the pod rules you had to deal with …
Pod Police calling you out and giving “warnings” if you miss some likes or follows. Now don’t get me wrong, I understand the purpose of the pods is to grow your likes and comments, which in turn boost your engagement, but if I’m not jumping into the group and promoting my own new post for all to like or comment … or let’s even pretend I’m taking a social media breather … I don’t want someone scolding me for not still going in and liking/commenting on everyone else’s post … everyone needs a break every now and again.
Instagram pods can be great if you are selective and become part of the right ones for you. Ultimately, the original pods I chose weren’t a good fit for me, so I left them in search of a more organically built audience. I want followers to WANT to see my post and engage with me via the comments, a quick message, or an email. I don’t want to feel like people are MADE to follow my account and like my images … leaves me feeling like I’m cheating in a way.
For me, finding communities such as Facebook groups and Style Collective were great resources because I was able to build organic relationships with likeminded individuals who had the choice in following and engaging on my feed and blog. If a pod is built there, it’s with individuals you actually are interested in and it’s more of a way to make sure their images don’t get lost in the crowd. I’m fine with my smaller following, compared to many other bloggers and influencers, because I know that my following is an organically built community of individuals invested in my current events and that’s good enough for me … slow and steady wins the race after all.
You are so right! More than enough reasons… thanks for sharing
I never liked the idea of comment pods on Instagram. Despite the idea that it was a great way to ‘game’ the ever changing algorithm, to me it seems like we are working harder, not smarter. I’m with you on the organic growth and taking it one step further to use analytics to see where people are finding your site or profile and building up those streams versus trying to break into one single medium.
Hi! 🙂 I really enjoyed reading it. I was part of only one pod but still I felt overwhelmed and left this week for those same reasons you pointed out. Some people I met there were great and I still follow them and like/comment on their pics whenever I can. But the pressure to be commenting all the time and following some people I wouldn’t as you said was killing all my vibe. I prefer my freedom haha and organic natural engagement.
I left my comment pods also. Even though the pods were niche pods, I still felt the comments were forced. And I thought it looked strange that the same 10 people were commenting on all my posts.
I’ve never tried a IGpod and although I would love some more energy on my feed, I would like to keep it fresh and honest as I think my work is so after reading this I don’t think it would work for me 🙂
I don’t do pods period. While it’s nice to want to help out your fellow bloggers and show them support, I prefer for the support to be more genuine and not forced. Like you said my Instagram won’t be everyone’s cup of tea and that applies to my blog and other social media accounts as well.
Oh I just wrote a comment but I got an error so I hope it won’t be here twice…
I have never used an IG pod and now when reading your article I think it wouldn’t be for me as I like to keep it fresh and honest as my work is.
I’ve never been a fan of follow for follow. I don’t like the forced engagement, either. I think it’s something that might hurt the website in the long run.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’ve never been a part of a pod. I’ve looked into it, but it seems like so much more work!
I like the pods I’m in so far. I guess different strokes for different folks. One of them I did leave but it’s because I noticed some folks weren’t following the rules and it wasn’t fair. Other than that things have been good.
YESSSS girl, yes! Also, how can you accuratley judge how your content is performing if you have forced engagement? So happy I’m not the only one that feels this way! Style collective have been amazing, too.
I am thankful that I have found supportive and forgiving pods. I enjoy the relationships I feel I have formed in the pods. But, I have left a few for the extream rules and regulations.
love this so much! it’s so relate able. thank you for sharing!
Good points for sure. Have you ever tried being apart of a pod that was specific to your niche? I found one recently and I found it very empowering, inspiring, and motivating. The vibes felt genuine because we all had the same passion and goal!
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I haven’t. I just got a bad taste in my mouth about them after that and honestly, the more I thought about it, it felt like cheating the system a bit. I feel like brands will notice if the same people are constantly commenting, especially if those people are all bloggers as well.
I totally agree with you and all these are the reasons I don’t do pods. Organic followers and genuine comments are the best.