A great way to grow your dog’s Instagram account is to join engagement pods. These behind-the-scenes groups are an influencer secret you may not know about…until now.
In this article, I’ll explain everything you need to know about dog Instagram pods, including:
- What is an Instagram Engagement Pod?
- Do Engagement Pods Work?
- Types of Engagement Pods
- How to Find, Join or Make a Pod of Your Own
- How Engagement Groups Operate
- Are Engagement Pods Free?
- Do Engagement Pods Hurt Engagement?
- Are There Risks to Joining Pods?
- Are Pods Worth the Effort?
What is an Instagram Engagement Pod?
If you’re new to the influencer or pupfluencer side of Instagram, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. We didn’t realize these secret groups existed until we were invited to our first pod.
Engagement pods are simply groups of Instagram accounts that trade engagement (meaning liking, commenting, saving, etc.) on each other’s posts. Members engage with each others’ posts in return for engagement back on their own.
This could look like:
- Liking each other’s posts
- Commenting on each other’s posts
- Saving each other’s posts
- Watching each other’s Reels, posts or IGTVs
- Replying to each other’s Story posts
They are designed as equal exchange partnerships between members of the groups to help each other grow.
You might’ve heard these pods also called engagement groups, DM groups or hype groups. And on the dog insta side, I like to call them packs.
Regardless of what you call them, know that they are a great way to grow a following, boost your engagement and establish a sense of accountability and consistency with your account.
Do Engagement Pods Work?
From our personal experience, yes!
They work if you join pods that are authentic to your type of content or your niche. It’s also important to be selective in what pod you join. You’ll have success if you’re in a group of quality accounts that actually want to help other members of the group grow.
Engagement pods must be well engaging. Members actually need to actively participate for everything to work.
We’ve only ever been part of dog IG account pods, meaning all the members of the group were fellow dog accounts. It wouldn’t make sense for our Siberian Husky-themed account to join a pod of mostly travel-themed accounts. It would feel – and be – weird and fake.
For example, before we knew about these pods, we were already organically engaging regularly with dog Instagram accounts similar to ours.
Pupfluencer Pro Tip: A big part of Instagram is building relationships and community (in and out of pods), so if you aren’t currently giving love to other similar accounts, I highly recommend you start!
So, when one of the accounts we knew and loved reached out to us to join a pod they were in that was looking for new members, we went for it. Since we already trusted the account that invited us, it was a no-brainer to see what this mysterious club was all about.
And, we’re glad we did, as these groups not only helped us grow our account but they also connected us to like-minded people with similar interests and goals.
In addition to engagement on your posts, you will also have a new pack of furriends that typically share what’s working or watch-outs (e.g., protecting each other from scams and letting your friends know if you see other accounts stealing their content without crediting the creator).
Types of Engagement Groups
There are many types of engagement groups, but at a high level, you can think of them in two ways: off-platform or on-platform. I’ll explain.
Off-platform engagement pods are groups that operate off the Instagram platform. Most often these take place on Telegram or WhatsApp. Typically, these are bot-run, HUGE groups. I’m talking about thousands of accounts.
The rules vary by group, but usually the rules are that you must engage with the last 5-10 posts or all posts shared in the last 24 hours before sharing your content for others to engage with.
What this looks like is a group chat where each member posts a link to their latest post. Every member has to click the link to go to Instagram to engage with the post. And then do that for EVERY link per whatever rules the group has before you can post your link.
Since these are many times automated and bot-run, if you accidentally miss someone’s post, you’ll get a warning, and then kicked out.
We joined a Telegram group for about one hour before quickly deleting the app. The time, effort and spammy chaos vibe wasn’t worth it.
I don’t recommend these mass pods.
On-platform engagement pods are groups that go down in the DMs of Instagram.
These groups tend to be smaller due to IG’s limit for users in a group DM, which according to Instagram is 32 people (or pup accounts).
In our experience, the on-platform pods we’ve joined have about 10-15 different accounts.
The rules vary by group, and each group has a moderator or admin (usually the person who set up/brought the group of accounts together).
How these typically work is each account posts a message in the form of a phrase or emojis to notify the other members of the group that they have a new post. Similar to Telegram groups, you must engage with the accounts’ posts before letting the group know you have new content. People typically double-tap the DM message to indicate they’ve interacted with it.
These operate more on the honor system, and rarely have I seen accounts get “called out” or kicked out for missing posts.
We’ve enjoyed these smaller groups as it’s more personal, the engagement is genuine and it’s manageable. Today, we’re part of a handful of groups and we usually spend about 20-30 minutes per day catching up on the groups.
I do recommend these pods.
How to Find, Join or Make a Pod of Your Own
There are a few ways to get involved with engagement groups. You can:
- Ask to join an existing engagement pod. How? Find accounts in your niche that are a similar size to yours, and send them a DM asking if they are part of any pods accepting new members. Another way to source groups is via Facebook by joining pet influencer Instagram groups (e.g., Dogs of Instagram or Dog Owners of Instagram), Reddit or do a search on Google.
- Accept invitations. Keep an eye on your DMs as accounts will likely reach out to you to join their pods. Be sure to check out the member accounts before joining to make sure they’re relevant to your type of content.
- Start your own! Not having luck finding an authentic or effective pod? Build your own group. Target accounts and ask if they’d like to join, set the ground rules and get going.
How Engagement Pods Operate
Every engagement pod has its own set of rules members of the group have to follow.
For the most part, they work by having all members join a group message, most of the time within the DM function of Instagram.
So let’s say you’re part of a pod that requires all members to like and comment on each other’s posts.
Here’s how it would work:
- Open your DMs to see your pod’s activity
- Scroll up to find all the other member’s notifications.
- Start at the first post of another member since the last time you messaged the group.
- Go to that account’s latest post and like and leave a thoughtful comment.
- Then work your way down all the other accounts’ DM messages, engaging with their content
- Once you’re caught up, you can post your message to the group notifying the members to engage with your content and watch the engagement roll in
- Repeat again the next day (or whenever you post again on the app)
Are Engagement Pods Free?
Yes!
If anyone tries to charge you to join a pod that functions as described above, I’d recommend politely declining. Since these are mutually beneficial arrangements, the admin or moderator running the pod should not be charging a “membership” fee.
Do Engagement Pods Hurt Engagement?
Quite the opposite!
Over the years, the various engagement groups we’ve been a part of have only increased our engagement. But again, we’ve only joined groups with accounts that we were or would naturally interact with.
With the Instagram algorithm constantly changing, these pods help us stay connected with accounts we love and want to see/engage with no matter the back-end changes on the app.
Are There Risks with Joining Pods?
Yes and no.
It’s important to be careful in this space as Instagram has cracked down on inauthentic activity.
If you’re engaging in spammy, inauthentic groups, know that you could get sent to Instagram “jail” (i.e., a temporary block on your account) or permanently banned from the app. You’ll know if you’re in “jail” if you can see your account but you can’t interact with anyone or anything.
We’ve never landed in jail, and we haven’t noticed decreased engagement as a result of participating.
I do suggest you use caution and discretion here. If you’re spending a lot of time sending and receiving generic comments, is that really helping you?
Are Pods Worth the Effort?
From our experience, yes!
I think they are worth the time and effort for a few reasons:
- Engagement. By participating in these types of groups, you have guaranteed engagement on your posts.
- Accountability. To keep your place in these groups, you have to show up regularly. One of the biggest secrets to success in anything is consistency. You have to show up and do the work to reap the rewards. For us, keeping up with the groups is one way we stay motivated to show up every day to share our Husky content.
- Community. One of the many reasons we love dog Instagram is seeing all these precious pups grow up. Every dog has its own special personality and each account offers something unique. While we haven’t met any of our pod friends IRL, we do feel like we know them and truly care for these dogs. We exchange holiday cards with our fellow pod-mates, celebrate each others’ successes, and send virtual love when times get tough. If you find genuine groups, it can only enhance your pupfluencer experience.
Joining engagement pods isn’t for everyone, but if you’re curious, I recommend you give them a shot!
For us, being part of these groups has been validating (hello fellow dog pawrents equally obsessed with pets like us), inspiring, and fun.
Good luck, and get growing!