Welcome to this week’s episode of “The Engaging Marketeer” podcast. Today, I’ll be taking a critical look at the rise of so-called “engagement pods” on social media – particularly LinkedIn.
These pods are groups where members artificially boost each other’s posts in a bid for greater visibility. I’ll be diving into why this tactic is not only ineffective but potentially damaging to your credibility. If you’ve ever thought about joining one of these groups or are currently a member, listen closely to some no-nonsense insights on how to create genuine engagement and truly make LinkedIn work for you.
So, on this week’s episode, I want to talk about something I’ve been seeing in a lot of WhatsApp and social media groups I’m in. It’s happening on LinkedIn, too. People are trying to drum up engagement for their LinkedIn posts by going into WhatsApp groups and asking people to go through, comment on the posts, like the posts, or share them. You may have seen this yourself—maybe you’re in some WhatsApp groups or Facebook groups where this happens.
It seems perfectly harmless, even reasonable, right? Asking people, “Hey, go show some love on my LinkedIn post.” The more people who engage with your post, the wider reach LinkedIn will give it, right? That’s the theory, anyway. More engagement leads to more connections, which could lead to more clients. It makes sense, doesn’t it?
Well, not really. In fact, there are even paid groups, or “pods,” where people pay a subscription—weekly, monthly, whatever—to be part of these engagement groups. You’ll have a group of maybe 20 or 30 people, and everyone makes a commitment that when someone shares a post within the group, everyone else will go in and engage with it. You’ll have limits, like maybe one post per day, but the same thing happens: everyone goes in, likes the post, comments on it, shares it.
And it all sounds like it should work… except that it’s complete bollocks. It is an absolute waste of time to be asking people in a group to engage with your posts.
Let’s take one group I’m in as an example. There are maybe four or five people each day going into this WhatsApp group, sharing their LinkedIn post, saying, “Come through and engage with my post, show it some love.” And then the same five or six people will like and comment on it every single time.
How stupid do you think LinkedIn is?
Sure, LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft, and we know Microsoft isn’t exactly the most savvy when it comes to algorithms. Bing, as a search engine, is no Google, let’s be fair. But LinkedIn is still not so daft that it can’t identify a little group of people all engaging with each other’s posts. There’s no engagement from people outside of these pods.
This setup is like the days of early Britain, pre-Roman invasion, when villages were just little clusters, and everyone was breeding within the same small circle, causing terrible inbreeding. They eventually realised they needed to trade with other tribes. These LinkedIn pods? They’re like those tiny villages but without the awareness of needing to expand the circle. It’s the same people liking, commenting, and sharing every time. And some are even paying for the privilege, thinking this will give them some kind of edge or more business. But it won’t.
If you think that’s going to get you anywhere, I’ve got news for you: it bloody well isn’t. All you’ll get is the same people liking and commenting every time, and LinkedIn’s algorithm is only going to circulate your post to that same little group. You won’t see any meaningful increase in sales, revenue, inquiries, or leads. Yes, your reach might go up, but only among the same contacts of the people in your pod.
You’re not going to see any real-world impact
Now, if you actually want your LinkedIn posts to get real engagement and reach, here’s what you need to do.
Number one: write something interesting. I know, revolutionary, right? But it seems like a lot of people don’t get this. They’re always sharing the same old stuff—“Here’s a new course I’ve launched,” “Here’s a seminar I’m running,” “Here’s a new product I’m selling.” And the same 8–10 people like it. That’s not interesting. Start a conversation. Share something people want to engage with.
And don’t just tag loads of people or drop links everywhere. Say something worth engaging with, and you’ll naturally get engagement. You won’t have to run to some WhatsApp group and ask everyone to give you a pat on the back. Honestly, this isn’t how social media marketing works. I’m in multiple groups, and they aren’t even meant to be for this, yet people keep going in there asking for engagement, and no one is stopping them. It’s maddening, honestly. It’s like the Facebook groups where people think social media marketing is just posting about their tiling business or dance group offers.
Nobody wants to see sales posts constantly. You’re wasting your time. This isn’t how you get engagement, interest, or sales.
So please, if you’re in one of these groups and people are asking you to engage with their posts, don’t do it. Don’t waste your time. And if you’re someone who posts in these groups asking for engagement, please stop. Just create content that people genuinely want to read, see, and engage with. That’s what will get you business, comments, likes, shares, and real interest. Say something worth listening to and stop relying on the same few people to artificially boost your posts. You’re wasting your time.
You’ve been listening to “The Engaging Marketeer.” I hope you’ve taken some value from this, and if you know someone who’s guilty of this, please share this episode with them. Let’s stop people from polluting WhatsApp and Facebook groups with these requests. I’ll catch you on the next podcast.
About your host:
Darren has worked within digital marketing since the last century, and was the first in-house web designer for video games retailer GAME in the UK, known as Electronics Boutique in the States. After co-founding his own agency, Engage Web, in 2009, Darren has worked with clients around the world, including Australia, Canada and the USA.
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/engaging-marketeer/id1612454837
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenjamieson/
Engaging Marketeer: https://engagingmarketeer.com
Engage Web: https://www.engageweb.co.uk
