Darren Jamieson: Hello, and welcome to this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer. Today, I want to talk about something I keep seeing in many WhatsApp and social media groups I’m part of. It’s also happening a lot on LinkedIn. People are trying to drum up engagement on their LinkedIn posts by going into these WhatsApp groups and asking others to go through, comment, like, or share their posts.
You might have seen this yourself—maybe you’re in some WhatsApp or Facebook groups where this happens. And on the surface, it seems perfectly reasonable. You’re in a group, you ask people to show some love on your LinkedIn post, thinking that more comments and shares will make LinkedIn give your post more reach, more visibility. This, in turn, could mean more connections, more potential clients—it all sounds logical, right?
[00:46]
Darren Jamieson: But here’s where it gets interesting. There are even paid “engagement pods” or “engagement groups” where people pay a subscription—maybe weekly, maybe monthly—to be part of a group that’s set up purely for engagement. You’ll join a group of, say, 20 or 30 people, and everyone commits that when someone shares a post, everyone else will go in, engage with it, and comment on it.
Now, this might sound like it should work, but let me tell you, it’s bollocks. Absolute bollocks. It is an enormous waste of time to go into a group, ask people to engage with your post, and then have those people actually click through and engage with it.
[01:55]
Darren Jamieson: Let’s look at a real example from one group I’m in. Every day, four or five people share their LinkedIn posts, asking everyone to come and engage with them. And what happens? The same five or six people go in, like, comment, and share the post. Every single time, it’s the same few people. How stupid do you think LinkedIn is?
Now, I get it. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft, and we all know Microsoft isn’t exactly known for its savvy algorithms—Bing is no Google, right? But it’s still not so dense that it can’t recognise a little cluster of the same people engaging with each other’s posts over and over again. It’s as if LinkedIn can’t see that this tiny, inbred little circle is artificially boosting each other’s content.
[03:15]
Darren Jamieson: It reminds me of early Britain, before the Roman invasion, when small villages were isolated and people bred within the same tiny communities, causing serious inbreeding. Even back then, people eventually realised they needed to trade with other tribes to prevent this. But these LinkedIn pods? They’re just like those tiny, inbred villages—it’s the same people liking, commenting, and sharing the same content every time. And some people are even paying for this, thinking it’ll give them some kind of edge in business. It bloody well won’t.
All you’re going to get is the same people liking, commenting, and sharing. LinkedIn’s algorithm will keep circulating it among the same little cluster, and you won’t see any real increase in sales, revenue, inquiries, or leads. Yes, you’ll see a rise in reach—but it’ll be the same people’s contacts seeing it over and over.
[05:01]
Darren Jamieson: Now, if you really want your LinkedIn posts to get more engagement and reach, here’s what you actually need to do: write something interesting. I know, it sounds revolutionary, right? But think about it. Most people just post, “Here’s a new course I’m offering,” or “Here’s an event I’m running,” or “Here’s a new product I’m selling.” And the same eight or ten people like it every time. That’s not engaging.
Instead, start a conversation. Share something people actually want to engage with. Don’t stuff your posts with links, and don’t automatically tag loads of people. Just make a point that resonates. That’s what will get you genuine engagement—and you won’t need to go running to WhatsApp groups asking for likes.
[06:14]
Darren Jamieson: I know I’m getting a bit ranty here, but this genuinely annoys me. I’m in quite a few of these groups, and they’re not even meant for this type of thing, yet people keep going in and asking for engagement. No one’s stopping them, and no one’s telling them they’re wasting their time.
It’s just like Facebook groups. I run multiple Facebook groups, and so many people think that social media marketing is going into a local group and sharing offers from their business page. But nobody cares! Nobody wants to see “sale post, sale post, sale post.” It’s not interesting, and it’s a waste of time.
[07:53]
Darren Jamieson: So please, if you’re in one of these groups where people are asking for engagement, don’t participate. Don’t waste your time. Don’t add yourself to that vacuum that LinkedIn will easily identify as a cluster of people just helping each other out. LinkedIn’s algorithm isn’t fooled, and it’s not sustainable. Instead, focus on creating content that is genuinely interesting—content people actually want to read, watch, and engage with.
That’s how you get meaningful engagement. That’s what will get you business, get people interested in your product or service, get real leads. Say something worth listening to, and stop relying on the same people to make the same fake engagement.
[09:00]
Darren Jamieson: Thank you for tuning in to The Engaging Marketeer. I hope you found this episode valuable, and if you know someone caught up in this engagement pod cycle, please share this episode with them. Let’s stop these people from polluting WhatsApp and Facebook groups with fake engagement requests. I’ll catch you in the next episode.
