On Instagram, apparently you have got 5 min. to prove that your post is interesting!

Before the posts were shown in people's feed chronologically. Today, the new algorithm - like FB - decides to show your post to more followers, based on the level of interaction within the first 5 min to 1 hour max.

Instagram seems to be slowly limiting the impressions and reach that posts receive in view to inflate their advertising income.

To overcome that auto-censure from Instagram, there are PODs.
PODs are engagement groups where people there promise to share and comment on a link. They can be found on Instagram DM, Telegram, What's app etc.

PODS explained

There are different groups were you have a min. like and/or comment (L+C) to give. There are all sorts of group from travel to music to life style to kitties.

The rules are easy: before you can post your own image, you better like the requested nr: 5, 8, 10 or 20 before you post your image. And do it manually not with any software. Remember it should be prompt in action due to the 5 min threshold.

Then, you can type: D for done, add your IG profile and the link without the image viewer in the group. Hoping that followers will come and like your link.

The Pros & Cons

Some studies suggest that Instagram's algorithm does not work the way PODs suggest. If you select a related niche group, you may increase your followers - naturally with PODs.

The timing is key when people are actively posting. You could L+C people and then if no one is following you; you have a poor result, like mine after 15 hrs, only two came after me and they did not L+C me. 😫

Therefore, mass groups of a few thousand users are most probably better.

The point is that two factors become super important: Timing and Location - even when using engagement PODs.

Most of those PODs maybe US-based. If they are in the US, they might not be your primary audience. But the engagement group may help you to be shown to your own followers. The best is to find an engagement group in your timezone.

During those 5-min, you should only be responding to comments since it increase the engagement rate as well.

And Influencers are using those groups but it shows in the "Fake Influencer" report. So might not be that useful.

Alternative Tip: as you know you may upload up to 5 IG profiles on your phone ...
I've 3 phones so I let you imagine how many L+C+S, I gave myself immediately after posting 😜. But you have to do some activities on each account or IG will remove your comment. But this might be detected by Instagram as a spam and removed.

This tip helps me to be in Top Posts in my # instead of passing by "Recent posts". Winning over big Instagrammers accounts. I've even beaten an old post from Simon DePury (194k followers / + 1.3 k likes) on #CindySherman.

Being in Top Stories (6 to 9 posts) for a while increase the potential new followers and increase your engagement.

And, I even managed to be in Explore. The "must be" to attract more followers. 

The "View Insights" allows you to check your # performances or how people found you. 
Go to your post and view insight, flip upward to discover more. You need a business account for that functionality. 👇

Conclusion

You need to define precisely your target audience, where they are located and know their habits. Then adapt to their style. Hence, planning posts become more important than ever.

Big followers account do not mean high quick engagement - the bigger the account, the most difficult it is to keep up the engagement!

Choose the solution that is the easiest for you: PODS or multiple fake accounts.

And if you would like to join THoTA_Pod on Telegram, click here. You need to create a Telegram account.

Happy Instagramming 😀

And if you prefer to get the results without the fuzz, check our Instagram Packages

Related Tips to check:

Best Time to Posts

Instagram Planning with a template to schedule

Pro Tips

The House of The Artists, THoTA, THoTA Club, London, house, artists, house of artists, the house of artists, instagram agency, Instagram Agent, Instagram Expert, Artist coach, Artist Mentor, Art Agency, Digital Marketing Agency, social media

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