This previous November, I made a decision to do an experiment. I needed to see if LinkedIn pods truly labored or in the event that they have been only a waste of time.

For these of you who don’t know what a LinkedIn pod is, it’s principally a gaggle of people that agree to love, remark and have interaction with one another’s posts. The speculation is that by doing this, your content material might be boosted by the LinkedIn algorithm. So, I made a decision to affix just a few pods and try it out for myself.

I’m not essentially a longtime LinkedIn thought chief with hundreds of followers, however I put up about my writing work on a reasonably common foundation and have even gotten just a few shoppers via LinkedIn. So just a few extra followers and engagements with my posts positively wouldn’t damage.

Right here’s what I realized from my expertise with LinkedIn pods.

What’s a LinkedIn pod?

Let’s begin with the fundamentals.

A LinkedIn pod, usually referred to as an engagement pod, is a gaggle of people that have agreed to join and have interaction with one another’s content material on LinkedIn. The thought is that by being in a pod, you’ll be capable of improve your connections and, consequently, your alternatives.

In an engagement pod, members agree to love, remark, share, and react to every others’ posts regularly. Usually, that is performed by posting your LinkedIn put up in an engagement pod group or app, the place members can view and work together with it.

Most engagement pods work on the precept of reciprocity. So, in order for you folks to love, remark, or share your content material, you’ll have to do the identical for them.

Why use an engagement pod on LinkedIn?

Engagement pods are mentioned to be useful as a result of they’ll:

• Amplify the attain of your content material
• Assist you get extra engagement in your content material (likes, feedback, shares)
• Supply prolonged networking alternatives
• Interact staff to help your model

The speculation is that LinkedIn favors posts with extra engagement, so if you may get extra likes and feedback, your put up will carry out higher.

That is particularly vital as a result of the LinkedIn algorithm divides content material on the platform into three varieties:

1. Spam: Posts with dangerous grammar, too many hashtags, or accounts that put up too often could also be marked as spam.
2. Low-quality posts: Posts that don’t observe finest practices, or don’t get sufficient engagement, might be labeled “low-quality.”
3. Excessive-quality posts: Posts which are straightforward to learn, encourage questions, and incorporate sturdy key phrases might be labeled high-quality and, subsequently, might be proven to extra customers on LinkedIn.

The query is: is engagement sufficient to make a put up “high-quality” within the eyes of the LinkedIn algorithm? I got down to put this concept to the check.

Find out how to be a part of a LinkedIn pod

There are a few other ways to affix a LinkedIn engagement pod.

First, you can begin your personal pod by creating a gaggle message thread with LinkedIn customers you’d wish to pod with. We’ll name this a guide LinkedIn pod.

Second, you should use LinkedIn-specific pods, the place you be a part of LinkedIn teams targeted on creating pods. Search “LinkedIn pods” or “engagement pods” in your LinkedIn search bar and see which of them relate to your trade.

There are additionally third-party apps like lempod particularly constructed for automating LinkedIn engagement pods.

Lastly, LinkedIn pod teams exist on different social media websites. There’s the LinkedIn Progress Hackers pod on Fb and varied different pods on platforms like Telegram.

Methodology

I experimented with all 4 kinds of engagement pods to see which of them labored finest. I used a unique LinkedIn put up for every methodology in order that I may precisely observe any variations in engagement throughout strategies.

Right here’s a breakdown of that course of.

Guide pods: I used a weblog put up on scheduling Instagram reels.

Earlier than the experiment began, I had 12 likes, 487 impressions, 0 shares, and a pair of feedback.

LinkedIn-specific pods: For this methodology, I used a weblog put up I’d shared on recession advertising and marketing.

Earlier than the experiment began, I had 5 likes, 189 impressions, 1 share, and a pair of feedback.

Automated LinkedIn pods: I used a put up I wrote for Hootsuite on social media share of voice.

Earlier than the experiment began, I had 2 likes, 191 impressions, 0 shares, and 0 feedback.

Cross-platform LinkedIn pods:

I used to be not capable of be a part of any cross-platform pods, so no posts have been used right here.

Guide LinkedIn pod methodology

I began off by making a guide LinkedIn pod of my very own. I selected a small group of my author mates (as a result of they perceive the analysis course of) to pod up with. I despatched them a fast message outlining the technique and inspired them to work together with one another.

Fortunately, they’re all good sports activities, and I instantly began receiving a barrage of LinkedIn notifications exhibiting the help of my buddies.

I additionally instantly observed some new (stranger) accounts creeping my LinkedIn profile.

And I even acquired this message from a random “LinkedIn” worker (fairly sure this was spam).

That each one occurred in simply a few hours!

LinkedIn-specific pod methodology

I additionally joined just a few LinkedIn group pods targeted on digital advertising and marketing and social media.

The variety of members actually different in these teams. One had over one million members, on the others had only a few dozen. I selected a combination of high-member pods in addition to just a few smaller ones. If self-importance metrics have taught me something, it’s that simply because lots of people are in your circle, it doesn’t imply they’re truly paying consideration.

A number of the pods I discovered in my search have been described as inactive, so I stayed away from these.

Of all of the teams I joined, Recreation of Content material was the one one which appeared to have common posts from different customers.

The principles of GoC have been fairly easy:

There is just one put up ever current within the group, and it’s made by an admin. They repopulate this put up each couple of days so it stays related. Group members can then touch upon the put up with their LinkedIn put up hyperlink and different members are supposed to interact with them.

As I went via the weekday put up feedback, I did see plenty of folks replying to feedback with phrases like, “Carried out! Right here’s my hyperlink.”

After I clicked via to their posts, I may see likes and feedback from those self same group members.

So, yeah, this was working. A minimum of when it comes to garnering extra likes and feedback.

I went in and adopted go well with, participating with posted hyperlinks and commenting with my very own hyperlink after I used to be performed.

And I slowly began to see engagement reciprocated alone posts.

Automated LinkedIn pods with lempod methodology

I additionally put in the lempod extension on my Google Chrome browser. lempod gives a digital market stuffed with LinkedIn engagement pods you possibly can be a part of.

I joined just a few pods targeted on digital advertising and marketing and social media.

The primary one I used to be accepted to was referred to as “Content material + Social Media Advertising and marketing pod”. That appeared related.

I instantly posted the hyperlink to my put up. As soon as I shared the hyperlink, the display opened as much as an enormous graph, with an inventory of individuals “Members who will interact” and “Members who’ve already engaged.”

I cross-checked the “Members who’ve already engaged” tab with my precise put up.

And, yep. Certain sufficient, these customers have been now proven as new likes on my put up.

Inside only a few minutes, my impressions had grown from 191 to 206. I additionally had six new feedback. I watched this quantity steadily climb over the subsequent hour.

Whereas I used to be seeing plenty of engagement, I wasn’t seeing any profile views, direct messages, or anything which may point out these customers have been truly taken with my work.

To not point out, the engagement was coming in quick. Each 45 seconds there was one other notification! Perhaps LinkedIn would contemplate my put up viral? Or, possibly it will get labeled as spam.

I let the automation run till I noticed that each member of the pod had engaged.

Two hours later, I had 54 likes, 261 impressions and 24 feedback!

Cross-platform LinkedIn pods

I did strive becoming a member of the “LinkedIn Progress Hackers” group on Fb, however I used to be by no means permitted. It appears this group could also be inactive now. I didn’t discover some other energetic LinkedIn pods to affix on different channels.

Outcomes

TL;DR: At first look, it could appear to be the Automated LinkedIn pod was the best pod, however I truly suppose it was the Guide pod for causes that I’ll clarify under. Both approach, not one of the LinkedIn pods actually made an enormous distinction for me or helped develop my presence on the platform considerably.

Technique	Likes	Feedback	Shares	Impressions
Guide Pod	13	3	0	507
LinkedIn-specific pod	13	6	2	364
Automated LinkedIn pod	54	24	0	261

Preserve studying for extra particulars and context on these outcomes.

Guide pods

This appeared like essentially the most natural, most constant methodology. As a result of I used to be leveraging folks I already knew, the feedback have been genuine, related, and honest.

To not point out, these individuals are truly in my trade–that means if my posts present up of their feeds to their connections, it’d assist me community additional.

Nothing about this methodology got here off as spammy, although I don’t know the way reasonable it’s to ask my mates to do that each week.

Over the course of 1 week, my put up acquired:

• 13 likes
• 3 feedback
• 0 shares
• 507 impressions

LinkedIn-specific pods

Whereas this methodology introduced in essentially the most feedback, responses have been imprecise and fewer related than these present in my guide pods. Plus, most of those folks labored exterior of my trade. So, there probably isn’t a lot profit to my content material exhibiting up of their feeds or networks.

After the weeklong experiment, my put up acquired:

• 13 likes
• 364 impressions
• 2 shares
• 6 feedback

Automated LinkedIn pods

This methodology definitely introduced in essentially the most likes and feedback. However, I didn’t see any related profile visits, direct messages, or connection requests come via.

Additionally, whereas there have been plenty of new feedback, they have been all just about the identical:

• “Actually cool Hannah!”
• “Nice put up, Hannah!”
• “Thanks for sharing Hannah!”

To me, these imprecise feedback sign that none of those customers truly learn my put up (which is sensible, contemplating their profiles are being automated).

I can solely think about that different customers may see this and suppose the identical factor. My spam alert is sounding.

After three hours, my put up acquired:

• 54 likes
• 24 feedback
• 261 impressions
• 0 shares

Cross-platform LinkedIn pods

I didn’t collect any additional engagement from this methodology.

What do the outcomes imply?

Listed below are the primary takeaways from my experiment.

Genuine pods have benefit

There may be definitely some engagement to be gained from utilizing LinkedIn pods. Pods which are made up of related, genuine connections inside your trade can definitely assist to amplify your content material and get you extra views, likes, and feedback.

Spammy pods received’t get you far

However, in case you’re making an attempt to recreation the system by becoming a member of pods which are full of faux accounts or which are unrelated to your trade, you’re not going to see a lot profit. So what in case you acquired 50, 100, or 200 likes? They don’t imply a lot in the event that they’re coming from accounts that can by no means do enterprise with you.

LinkedIn pods ARE embarrassing

I feel what struck me most about this experiment was the discomfort that got here with having so many unconnected strangers current on my posts. Certain, from a look it seems to be cool to have 50+ likes, but when anybody took a better look it will be fairly apparent the engagement was spam.

Simply as I wouldn’t counsel companies purchase their Instagram followers, I wouldn’t counsel they use engagement pods. Perhaps, in some circumstances, the place the pod members are hyper-relevant to your area of interest, it’s price it. But when it seems to be suspicious, chances are high your viewers will discover. And the very last thing you need is to lose their belief.

Deal with shut, related connections

When you nonetheless need to be a part of a LinkedIn pod after studying this, one of the simplest ways to make use of them is to affix ones which are related to your trade and which are made up of connections that you would be able to authentically interact with. This fashion, you’re getting focused engagement that may result in beneficial relationships (and, hopefully, actual prospects).

Listed below are just a few suggestions for locating the appropriate LinkedIn pods:

• Try teams associated to your trade or area of interest. Many of those could have pods related to them.
• Ask trusted connections in the event that they know of any good pods to affix.
• Create your personal pod with a gaggle of like-minded people.
• Keep away from overly spammy pods which are solely targeted on selling content material and never participating in actual conversations.
• Most of all, give attention to good, outdated, natural LinkedIn advertising and marketing. Whereas “hacking the algorithm” via pods is interesting, nothing beats placing within the work, one put up at a time.

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