It’s not easy to become a real influencer. As not everyone has the ability or the patience to organically build a following. Especially with individuals who share their mindset and values. And then considered a leader among them. However, while not everyone can achieve it, anyone can try. Unfortunately, this has led to the rise of influencer pods. Offering a second chance to those who may not do so well in the influencer world all by themselves. Influencer pods are a shortcut and dishonest way to gain followers.

So, what exactly are influencer pods?

An influencer pod is at its most basic a forum that can be either private or public. And is found mainly on platforms such as Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp. On this forum, individuals work together to increase their social media following and engagement by exchanging likes, comments and follows. There are pods for many different groups and niches such as beauty, fashion, travel, and fitness; or they may be a mix of several different types of people.

Rules and Guidelines

Since the pods target individuals who are looking to increase their social media following, every pod comes with its own set of guidelines and rules. And all members must follow them. Failure to follow the rules will result in a ban.

These rules can vary among influencer pods, but they’re all usually based on the same ideas. This can be something like regulating the exchange of likes, comments, and follows by setting rules for the number of daily likes, a follow-for-follow rule, or various content limitations.

In most groups, there will be a daily thread focusing on likes, follows, or comments. The thread will be active for several hours and all members of the group can participate until the thread closes.

All threads have their own guidelines. Created either by individuals within the group. Those asking for likes or follows while promising to return the favor to anyone who participates. Or created by the group admins as a place for all members to promote their own pages. Where they ask for likes or comments and let others know what they can expect in return.

Since we started talking about threads, you may want to go explore our detailed Influencer’s Guide to Threads. You know, Twitter’s rival app.

Telegram Pods

Most Facebook influencer pods are public, so those who want to keep their participation in pods more private choose to use Telegram pods, as Telegram offers its users the ability to send messages on a heavily encrypted cloud-based server. They will often announce a new Telegram pod on Facebook or WhatsApp. And the members get instructions on how to join the new pod.

The new groups formed within Telegram pods have their own guidelines that all members are expected to follow. A common requirement for entry into a Telegram pod is for all members to follow the social media accounts of all admins. Additionally, most of these pods focus on making fake engagement look real. So they will have rules requiring comments to be a certain length and relevant to the post. This is because generic, one-word comments are a dead giveaway that an influencer is bartering or buying likes and comments. There are many rules set in place in influencer pods designed to hide the evidence of dishonest activity.

The Harm of Influencer Pods

Influencer pods, although dishonest, may not seem so bad until you take into consideration that they’re in fact very similar to ad fraud. The biggest victims of pods are brands and companies that are paying a large amount to someone who they think will help them reach their target audience. Many companies are willing to pay significant amounts of money to an influencer they think will have an impact, and this impact is often based on the follower number and engagement rate that influencer has. If the engagement rate and follower count are fake, then the company is essentially being scammed.

Alternative to Influencer Pods

So you’re maybe you’re concerned about the implications of using influencer pods. Well, we have an alternative method of growing your social space and becoming a more recognized influencer.

Genuine exposure and engagement.

We can help you get started. After all, we are Afluencer – the gurus of influencer marketing.

We also release ongoing influencer guides through our blog to help get you started and also to offer ongoing support. Just like this one:

5 Ways To Improve Your Social Media Performance

So what are you waiting for? Come join the Afluencer crew and watch your following grow!