With gratitude to our friends at Hootsuite, we’re sharing their article on how to gain Instagram likes and comments through the use of friend groups. Since posts with more engagement get more reach, this “secret” technique can help you get in front of more people, and ultimately gain more followers.

If you need a lesson in loyalty, look no further than teenagers. If their friend shares a post, they will like and/or comment on it immediately to show their support.

“My friends and I are in a group text where we notify each other when we’ve posted something on Instagram,” my teenaged source reveals, “This lets the group know so everyone else can go and like the post or write a supportive comment. If it’s a selfie we will usually do the heart-eyes emoji or the flame, but even just that simple comment will help the post get more likes in the long run.”

In addition to these loyal friend groups, many teenagers are a part of Instagram pods.

“An Insta pod is a secret group of users who join forces in group messages in order to like and comment on each other’s posts and gain more engagement on Instagram,” Mashable explains, “It’s been compared to “a family of dolphins who live together in harmony and support one another… like a group of cheerleaders who help one another on Instagram.”

Instagram pods work through private messages between groups of users with relevant brands. For example, a group of home decor brands might be in an Instagram pod with one another. When one posts to Instagram, the other group members are expected to like and/or comment on the post.

The key to joining an Instagram pod of your own is finding influencers in your industry. If you’re a Buzzsumo user, you can use their newly launched Influencer search feature. Simply type in a keyword such as ‘eco-living’ or ‘restaurants’ and you’ll get a list of related Instagram influencers. For a complete guide to finding relevant Instagram influencers, check out our post Influencer Marketing on Social Media: Everything You Need to Know.

Once you’ve gathered a list of potential pod members, simply reach out to them to get the ball rolling. My teenaged source shared a set of guidelines one of her pods lists for all members. For example:

  • When you post on Instagram, make sure you notify the group using the emoji
  • When someone else shares the emoji, immediately like their latest picture and leave a relevant comment with a minimum of five words
  • Before you share your own post, make sure you are caught up and have added likes and comments to the other member’s posts
  • If you only post your own photos and don’t like or comment on other member’s content, you’ll be asked to leave the pod

As with all areas of your social media strategy, remaining respectful and courteous will never fail.

Teenagers often pave the way for trends to unfold and Instagram is no exception.  With the guide above you can apply teenaged intuition to your own strategy and see your results soar.