I’ve seen and been part of different follow for follow and like for like pods meant to increase each other’s engagement and following. Yet, problems arise when other pod members don’t reciprocate in a timely manner or worst didn’t engage or follow at all. This made me contemplate on why and why not this kind of activities succeed and how to mitigate the situation without compromising that precious ‘like’ your podmates treasure.

Why we join Follow for Follow, Like for Like pods?

Ok, let’s get it straight. Most of us join pods to increase their following and engagement.

In a pod, a “like” doesn’t mean that they like your feed. But they love to have your like for whatever purpose it may serve. Some might also become your friend or a mentor, while some might be your occasional liker or simply a digit in your follower list.

What to expect when engaging in a pod?

You will get Likes and Follows from different niche.

Most pods are not dedicated or intended for a specific niche because a lot of bloggers (especially those with self-hosted sites) still engage in a different niche. Like back, you owe them one anyway. 🙂

Some might not be able to reciprocate on time.

Ok, don’t be too sensitive. It’s not that they don’t like you but it’s either you haven’t liked them or they don’t have time as much as you do to follow gazillion accounts per day. If you already liked them and they don’t reciprocate, give them time to do so, but if it has been a month or so, it’s quite fair to let go.

Some are picky about who to follow.

Ok, this applies to SEO and algo junkies. But dear friends, can’t we just live life as it is. Would you really like to see all about travel and not even seeing what else is out there about money or family? Get a life. Read on, I have a tip if you don’t like their content, at least you remain friends and you didn’t lose your credibility for a simple “unfollow”.

Some might not follow you for some reason.

We have a lot of reasons why but for me here are a few that you might need to work with if you want to get the result that meets your expectations.

• Your account is on private.
• You don’t even have a photo or post on your feed.
• You don’t follow back.
• You have weird followers (fake accounts that is)

Great! I’m done following everyone. My feed is now a mess.

Yes, sometimes you will feel this way. Here’s a tip. In case you still don’t know that Instagram and Facebook has a mute feature for stories and posts, these are the ones that you should explore if you want to keep that like on your page from the random person you liked back. Don’t be the badass unfollower and get blocked from that person’s account and lose your reputation to the rest of her contacts. Yes, that’s how the connection works. So, avoid that.

Most of us are using unfollow apps to monitor the creeps. Keep that in mind and some would just let go and unfollow you, or worst, block you.

No matter how much we make our posts engaging or aesthetically beautiful, some might not be into it or not interested at all. As simple as that. So, don’t feel bad. Let them be. Just focus on your real audience. They are the ones that matter.

Thank the group for their engagement and don’t mind dealing with these people craving for likes just like you than having thousands of fake followers in your account, that’s worst.