LinkedIn Just Killed Engagement Pods. Here's What To Do Instead

"An engagement pod is 'a set of people, often real members, who coordinate with each other to trade likes and comments and to artificially boost the durability of their content.' The word coordinate is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Belonging to a group where participation is an obligation, where you get removed if you don't perform your round of likes on schedule, is exactly what LinkedIn is targeting."

"Sharing a post with a colleague and asking them to engage is not a pod. What triggers their systems is the 'quid pro quo expectation where I have to like your post, you have to like my post.' Normal human sharing is fine. Organised reciprocal trading is not."

"Pod activity carries a reach penalty. LinkedIn can see it happening. And the platform said they are acting on it. After all, it harms the authenticity and value of the platform to the everyday user."

LinkedIn has identified and begun dismantling engagement pods—groups where members coordinate to artificially boost each other's content through likes and comments. The platform defines engagement pods as coordinated groups with quid pro quo expectations where participation is obligatory. LinkedIn applies reach penalties to pod activity to protect platform authenticity. Casual sharing and asking colleagues to engage remains acceptable; the distinction lies in organized reciprocal trading versus organic interaction. LinkedIn's VP of Trust Product confirmed the platform is actively taking action against pods while clarifying that normal human sharing behavior is not targeted.

Read at Forbes