Page Contents
Instagram Direct Messaging is a feature on Instagram that allows users to send private messages, pictures, and videos to others. You can send direct messages to one person, or up to 15 people in one thread. It is a no-brainer that social media in general benefits a business through more widespread exposure, this particular feature enables a business to engage with users in a more targeted fashion. In terms of your small business and target audience, there are many ways to use Instagram Direct messages.
Assuming you have Instagram as one of the pillars of your social media marketing strategy, you should keep reading the rest of the article to learn how to use Instagram DMs to grow your influence, business, or end objective in using Instagram.
1. Give Back to Engaged Followers via DMs
More often you see some of your Instagram followers engage the most with your account. Remember the classroom? where the teacher would reward verbally the students who were the most engaged and they would get excited and help more and create a snowball effect? Now how would you replicate that experience here over social media? A direct response to that is using Direct Messages (DMs). Here is the game plan:
watch for those who like your social media posts immediately, share your content frequently, and provide support via comments; they are advocates for your brand who help to spread the word. Use Instagram DMs to express your appreciation! Send a picture of a promo code, express your gratitude, and ask for a mailing address to send a coupon to.
Tip: DMpro a super great and intelligent Instagram management software is also planning to launch a smart engagement detection feature that allows you automatically find out who is engaging with your account and trigger sending a crafted message by you to them, all while you are focused on other tasks and things that matter in your business.
2. Contact Influencers in your Industry
Getting popular bloggers and industry influencers to review, feature or post about your business is a great way to enhance your reach and boost your credibility. Connecting with these industry celebrities can be tricky, and their inboxes are likely jammed with so many weird messages from random people. If they are active Instagram users, Instagram Direct messages could be your best bet. Sending a concise direct message could be a powerful way to establish that initial engagement.
Before using the DM on Instagram find out more about a very handy feature specifically useful for this application via DMpro. Also, make sure to learn the best practices for Instagram Direct messaging to Influencers.
One more point: Look at the content these influencers publish everywhere, not just Instagram. Get a feel for their style, interests, writings, and what is important to them. This will enable you to show genuine interest in collaborating with them, and communicate with them in a way that best resonates with them. You will also come across as someone who has done his or her homework.
3. Provide Exclusive Updates on Instagram Direct
Building up a strong bond with your target audience can be simply done by sharing “behind-the-scenes pictures” of your business. Giving them an exclusive sneak peek at your company’s updates and launches keep things personal and help them to feel special.
When launching a new product or service, you might have a select group that you want to inform first. Use Instagram Direct Messaging to give special customers an advanced look at an upcoming product or first dips on an offer. If you are using Instagram Direct messages, you may welcome them to share the picture or video after it has been launched.
4. Launch a Contest via DM
Instagram Direct messages can be used to run a contest, which is a great way to increase social media engagement.
Create a photo with a description of your contest and a given code on it. Then post it on your feed. The first N people to send you a DM including the code will get a coupon, discount, or a prize. Simple right? You can also ask them to comment on the photo to get the reward. More comments and likes you get on your posted media as fast as possible trendier your post will become and you get the highest possible exposure on explore page of Instagram. Another approach is to have participants enter by sending you a DM along with a photo or video—which you might be able to post later. This is a good hack to give you a tone of content that you can use later.
5. Instagram Direct Can Generate Leads
Instagram is an easy, fun, and effective way to market your business. But did you know that it can also help you generate leads? With the proper research, Instagram Direct messages make this possible. Dig into hashtags and trends to find people who may be interested in your business. Perhaps they follow accounts similar to yours, are posting about problems that you solve, or show an affinity for a product that you offer. You may not have their email address, but you can reach out to them via Instagram DMs.
Here is a couple of things you can do; depends on the nature of your business.
- Send them a link to an online product such as a workout, eBook, beauty, or cosmetic product with a photo of them,
- Send them a before and after shot for a case study such as a fat loss experiment, or
- Simply if you have multiple accounts introduce them to these followers to get relevant values from your other pages.
I would suggest doing this immediately right after they follow you (DMpro allows you to segment your audience this way). Make sure your message is very welcoming, and it comes across super genuine and sounds you are genuinely trying to help them with your offer. Instagram Direct messages definitely must be personal and relevant messages to turn these recipients into leads.
Here is what I have been using and love it. DMpro has done a great job to save you a lot of time in this regard. Simply head over to DMpro’s panel and punch in the message you would like to be sent out and use personalization syntax to have your messages going out very personal (with @username). You can also choose to send the DM to either existing followers, new followers, or even a custom list, or all of them. Then sit back and leave the messages to DMpro to be sent out over time.
6. User Generated Content
Did you know that negative reviews can take the form of Instagram posts? The good news is, just as unhappy customers may voice their anger over Instagram, satisfied clients are able to take advantage of it to express their gratitude too! Someone might post a picture of their bedroom that you just painted or their gorgeous garden that you serviced.
Use Instagram Direct messages to reach out privately and request permission to use their photos or commentary for commercial purposes such as testimonials and case studies. Direct messages are a quick and easy way to ask for what you want without adding another email to their inbox. It also eliminates extra steps such as clicking on the link in an email to get to the post or downloading a screenshot that you attached. Use Repost app to easily repost the postings of your followers (or others) with their username on it.
Final tips
Direct Messaging on Instagram without a doubt has so much potential to push the bar up in your business’s bottom-line, but it comes with one condition which is “Use it properly to avoid coming across spam”. There may be other ways to connect with customers and followers, however, Instagram DMs provides a unique environment for communication, in a visual context that can enhance your interactions. Whether looking for new leads, reactivating followers, or increasing social media engagement, try Instagram Direct messages for your business to reach your objectives.
You can also use DMs to turn your followers into paying clients with simple strategies. Don’t forget the effect of DMs will go through the roof when it is much personalized and smartly targeted using DM features offered by DMpro. If you are local or global commerce or offering an app/software, even if you are a small business such as a Gym, DMs can work magic in conversions. Never ignore it.
Final Tips and Hacks
DMpro is a powerful and useful tool to automate Instagram activity and save you a lot of time. It even helps you out to find the best Tags, competition pages, and popular locations in your area where Instagram users are using to take pictures and post media. However, a cautious approach using the correct settings will ensure you get the best from the service without getting your ability to comment banned or annoying other Instagram users. As a general rule, try to use DMpro to emulate real activity. In another word, behave in a way that you would if you were doing it manually yourself.
If any of these strategies work for you we’d love to hear about them in the comments below.
