Instagram direct messages have been around for a while now. More than five years have passed since the feature’s first release. There have been 375 million active users of direct messaging over the previous five years, and that figure is only expected to rise.
To what extent, though, are you making use of direct messages? Are you establishing personal relationships with those in your audience?
With Instagram, brands can instantly reach a massive audience with compelling content and messaging. This can be problematic because, as humans, we value the sense of uniqueness and the personal nature of direct address.
Put Instagram’s direct messaging system to work for your company
Instagram Stories, feed posts, and comments all play a role in user engagement, but direct messages provide a more personal way to reach your audience.
Here are a few suggestions for using Instagram DMs to advance your company.
Communicate Individually
It’s crucial that you reply quickly to direct communications from members of your community. Like answering comments on your feed, this is crucial.
By engaging with your followers, you may gain their trust and even turn them into customers. A dedicated fan who takes the time to send you a note is likely to be interested in future collaboration or purchase.
Tell Stories to Make Points
The latest Instagram trend is using the swipe up function to increase commerce.
But what if you don’t have a business account or the required 10,000 followers to use the swipe up feature? You can bridge the distance with private communications.
Create a story with a question and invite your followers to respond via direct messaging. There is no better method to gain direct feedback from customers and broaden your network.
Include a poll in your piece asking if readers want further information if you’re discussing a new product or service. Send private messages to those who responded “yes.”
Share stories about upcoming events and encourage your audience to contact you privately for further details. When inquiries are answered immediately, it may put individuals at ease and boost attendance.
Get to Know People Through Instagram DMs
Instagram DMs may be used for more than just communicating with customers.
Is there an Instagram user you’ve been following and chatting with for a while, but just never got around to inviting as a guest on your podcast? Do you wish to include the perspectives of professionals in your next blog post?
You may try Instagram DMs to get in touch with them.
Which is why Instagram DMs are the best option.
When clients or prospects may quickly and simply contact you via private messaging while perusing their feed. Instagram made several modifications in May of 2018 that initially prevented this from happening.
Before this change, DMs from individuals you weren’t following would be stored in a pending inbox, much to how Facebook handles DMs from people who aren’t friends. Customers were annoyed, but the potential income loss for small enterprises was disastrous.
The Instagram Market
Don’t discount Instagram’s potential to boost your business’s bottom line. Seventy-two percent of Instagrammers have made a purchase after seeing it on the platform, according to a report by Business Insider. When you couple this with the fact that 49% of consumers are influenced to make a purchase as a result of a positive personal experience (as reported by Forbes), you have a tremendous opportunity to sell via Instagram direct messaging.
Eighty percent of Instagram users, according to a recent blog post by Hootsuite, follow at least one company, and sixty percent of Instagram users discover new items thanks to the app. As we’ve seen, strategies like asking questions and marketing new items or services inside your tales are excellent ways to interact with your audience and gauge whether or not your offerings are satisfying their requirements.
Instagram’s Private Messages Have Huge Potential
Instagram DMs have a lot of untapped potential as a promotional tool. When employed properly, they may enhance your community, develop trust, and produce leads.
However, it is essential that the messages be tailored to each individual recipient. It’s easy to fall into the trap of copy-pasting messages, but your followers will know if you’re not being honest.
If you give your Instagram followers something they can use, your direct messages will become a powerful tool for building rapport.
Now is the time to check Instagram for any unanswered direct messages. If you have unread messages in your inbox, there are likely prospective clients or viewers who would appreciate a response from you.
Spend a few minutes responding them, whether it’s to react to a query, say hello, or express gratitude to someone who has expressed interest in attending your live event.
It doesn’t take much time to reply to direct messages on Instagram, and doing so is a terrific way to network and create a devoted consumer base.