Direct Messages (or DM's) are an important part of your Instagram strategy for your business.
They give you a direct line of contact with your ideal client.
This is powerful. And with all power comes responsibility!
If used correctly, DM's can help you create and nurture authentic relationships with ideal clients.
Used incorrectly and they can get you blocked!
Don't Spam
Just because you can send someone a sales link, doesn't mean you should.
I'm sure you've been at the receiving end of this...
Someone sends you a 'Hey, I really like your profile' message. You reply with a 'thanks' and some other normal human sentence.
You can feel it coming. The context is just a little off and the tone is just a little aggressive. A few meaningless pleasantries later and BAM! A link.
'Have you ever considered bit coin'?
As a marketer, I try to show compassion and politely tell them I am not interested. Then they get mad and block me!
This, is how NOT to do direct messages.
You can reach out to people but if it feels like you're being spammy, then don't do it.
What you are striving for here is real genuine connection. Social media is exactly that; social. Have real conversations with real humans and let it naturally progress.
If and when the time is right you will know.
3 Ways To DM With A Difference
1. Text
You can start by reaching out with a meaningful and personalised text message.
Go to their profile and take a minute to read it. Find something that you feel you can connect with them on.
It could be where they are located, a personal trait they shared, or maybe you are both dog moms.
Think of this just like a real life interaction. If you are at a networking or social event and you go to strike up a conversation with a stranger you will find something to break the ice with. Do they exact same thing in your DM's.
2. Voice Note
You can step up the connection (and ease your efforts) by sending a voice note as a DM. Instagram allows you to record a one minute voice note as a private message.
This is a great way for you to add that personal touch and really connect with someone. You can get a lot from the tone and sound of someone's voice and it just feels much more personal when you get it.
It's also great that it's capped at one minute so it encourages you and the receiver to be brief and to the point when you record. You can send multiple one minute clips if you want to, but then you are bordering on spam again! Be respectful of the recipients time and they will be more receptive to you.
3. Video Message
You can also send images and videos to your new DM pal.
This is a highly personalised way to connect with an individual as they know it's you, in real time and not your assistant. It makes them feel special and increases that connection between you.
Again, don't spam them with a long video, but it could be a nice way to send a special message once in a while.
It's also a great way for you to give value. Let's say you are DMing with someone and nurturing that relationship and they ask you, as the expert in your field, a question. You could respond with a video message as a way of a mini tutorial just for them.
DM's And The Algorithm
So you can see how effective using DM's is for creating and nurturing those client relationships. But what if I told you that using this feature also send a strong message to the Instagram algorithm!
Once you start messaging with someone, that signals to Instagram that you have a relationship with this person. It's rated as high level engagement and Instagram takes that information and makes sure that the next time either of you posts an image/video or adds to your stories, the other will see it. That's right, your content will take priority on your DM pals timeline.
This is where you realise you don't need to be pushy, salesy or act in a non human way. All you need to do is find the right people, have real connections with them and then when you post about your offer they will see it and they will reach out to you asking you for the link!
Social media magic ;)
Bonus Training!
I'm all about being as effective and time efficient as possible while maintaining human relationships.
There will be times that you get asked the same question repeatedly.
When that happens, write your response out and the copy it.
Then pop over to your settings and set up a Quick Reply.
A Quick Reply is a smart little tool within your Instagram account where you can create template messages and label them with shortcuts that paste them into a message for you.
That way, the next time someone asks you the same question you can pop in your quick reply and then edit it as needed to fit that individual conversation.
See the demo video below to learn how to create your own Quick Replies inside Instagram.
To Recap (screenshot this to reming yourself!
Tag me on Instagram Stories here)
What Is A DM? A DM is a Direct Message. It's how you send a private message to your ideal client on Instagram. It is VERY powerful.
Don't Spam Focus on creating relationships, not sending links to sales
3 Ways To DM You can DM via Text, Voice, and Video Message.
DM's & The Algorithm DMing with your ideal client sends a message to the algorithm that gets your content seen by your ideal clients.
Quick Replies Set up template replies to use within Instagram for more efficient responses
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