Instagram direct messages (DMs) are an effective tool for any brand or company trying to increase sales, cultivate clientele, and create new leads. However, with 200 million Instagram users contacting businesses every month, it might be difficult to efficiently manage your inbox without feeling overwhelmed.
Get automatic DMs on Instagram. Even when you’re not working, they can help you organize your talks and make sure you never pass on important opportunities to engage with those who are considering your good or service.
Are you ready to use Instagram DMs to automate sales? Everything you should know is as follows:
Thanks to the recent launch of Facebook’s Messenger API for Instagram, brands can now use automated DMs on Instagram to answer their customers more efficiently.
Automated DMs are programmed responses that can be as simple as answering the most common questions you get about your products and services, to more personalized, interactive conversations where you can guide customers to different answer results depending on how they respond.
You can build automated conversations by using an Instagram-approved bot-building platform like ManyChat, Inflact, Chatfuel or MobileMonkey, or build your own solution in-house.
You can also use automated conversation prompts to collect valuable information about your customers – like names, email addresses, and product preferences – to help your overall Instagram marketing strategy.
A recent global survey showed that 75% of people want to be able to message a business, while 64% prefer messaging over email or the phone. And while businesses receive messages 24 hours a day, it’s not always possible – or cost-effective – to have someone answering these all day long.
With automated Instagram DMs, you can respond to customers and prospective leads immediately, making them less likely to go to a competitor for your products and services.
How to Use Automated Instagram DMs to Drive Sales
Here are six methods to use automated Instagram DMs to boost your marketing and increase sales, from increasing website traffic to offering customer service that motivates customers to buy your products:
1. Provide 24-7 Customer Service
Automated Instagram DMs can help you answer frequently asked questions from new and existing customers – at any time. Providing timely, helpful 24-7 customer service will help to build brand loyalty and encourage people to buy from you again.
You can also automate icebreakers – the little message bubbles that show up when you first DM a business – to prompt users with common questions they may have
A recent marketing survey showed that 40% of consumers expect brands to respond to their messages within an hour of reaching out. Quick answers to questions and comments make customers feel like their needs are important and like they’re a valued part of your brand or business community.
2. Promote Products
If you’ve got a new product or an exciting announcement to make, automated Instagram DMs make it easy to tell all of your followers about your brand or business’ latest developments. Keeping your followers updated on your news, latest products, and upcoming sales is a great way to promote your offering and drive sales.
By messaging your followers with updates on specific products or services you offer, you can target the sales you want to concentrate on in a direct, more personalized way.
3. Gain Leads
One of the most efficient ways to capture leads is by using Instagram stories as a starting point. Over 500 million people interact with Instagram stories on a daily basis, so there are plenty of opportunities to funnel users into your DMs through creative and engaging stories.
Once you’ve got a user’s engagement in your DMs, you can automate a welcome reply, refer them to your website or suggest products and services for them to try. Likewise, you can use automated DMs to send instant replies to people who have tagged your brand or business in their own Instagram stories.
4. Build Your Email List
You can also direct users to your DMs by requesting they message you with a specific automated trigger word for competitions, promotions and giveaways. For example, if you’re an eCommerce store offering a discount code for a Black Friday promo, you could say, “If you want to get a 10% discount code, message us FRIDAY10.”
Read Also: How to Sell on Instagram: 8 Features For Driving Sales
When someone sends you that message, you can use automated Instagram DMs to trigger a conversation. This could be a prompt to create an account to receive a unique discount, which is a great way to build your email list.
5. Drive Traffic To Your Website
Automated direct messages are also a great way to steer Instagram users to your website. By automating messages to include links to your products and services, you can encourage message recipients to visit your website, thereby creating more opportunities for sales.
you can use your brand voice to make a big impact in your automated DMs. Fun, engaging messages encourage users to click on the triggered link, boosting website traffic and sales in the process.
6. Build A Loyal Community
Building a community of loyal customers requires two-way communication. Regularly communicating with your followers humanizes your brand and builds trust.
The private nature of DMs means users feel like they’re having a one-on-one conversation with a brand or business. And sending regular automated messages – whether to thank them for a mention, tell them your updates, or brighten their day with a discount code – will make them feel seen and valued.
Not only can automated Instagram DMs help you streamline your inbox and save you valuable time, but they can also be a powerful tool to drive sales – whether that’s through community engagement, customer support, brand awareness, or product promotion.
How to do DM Automation on Instagram?
With automated Instagram messaging, you can quickly and instantly send messages to both followers and non-followers without having to do any physical labor on your part. This guarantees that you establish a strong online presence on Instagram, which, according to data by Solitaire, is one of the top 10 applications used in America, demonstrating the longevity of these apps. You can send those messages publicly or as an Instagram direct message in their DM inbox under the comment area.
On both web and mobile platforms, all of your direct messages are located in the upper right corner of the screen.
How to use Instagram automated messaging for improved outcomes is provided below:
1. Auto-reply to Comments on Feed Posts
A comment auto-responder is one of the best ways to increase Instagram engagement. Send automated messages and watch the engagement increase. You can ask your target audience to comment on your posts using a specific keyword. When people add comments containing that keyword, it can trigger an Instagram DM that can then increase the Instagram traffic to your website.
Not to mention, this is also a fast way to add visibility to your posts and increase your current engagement levels. Instagram auto-replies are the way to go.
2. Auto-Reply to Mentions on Instagram Stories
Stories are a great starting point for an Instagram direct message. They can effortlessly kickstart a conversation. You can set your direct messages on Instagram to be instantly sent whenever a user mentions you in their Instagram Story. Instagram auto-replies should become your secret tool.
It can be either a simple “Thank you” message, or you can take advantage and provide the users with a link that will drive traffic to your website.
3. Move Instagram Users from the Comments Section to Your DMs
There might be comments that could be better addressed through an Instagram DM, especially when we’re talking about orders or different issues your users might experience.
Depending on the rules you set, you could respond to certain comments with a simple “Thank you for your inquiry, we’ve sent you an Instagram DM to further discuss this” message.
4. Offer Customer Support through DMs
You can send automated direct messages for social media customer support too. Furthermore, you can use clickable links via messages on Instagram and in this way, provide users with different articles or help sections from your website.
5. Follow Up on Pending Conversations with Automated Messages
Another way to use Instagram direct messages is to launch a drip campaign.
You can also use a general template in your Instagram auto message to follow up on any pending conversation. In the end, we all get busy sometimes and forget to reply to that message we read, said we’d reply to, and then never got around to it.
6. Acknowledge When a New Message Has Been Received
Direct messages are a great way to set expectations in terms of how soon users can get a reply. It can be any time frame you choose, as long as you never fail to consider the 24-hour window for sending back any Instagram direct messages.
You can also take advantage of the Instagram auto DM tool and offer answers to the common questions you know your users have.
7. Strive for Lead Generation and Lead Qualification
Instagram DMs have the power to help you out with lead generation too. That is because you can send automatic messages as a response to a trigger, such as a keyword. For example, you want to offer a certain discount code to users who send you a specific word. When they take this action, they’ll be asked for their email address.
By doing this, you can instantly grow your email list and use email marketing to nurture and guide your new leads through your sales funnel.
8. Improve Content Visibility in Front of Your Current Followers
“Psst, have you missed our newest post?”
An automated DM is a great way to increase content visibility. How? By promoting your newest posts you increase the chances of your content being liked and shared. Also, the different time zones might play a role in the visibility of your post, so make sure you pay attention to timing. You can also thank your followers for mentioning your profile on their Stories.
Having fresh content to promote on your feed is important, and the good news is that you can use a tool like SocialBee to post on Instagram.
9. Check-in with Existing Followers and Customers
Short and sweet “Hello, just checking in with you” Instagram DMs hold a lot of power, as they give your brand communication a more personal touch.
Humanizing your brand can give you a substantial advantage in the face of your competitors. Also, checking in is a great opportunity to have a conversation with your existing followers. Soon enough, your fans will become customers. All it needs is persistence and a good communication strategy.
10. Reach Out to Influencers for Brand Exposure
Reaching out to influencers for brand exposure through messages on Instagram is another great way to connect and take advantage of DM automation. Make sure you include in your message the reason why you reached out to them, why they’d be the best person for your brand, and what to expect in exchange for working with your brand.
It’s safe to say that a short and clear Instagram message can go a long way, especially when it comes to your brand’s exposure. Don’t be afraid to reach out to influencers, their high exposure levels will surely benefit your brand, both in the short and long run.
Instagram doesn’t have a built-in way to enable you to send a direct message that’s automated. However, there are third-party apps that can help you out with that. InstaChamp by MobileMonkey is one of those apps since it’s an Instagram auto DM tool. All accounts that have 1k to 100k Instagram followers are eligible to use InstaChamp by MobileMonkey.
Here’s how to set up an automated message using the MobileMonkey tool:
- Connect your Instagram account to the app through a Facebook Business Page.
- Allow the app to use automated Instagram messages.
- Create engaging Instagram replies with InstaChamp by MobileMonkey for story mentions, post comments, and Instagram DMs replies.
Instagram DMs are great, but first, you need to make sure that you have an active profile. To have an active Instagram profile, you need to post content.
