In today’s day and age, “sliding in the DMs” is such a common phrase.

So known in fact that it’s a negative connotation! Sliding in the DMs would mainly refer to trying to talk to your local Insta hottie and seeing if you’d want them to come over and “Netflix and Chill,” with you…. but that’s a story for another day.

Here’s an overview of the 4 topics I’ll be addressing — scroll down for more context on how to optimize Instagram direct messages. 

Lead Generation

• By using Instagram (link) posts and stories to show off your business, direct messaging the people who engage with your content can be extremely valuable to generating quality leads

Sales Execution

• Knowing your sales pipeline in relation with your DMs will give your business the ability to close at a high clip

Networking

• Regardless if that contact doesn’t become a lead, you can still add them to your contact list for collaboration and referrals

Value

• Now that your content team understands the importance of connecting with their ideal persona, they’ll take the time to produce content that provides value to your future customers

Learn more about these topics below!

Instagram Lead Generation

Of course, we’ve used Instagram in its entirety for our personal use, so why don’t we use it for new business? Quite possibly, like most professionals, they’re afraid of being too “unorthodox” in their outreach.

To which I say, they’re simply afraid of taking the chance to be successful. They’ll never go for it!

Kevin Gibbons with State of Digital sums it up well, “Everyone wants to be innovative, but no one wants to make mistakes – those two things don’t go hand in hand.”

Us digital marketers are always looking for new ways to be successful, but how can we find success in new areas if we’re afraid to fail in new avenues of business?

The answer is…we can’t!

Not to be clique…but did Jordan stop when he got cut from his high school basketball team, or Edison when he found 10,000 ways not to make a lightbulb, even Elvis didn’t quit when he was told he “couldn’t sing.”

If they can do it, you can do it.

Here is a step-by-step process on how to get more leads when you Optimize Instagram DMs for your business! 

1. Post an engaging post/story on your Instagram timeline that drives engagement
2. From the engagement shown on your content, determine which genuine profiles match your ideal persona
3. Compile a list of all the profiles that fit your ideal persona criteria for this one specific post
4. Once you have a detailed list of profiles, start contacting them via Instagram DM! Your script should mirror something like this:

• “Hi! Thanks for liking our picture. What did you like most about it”
• “Do you have any questions on our new offer we’re giving out this week”
• “What do you think our team could do to make our profile better for you?”

Pro Tip: All of these scripts will give you data that your lead gen team can use for future business, and more importantly, the person you’re talking to gets the genuine vibe that you truly care for them and their opinion.

1. Once you’ve received feedback, you can start implementing changes in your lead gen strategy to generate a higher conversion rate!

Check out our video showing you how to engage, and monetize leads with Instagram.

Instagram Sales Execution

This is where the fun begins.

Finally, you have compiled a proper list of your future customers. Now…it’s time to put that to use!

At this point in the HubSpot Sales Process  your future customers should be in the Consideration Stage. They understand what your company does and who your audience is. The lingering questions they’re now faced with are…why should they buy from you? Do they even have a problem for you to solve?

Now depending on each customer, this is different. It’s important to continue to use the power of Insta DM to help with this.

So what’s next? You’ve gotten their attention, whether they replied back to your lead gen strategy or not. The next steps are essential to creating a solid pipeline.

Here’s what you need to do…

Track their future engagement

• Make a mental note on who continues to like and comment on your content, and who simply only liked your post once out of curiosity. This is where you find your true audience

Those who continue to support, thank them!

• You don’t have to go all salesy yet…first thank them for the consistent support and love on IG! Without them, your page wouldn’t have the popularity it does today. Take the time to thank them.

Follow-up!

• After thanking them, make sure you follow up with questions like “Do you have any questions on our current products? Have you been involved with *Your Niche* for a while now? Do you love it? What problems do you have now?”

Empathy first

• Once you find out about the person and their likes/dislikes with your industry, empathize with them! Tell them you’ve been in their shoes and that’s why you took the time to develop a product that does everything you need it to! Now…you need to understand you’re playing with fire. If you come off as fake, you could be blocked and even go as far as receiving a bad review on Google! Always be sure to act genuine and take an interest in what your future customer is saying. After all, like your Instagram popularity, where would you be without your paying customers?  Nowhere!

Then Cash the Check

• Now that you’ve built a strong relationship with your future client, you know their likes/dislikes, hobbies, you’ve arranged to get drinks this week and also be the best man in their wedding…kidding of course. The connection doesn’t have to be that dep obviously, but the more you’re connected with them, the better. Finally, this is where you ask to schedule a meeting, give them a promo code, ask them when they think they’d order your magnificent beauty cream, etc! This is where you go in for the kill and cash the check. Going in for the kill isn’t the right phrase…the better phrase would be to help them with whatever problems they had to begin with! Bingo!

Use these helpful tips and you’ll be on your way to Insta DM sales heaven! 

Instagram Networking

Now sadly, sales aren’t all that glamorous as we know. You get told “no”, “I’m not quite ready”, “I need to talk it over with the husband” too many times to count.  You’ll accept the sad reality that most people won’t buy your product..and that’s ok! It’s not that you or your company are bad people, those people simply don’t need your product! They already have a solution to the problem you’re trying to solve, and they’re happy with it. Sure, you can keep trying to convince that person your product is better, and it might be, but at the end of the day, it’s what the customer wants, not you.  

At the end of the day if you still have no sales, don’t walk home defeated! Look for the opportunity in failure. One of the biggest parts of the business is networking. Use your failed sales attempts to turn the business relationship into a casual one! Add them on Insta! Facebook? Sure! Twitter? Oh yeah, meme city! The more people you know at the end of the day, the better. Why? Because they can refer you to people that could possibly want to buy from you! Ultimately, your network is your net worth…so make new friends! Using Insta DM is so easy because you don’t even need to talk to people face-to-face! So from those introverts out there, I don’t want to hear it. There are no excuses!

Take it from J.K. Rowling in this Huffington Post article, who talks about the possibility of Harry Potter never having been written!   

“I had been writing almost continuously since the age of six but I had never been so excited about an idea before. To my immense frustration, I didn’t have a pen that worked, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one.”  -J.K. Rowling

Despite your own fears…there is always a way to grow your network, even if you’re shy.

Provide Value

Now throughout this article, I’ve talked about a lot of things that you can do to connect with your customer. What’s better than that? Giving your customer something…for free! That’s what your company is doing with each Instagram post and story you send out. First and foremost, the value is your top priority whenever you post. If your first inclination is to think about how many sales you’ll get from this new post, you’re not thinking for your customer, you’re actually being quite selfish. The true way to “get sales” is to actually provide valuable content to your customer. Whether that’s a podcast, quote, cool design…make them love what you post! Help your audience in the industry you’re in! It’s simple..if they have a problem..work with them to help them solve it! You’ll be going the extra mile with them and providing them with actual help instead of asking with your palm out what the CCV of their card is. In fact, if you overemphasize and triple-down on providing value…the leads and sales will take care of themselves!

Just to review…here are the 4 topics I mentioned to optimize your business!

Lead Generation

• By using Instagram posts and stories to show off your business, direct messaging the people who engage with your content can be extremely valuable to generating quality leads

Sales Execution

• Knowing your sales pipeline in relation with your DMs will give your business the ability to close at a high clip. This is a massive step when thinking about how to optimize instagram for direct messages.

Networking

• Regardless if that contact doesn’t become a lead, you can still add them to your contact list for collaboration.

Value

• Now that your content team understands the importance of connecting with their ideal persona, they’ll take the time to produce content that provides value to your future customers