How to woo your clients using direct messages

16 May

Yep, we’re talking Instagram again! (Not sorry, I love it.)

Many business owners spend hours creating beautiful stories and perfect grids in the hope that a large portion of Instagram's ONE BILLION users will become loyal fans and customers. But what’s the ROI on the time we spend sharing photos of our coffee?

Instagram can be a brilliant way to raise brand awareness, attract new clients and build trust amongst your existing fan base. You just need to be a little strategic about it.

This is where selling in direct messages (DMs) comes in.

DMs: marking the shift towards 'conversation marketing'

Direct messages are overlooked by a lot of businesses. After all, aren’t we moving away from one-to-one sales? Won’t that be far too time-consuming to be effective? Shouldn't we focus on the one-to-many model?

Well, not exactly. There's a huge trend towards ‘conversation marketing’ at the moment.

Conversation marketing gives you a chance to engage with customers, find out what they like and don’t like, and show your human side.

Customers like being able to tell you what they think, and they love getting a response. It's about access.

Direct messaging is a natural extension of this idea. Chatting to your clients in the DMs means you can make a one-to-one connection. You can tailor your sales messages to the individual and address their objections as they come up.

It’s a natural discussion about what they’re struggling with and how you can help.

The intimacy and authenticity of this approach is a huge trust-builder – especially important in the health space, where people might be a little anxious about signing up for your service.

Non-scalable marketing tactics like one-to-one engagement are extremely powerful, but not everyone has the time or energy to do it. Doing something your competitors aren't willing to put legwork into already puts you a step ahead.

Selling in DMs without being creepy

If you’ve noticed that your usual strategies for online launches are becoming less effective, selling in the DMs might be the answer.

The key is to be natural, not pushy. DMs are our personal digital space. Don’t slide in without an invitation.

Here are a couple of easy strategies:

Reply to their stories. A simple comment agreeing with something they said or sharing your own similar experience is enough. Be natural and then just take the conversation from there. This is a long game. See where it goes.
Use your stories or posts to invite people into your DMs for more info on something you’ve said. I’m noticing more people not bothering to put links to their sales pages in their bio or doing the swipe up thing – they’re asking their followers to DM them for a link, so they can initiate a conversation, ultimately leading to a sale or sign-up.

For more on this, this podcast episode from online marketing expert Amy Porterfield, features an interview with Tyler J McCall about using IG for business, including some non-shady DM tactics.

A practical example of what NOT to do when selling in DMs

Selling in the DMs is pretty simple – it's literally a conversation. But somehow, people still get it wrong. Case in point:

I started following an IG expert, who'd been tagged by someone I knew (social proof = good start).

I replied to one of their stories, with something vague like ‘haha, I hate when that happens’.

Instead of replying with something equally inane and building a rapport, they replied with ‘I have two spots left in my coaching group, interested?’

Wait, what?! Who said anything about coaching? I just laughed at your video, I don’t even know what you do. Not even a 'hello'?

This person didn’t try to connect with me as a human, never mind as someone who might be a valued customer.

Interested in this bold approach, I asked what the coaching group was about. But instead of answering my question or trying to sell the benefits to me via a human-to-human conversation, the Instagram Expert sent me a Typeform link and said:

‘first fill this in to see if you’re a good fit.’

A good fit for what? Why should I waste time filling out a form for something I know nothing about?

They didn't make that sale.

Trust is hard to earn but easy to lose.

Not respecting someone’s time is a surefire way to turn them off.

So, if you're thinking about using DMs to sell, here are some key takeaways:

Intimacy, authenticity and trust are key to making a sale that makes you and your customer happy
Access and 1:1 engagement are crucial for online selling now
If you're not selling in the DMs, you're missing an opportunity
Be patient and build up a natural rapport first

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(📷: Charisse Kenion on Unsplash)