How To Get The Most Out Of Instagram DMs For Your Marketing Strategy

Instagram has rapidly become one of the top destinations for companies looking to implement digital marketing strategies. Since its release in 2010, it has risen up the social media ranks to become one of, if not the most important social media platforms. To many people, Instagram is just a place to post pictures of food and look at pictures of dogs. But to companies, it is a rich, marketing landscape with lots of unique ways to achieve results for their companies. Organic interaction with audiences, the ability to promote for free, excellent paid advertising opportunities, and more await for those companies that decide to get involved.One of the areas of marketing through Instagram that gets somewhat less airtime in discussions about using the platform are the DMs. DMs (or Direct Messages) refer to Instagram’s built-in private instant messaging area, designed for Instagram users to be able to communicate privately with one another, not only over the public comment sections. DMs can play a big role in your companies marketing strategy, but it requires some creativity and a good deal of time investment. But, for the results, which can be extraordinarily valuable, it’s worth it. So, without further ado, let’s look at getting the most out of your business Instagram’s DMs.A Direct Link To InfluencersIf you’re in the social media marketing game, really the marketing game period, you will likely have heard about influencers. “Influencers are people whose own personal following, usually accrued in connection with their own field that they have found success in, allows their every post to reach thousands, even millions of people who are eager to hear their latest update. Businesses can use individuals such as these, leveraging their following and redirecting their attention for a few posts towards the company”, explains Harriet Young, social media writer at Dissertation Writing and Academized.Now, imagine the process of hiring talent for a television advert, for example. You need a producer who, with a casting director or two, contacts an agency and makes a series of offers going back and forth and back and forth until finally, the ‘star’ agrees to appear in the advert. Then you need to shoot the advert and pay them large acting fees to do so. Compare this to the process on Instagram. Send a DM with an offer, they accept or reject it, you make the payment and they do a post or a series of posts on your behalf. It’s so much simpler. And it’s made so much simpler because of the DMs, an informal yet direct way to instantly communicate with the sorts of people who could serve as influencers for your company. So do some scouting around and then get in touch through the DMs.Boost Your Customer Service GangAnyone who has spent an hour listening to the hold music will tell you that customer service is not only vital but in dire need of some optimization. Whilst there have been lots of other advancements in customer service practice, social media DMs are one of the leading lights. Instagram as a platform is a really interesting blend between utterly informal and actually quite business-like. When a customer is upset, the ability to message you ‘personally’ and expect to receive a personalized message in response to what they ought to do about their problem makes the whole process more relaxed and enjoyable for both parties. Social media is also a 24/7 platform since it is global meaning that customers don’t have to wait for ‘calling hours’ to get in touch with you with their queries. Where an email feels too distanced, a call too much of a hassle, and a text a bit too personal, an Instagram DM fits perfectly in the contemporary customer service field and ought to be used whenever it is possible.A Sales DMWhere previously a lot of sales were committing to a marketing campaign and crossing your fingers, using Instagram DMs can help you to drive sales in a really simple, practicable way. “There are no ‘rules’ with Instagram DMs, and what it is appropriate for companies to send in terms of marketing materials. Obviously you don’t want to spam people, but a really nicely personalized message about a sale that you are having, or even a specific discount code generated just for them can be very effective at boosting your overall sales”, says Nikhil Bajwa, tech blogger at Paper Fellows and Research Paper Writing Service. Because social media is a personal platform, you can target extremely specifically with Instagram DMs. You can look at someone’s profile or see the posts of yours that they’ve interacted with and DM them in relation to that data. This makes it seem so much more personal as if your company has really noticed them and picked them out. This will make it a whole lot easier to make sales, as people will feel intimately connected with your brand through your DMs.DM To Gather DataMarket research is an oft-discussed, complicated topic that is always being worked at to help companies to improve their performances. One deceptively simple technique for gaining insight into your audience is to just ask them. Previously, this would have been a difficult operation involving forcing surveys on people or sending out blanket emails and hoping for a response. But with Instagram DMs, it’s quick, simple, and efficient. You can just get in touch with people. If you feel it is necessary you can throw in something as an incentive for a response, perhaps a discount. But the great thing about Instagram DMs is that it doesn’t feel like the marketplace, so you may be surprised at the sorts of responses and feedback that you can just get by asking.ConclusionOverall, it is clear that Instagram DMs is a versatile and powerful tool that you really ought to be devoting time and effort to making the most of. Incredibly, the range of things that can be achieved with DMs is incomplete, so there’s always room for you to make your own discoveries along the way.Beatrix is a marketing specialist, a teacher at Boomessays.com, and UKwritings.com. She writes about Instagram marketing. Also, she is an editor at Essayroo.com.