How many of you hesitate to send a Direct Message (DM) to a new follower or someone you’d like to connect with?

What’s holding you back?

I know in most cases we hold back because we’re worried they will think we’re weird or creepy, but come on now they started following you, right!?

Maybe they are also ‘shy’ and don’t feel comfortable with reaching out but social media really is a great medium for networking.

It’s no different than walking into a room of strangers and walking out with new friends, prospects, or CLIENTS! Now, who wouldn’t want that!?

Think about it, we’ve done almost everything online since March 2020 so why not slide into the DM’s of your followers.

How to use Direct Messaging to Connect

First, and I’m serious about this no cut and paste generic greeting. Please! For the love of everything social, make it personal.

Go find out about their business, project, life, whatever, and find some common ground before messaging them.

On Instagram watch their Stories and answer their questions or respond to their poll, but in this case, skip the question sticker.

Strike up a real conversation:

– Say HI!

– Ask how their day is going.

– Introduce yourself, not your sales pitch but yourself.

– Thank them for following and asking if you can help with anything.

You don’t need to send them a long drawn out message, keep it simple!

Sure, the first couple of times you might hear crickets.

Or they might unfollow you.

But I’m telling you now, that one connection you make via DM will be worth more than the follower who doesn’t respond back or unfollows. Good riddance to them, they weren’t meant to be your client anyway.

Remember that not everyone on your follower list will see everything you post that’s why sliding into their DMs is gold.

It’s personal, 1 on 1 and easy to do. Plus, most platforms will notify the user that they have a message.

How to Create an Open Invite for Direct Messaging

One way to make it so your inbox is an open invitation to connect with you is through your Stories on Instagram. You can also use call-to-action.

Example, “send me a private message if you have a question”

If you are familiar with Stories question or poll stickers on Instagram, those are a great way to invite your followers to start a conversation with you.

Once you receive a few comments, drop into their inbox, and continue the conversation.

The more you connect through DMs the more your followers will become raving fans and clients.

Ways to Connect Via DM

Think about it this way you can connect on DM via text, voice message, video (a very underrated feature), and group messaging. This gives you a unique opportunity to stand out from the competition.

With video messaging your followers gets a personalized message that probably takes you less time then it would be to type the same thing.

Added bonus you become more comfortable with doing videos when you start on a casual level.

Plus, as a coach, they get to see you, so it almost feels like an in-person meeting. Talk about building the know, like, and trust factor fast!

I wouldn’t even worry about getting all gussied up to send a video message because in all honesty looking like yourself is relatable and shows your new followers that there is a real, breathing, human behind the screen who just like them wants to connect.

Considering we’ve been safe at home for a few months now, aren’t we all craving a little more connectivity?

From my Experience using DMs

I have used DMs a few times throughout my Instagram journey and the connections I’ve created are definitely worth expanding my use of the feature.

My goal going into September is to increase my use of it to:

– improve my relationships

– attract new leads

– gain the trust of more of my followers.

I haven’t started using the video messaging feature yet but considering the amazing reactions I get from my IGTV, Reels, and Stories videos I can see the potential.

I’m going to start giving these a try and will report back on my experiences in another blog post.

Share Your Thoughts on Direct Messaging with Your Followers

In the meantime, why not drop me a message below with your thoughts on Direct Messaging.

Don’t forget to connect with me via Facebook, Instagram, or my hot mess of a TikTok (I’m still learning 😊)!