Quick Answer: The fastest way to get response on Instagram DM for businesses is by using story interactions, poll response, question sticker response, and link taps as an opening to a conversation as opposed to reaching out cold. Following up the same day, personalizing the message in reference to what the person interacted with, and leading with a specific low friction action request will convert much better than a standard sales message.
Every business account has a different approach to the DM feature. Some barely engage with them at all, completely overlooking potential buyers. Meanwhile, other business accounts will only reply to customers who message them, missing a huge opportunity for reaching out and assisting customers who have already expressed interest in the company by watching their story or replying to it. The accounts that are best able to turn their story views and responses into sales are the ones that use the DM feature as a selling tool.
Below is a look at how businesses can use story engagement to identify the warmest leads and follow up in a way that effectively turns those prospects into customers.
Why Story Viewers are Your Warmest Prospects
Someone who watches your story has already decided they want to engage with your brand. Unlike a feed post view, where the user could have watched the post while mindlessly scrolling through the app, to watch a story the user has to pay attention for the duration of the story. Someone who engages further after watching your story has already invested more time and effort, which means they are likely interested in your brand.
These are the signals that indicate to marketers that the prospect is warm and worth following up with. Businesses that use these engagement signals to identify and follow up with these story viewers have a much higher conversion rate than those who rely only on public facing posts to sell their products.
The Story to DM Sales Conversion Funnel
Create Interactive Story Content
Any story that has the potential to convert should have a call to action or interactive sticker built in. Stories without any interactive elements or questions built in give the viewer no reason to engage, let alone follow up on in DM. A story asking "which color are you loving more" with a poll built in gives that viewer a reason to respond.
Identify High Intent Responders
Take a look at the story insights for any poll responses, question sticker replies, or link taps that occurred. As the business account owner you will be able to see who responded to the story and which action they took.
Follow Up Within 24 Hours
The sooner you follow up with a viewer who engaged with your story, the better. The longer you wait to send that first message, the less relevant it will seem, greatly reducing your chances of a response. Try to develop a habit of story engagement monitoring and DM following up within the same day.
Personalize the Message
Make reference to the specific interaction the viewer made when replying to them. "Saw you picked the blue one in my poll" is far more effective than a generic "Hey, thanks for following!" message. Personalization in the subject line or body shows the recipient that this message was not sent out as a mass, general message.
Ask for One Specific Low Friction Action
Don't ask for the sale right away. Ask a question that continues the conversation or offer information as a reply to their interaction. The intent of the first message should be furthering the conversation, not asking for the sale.
Story Engagement to DM Message Examples
Depending on what interaction the prospect made on your story, the message they receive should change. Using a generic message on any interaction will have a much higher chance of being ignored than one that makes reference to their interaction with the story.
For a poll response reply with a specific question about the poll result. "You picked the oversized fit in my poll, are you usually more of an oversized or fitted person?" This keeps the conversation going in a natural way without immediately diving into a sales pitch.
For a question sticker reply, respond genuinely to what the user asked or stated before introducing a sales element. If they asked a product question through the sticker, answer it fully before using the message as an opening for a sales pitch.
For link tap replies, acknowledge that they tapped the link and ask if they have any questions, or what they thought of the product. This is a much better alternative to sending a discount code or sales message, as it does not put the viewer off-put on the brand as much.
For a story reply or direct message reaction, thank them for their reaction or message and ask a question that leads into asking about their needs or interests pertaining to whatever your selling. The reply should continue the conversation before ever asking for the sale.
What to Avoid in Business DM Outreach
Sending out the same generic message to everyone who engages with your story. Messages that make no reference to what the viewer did or didn't do on the story will get ignored no matter how good of sales intent they have.
Sending a discount code or sales message as the primary message. This turns the conversation into a sales pitch right away, putting the viewer off-put and potentially damaging the overall brand perception. Sales pitches should come as a later message after the conversation has been established.
Automating the conversation to the point that it seems like a bot is responding. While automation can be used effectively for customer service, high intent prospects should always be handled by a real person, not a bot.
To assess which reply tactics are most effective, look at the stats on your DM conversations for a period of a month and decide which type of interaction leads to the most conversions on average. Most businesses fail to track this information closely enough to see which types of story interactions are the best predictors of purchase intent for their specific audiences or products.
Key Takeaways
Viewers of stories who engage through polls and stickers are the warmest prospects for businesses, as they have already invested time and effort into engaging with the brand.
Following up with prospects the same day is much better than waiting, as the context and relevance of the conversation is still fresh.
Personalized responses referencing the engagement the viewer made on the story convert much better than a generic, non-personalized message.
The intent of the first message should be to continue the conversation, not ask for the sale. Opening with a sales pitch or discount code puts the customer off-put and damages long term sales potential.
Tracking interactions and responses will show what types of story interactions lead to the most conversions, helping to filter out low intent prospects.
Tiered engagement with automated conversations for low intent prospects and personalized conversation for high intent prospects allows businesses to scale their strategy without losing the personal touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly should a business respond to Instagram DMs?
Within a few hours for the best response rate, and same day at the very least. According to Instagram's own research, prospects are much more likely to respond to a business that replies to their DMs within a day. A follow up message the same day as the initial message will also be much more effective at continuing the conversation than waiting a few days to reply.
Should businesses automate their Instagram DM responses?
Selectively, to the extent of increasing sales. Personalized follow up is essential for higher value prospects, while automation can be used for lower value general engagement and for flagging higher value prospects for further personalized follow up.
What is the best story sticker for generating DM conversations?
Question stickers generate the most DM conversations, as they require the viewer to make a written response, rather than a poll or other sticker which simply require a like or tap. Polls are also good at generating engagement, just at a slightly reduced response rate.
Does DM outreach after a story interaction feel intrusive to customers?
It does not when it is personalized and makes reference to what that specific customer did on the story, but feels intrusive if it is generic and does not make reference to any specific action they took.
How do I track which story interactions lead to actual sales?
Use unique discount codes or links based on what type of story interaction the prospect made and use a CRM or spreadsheet to track conversation starters and what led to a sale, what didn't, and how long it took for the sale to occur after the conversation was started.
