by Hassan del Campo, Social Mediums

Automated Direct Messages (DMs) for Instagram are fairly common. But, are they effective for your business? As a B2B business we have observed successful businesses using them, but in our case, we decided against the idea. These are our six reasons why:

1. We find them way too impersonal. About half or more of the automatic direct messages we receive are always followed by the signature of the app/service the account holder is using – “Message sent via @xyz“
2. Not enabled for hyperlinks. Even though people do it, any link you place in your automated DM is unclickable. And according to the law, Path of Least Resistance, people aren’t likely to try and type “www.millionairedogs.com/rich-dogs-of-instagram” in their browser to sign-up to your awesome newsletter. Here’s a way around it.
3. They’re not targeted for our audience. If you use a service that automates the process of gaining new Instagram followers, it’s likely you’ll receive automated messages from others using a similar service. The issue is that, unless you have control and can set parameters, everyone that “you” follow and follows you back aren’t necessarily going to be from your target audience. Thus, many of those automated messages you receive likely won’t even have any relevance to your business or personal interests. Which ties into #4…
4. It can get a little SPAMY. Nobody likes spam in their email inbox. Likewise, one won’t appreciate spam in their direct messages as well. Which is why you’ll have to employ some techniques to separate yourself from the crowd.
5. They can easily turn people off. The last thing you want to do is compromise your first impression and your brand equity.
6. We haven’t figured out how to use them. Automated DMs can be effective tools if used correctly. Since we don’t how we could use it to grow our business in an impactful and measurable way, we’ve decided to abstain until it makes sense for our particular model. Is it in our company culture to give a more personal approach in which every message we craft to an individual is specifically created for them? Absolutely. At least for now we can afford to take that time. Besides, we’ve never been a big fan of the copy-and-paste method anyways.

Note: Automated messages can be a great tool if used properly. As we continue to grow, learn, and develop we’ll revisit the tool to find what best practices we should utilize. So, this is “nah” for now.

/nah.