45. Instagram DMs 101: What to Say to Actually Get Real Conversations Going

[MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to Social Content Made Easy, the podcast that helps you simplify content creation, grow your audience, and make sales on Instagram without spending hours glued to your phone. I'm your host, Nicole Iologio. And each week, I'll bring you bite-sized actionable strategies to help you confidently create scroll-stopping content that actually grows your business. So if you're sick of wasting hours creating content that no one sees and just want a simple proven way to show up while having some fun, you're in the right place. Let's go. If somebody left you a DM or a comment and you've ever stared at it saying, OK, cool, but now what do I say back? This episode is about to be your new best friend. I used to do this too. DMs matter the most because it's literally where relationships happens. It's where trust forms, and when you have a small account, it is so important that you make relationships in your DMs. It's not only fun to get to know new people and get to make new friends, but it's really where trust forms for your audience. And it's where about 90% of sales actually convert would be stories and DMs. What you're going to walk away with from today's episode is a DM opener that's going to work for you almost every single time. You're going to learn how to turn comments into conversations. And then you're going to have three non-awkward conversation starters for when somebody just says, oh my gosh, I loved your story. I'm going to show you how to naturally pivot into a freebie or a paid offer after that. All right, so let's just get started right away. Part one is the DM opener that is going to work 80% of the time. And I want this to be genuine. So don't just make something up. What you're going to say is, oh my gosh, I was literally just thinking about you because of Blake. But you need to know that, right? So you're actually watching their stories. It works because it's personal. It's intentional. It feels like something a friend would send to another friend. It doesn't feel pitchy, pushy, fake. It could be because they posted something on their stories. And then you reply and you say, oh my gosh, I was just thinking about you because of that. And then you can get into a conversation. So examples could be, let's say, your a fitness coach. And you could say something like, I was literally just thinking about you because I saw somebody get their first actual push up. And I remembered your goal of getting blank push ups by this time and time. What's really important about this is you actually need to know your audience and your people. So this is conversation starters for people that have already been talking to you in DMs. These are really, really good for reigniting old conversations. So people that have inquired with you already, but maybe they they stop talking to you. You can kind of bring them back through these. For a photographer, you could do like, I saw a couple shoot on my feet. And I immediately thought about your session idea. Have you thought about it anymore? An interior designer. I saw a vintage mirror in an antique shop today. And I immediately thought of the living room vibe. You were trying to go for, how's that going, by the way? I want you to think about how it feels when somebody remembers you or how it feels when you kind of pop into someone's head. People love feeling like they just popped into your head. It's super warm. It's casual. It opens the door without pressure. And you really do need to know your audience already before you do this. Part two is probably the hardest for people to figure out. And that's how to move from a comment on a post into a conversation in the DMs. So most people will stop at, hey, thanks. Thanks for the comment. That's a conversational dead end. No one, nothing's going to come of that. So instead, what I want you to use is a comment bridge. So a formula that you can use for this is acknowledge what they said, add something else, and then ask them a question. Let's say someone comments, this was so helpful. Thanks. Then you could reply, oh, thank you, which part hit the most? Then you could also send them a DM with, oh my gosh, I didn't realize that topic would actually resonate so much. Tell me what's the hardest part with blank bin lately? It works because it feels a little bit more natural. And they already started the conversation with you through the comments. It feels supernatural. It deepens the conversation you were having with them in the comments, and it invites them to share something personal that they're going through. It also positions you as the person who understands them and gets them. Some other example comment bridges could be like, oh my god, same. What made you comment on this post? Or could be like, are you dealing with this right now too? Another one could be, this made me think of a tip that might help. Do you want me to DM you? And that opens up another pathway to start DM conversations. DM conversations are especially helpful for service-based entrepreneurs, because especially as a service-based entrepreneur, you're going to have higher ticket products. So people might not be just willing to, as they would be willing to spend $27 on a low ticket product or offer, they might need a little bit more love and trust building to actually pay a service-based fee. Part three, these are my top three less awkward DM starters. These are exact conversation starters that you can sprinkle into your day and not feel like you're just spamming everybody. So the first one is that first one that we talked about, the you popped into my head. So we kind of went through these already, but the first one is something like random, but your name came up in my DMs early, and it reminded me that I wanted to ask you something. It's super authentic, it feels real, and it feels like you're just talking to them. I hate it when you get those DMs that are like, basically ask you what you do. Like, hey, are you a social media manager? Like, you can go to my Instagram profile and see that. Yes, I'm a social media manager. I'm not even, I usually won't even respond to those, but if someone comes into my DMs and starts with, hey, I was thinking about you, and it reminded me about this, I will definitely respond to that. Another one is like, I saw this, and I immediately thought of you. A great one for a freebie. Let's say somebody comments on your post, and then you DM them and you're like, by the way, I saw that you commented on this post. I actually have a free blank if you want it. Let me know and I'll send a link over. Don't send it until they tell you, yes, please, I would like it. It works because it feels like a gift, and like you're actually helping somebody, and it's not pitching. It's literally just offering them something free to help, but it's also getting them on your email list, which helps you to build your email list. All right, so now we're in the DMs, we're chatting with somebody, how do we lead into an offer without feeling like we're just spamming them? So what you're doing is first, you need to identify the problem sentence. So something that someone says to you in the DMs, it's like, I just can't stay consistent, or I feel lost on what to post, or it takes me hours, these are like things that happen in my DMs. It literally takes me hours for one post, or I'm really stuck on what my offer should be. I wish someone would just tell me what to do. I always get, I wish someone would just tell me what to post, or can't you just tell me what to post, which is why I started the plug and post membership. And also, side note, little tangent. The DMs is where you're going to come up with new ideas. So your people will actually tell you what they need, and then you can create it for them. And that's exactly what I did. I wasn't thinking about starting a membership where I tell you what to post every single week, but that's literally the most common question that I got in my DMs was, I just don't know what to post. I'm spending way too long searching for ideas. Can you just tell me what to post? So I'm like, yes, I can. I offer done for you social media management, but I wasn't able to provide that to a lot of people. So then I created the membership to actually tell more people exactly what they should be posting. So it's really cool when you get into your DMs, and you can actually help people do exactly what they want. And then that offer will sell the easiest. And I can tell you from experience that one offer that people told me they wanted definitely sells the easiest for me. So back to they're giving you the problem sentence, right? So I wish someone would tell me what to do. I'm stuck on what my offer, I feel lost. Once they state the problem, you now have permission to go into more about how you can help them. So step two is you're going to just normalize the problem that they're having. Like, oh my gosh, that's so normal. I dealt with it. This is what my clients deal with all the time. And step three is you're going to offer help. You're not going to offer the offer yet. So you can say something like, I actually have something that might help if you want it. So that could lead to an Afribee, could lead to like a mini training, a checklist, a low ticket offer, could lead to a high ticket offer, or maybe you want to just lead into like book a call before a high ticket offer. The key to this is that you always ask permission first. You don't just like say, this is going to help you and send the link. You say, I have something that will probably help you. Do you want more information on it? You're asking permission first. Step four is if they say, oh my gosh, yes, I'd love more information on that, then you offer the next step. You could start with totally. So here's what I would recommend. And then you can maybe you have like a freebie that offers like a mini transformation that leads into your main offer. So you could say something like, if you want a free checklist, here's a link, but if you want the step-by-step with support, this is exactly what I cover in blank. And then you give them the link to the other one. So let's say you're a fitness coach. You could say, I actually have a free protein cheat sheet. Do you want it? If you are a therapist, you could do something like, this is actually exactly something I helped my clients in my one-on-one program. Do you want me to send you over an overview? Or do you want me to send you some more information on it? Let's say you're just like a business coach. You could say, I actually have a DM script for this exhibit. Zach scenario to you on it. And also, NDMs, I love using voice notes. First of all, it's so much easier, especially when I'm like trying to wrangle kids, or if I have a lot to say, it's way easier for me to just send a voice note. And it's personal and people are gonna be like, oh my gosh, this is actually that person. They're sending me a voice note. It's not just like a virtual assistant they have in their inbox. This is actually this person. It helps with that trust building way faster as well. As with all of these, I love ending with a quick recap of the episode and then an action challenge for you. Episode recap, remember that your DM opener should feel like texting a friend. Like, you're not just gonna text a friend. Hey, are you a blank? You're not gonna text a friend that, right? Like, I hate those DMs. We also learned about how to turn comments into conversations. We learned about DM starters that don't feel like you're forcing something. And then we talked about how to naturally transition to freebies and offers. Your action challenge for the week is to send one person, the, oh my gosh, I was literally just thinking about you because blank message. Just one, see what happens. And even if it doesn't lead to a sale or a freebie, maybe it could lead to a friendship. And I know it sounds silly, but I swear. People on Instagram, I have made so many friends through the DMs on my Instagram. I feel like I know them and I've never met them in real life. So silly, but it does feel like a big community that you can create yourself. DM me on Instagram @nacolaylegio. Let me know how this goes. Let me know if you feel super awkward doing it. And I can send you a voice note and coach you through it a little bit. I promise it will feel easy once you actually start interacting with your followers. So I would recommend going through your follower list, maybe follow a couple of people that are following you and start conversations with them. See what they're posting about in their stories. Maybe you relate to them. Maybe you make a new Vesit. Maybe you make a big sale. So I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day and I will chat with you next time. Thanks for hanging out with me today. I hope you're walking away with at least one actionable takeaway to make creating content easier. If you love today's episode, it would be in the world if you could take 10 seconds, leave a review or screenshot this episode and tag me on Instagram @insta.amplebide. I'd love to connect and see your new content. Always cheering for you. See you next time.