The power of using social media to send messages is limitless. From lead generation to networking and building your tribe, a social network is a great place to leverage messaging. Specifically, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram work best for sending networking messages. If someone tells you people don’t like DMs, don’t listen. In this century, most marketers don’t mind DMs. They are social media marketers, after all.
Are you a music artist? Stay tuned at the end of the post for a section just for you.
Revenue, loyal clients, and an active and helpful community on social media are all good reasons to send messages. I know of a smoke shop in San Diego that makes $5000 a month on Instagram selling their products (which would not be okay with Instagram so I can’t tell you who that is, unfortunately).
And I always talk about the importance of building your tribe and authentically connecting with others on social networking sites. You could help each other out by trading skills, trading referrals, or trading social media knowledge. Read on to laser in on some best practices for networking on social media over messages.
Before we start, here is exactly how to DM someone on Instagram: From your home tab (your home tab is at the bottom left in the main menu), go to the paper airplane symbol at the very top right. From there you can control your messages, search and message people, etc.
Connect or Follow Them First
This is especially important on LinkedIn, which won’t let you message people you’re not connected with. On LinkedIn, spend some time using its search feature to find people to connect with. You can search by “People”, “Job Title”, and more.
Connect to about 20-30 people at a time, as a lot of LinkedIn accounts are inactive or infrequently used. Whoever connects with you, send them a personal message thanking them. Then, get to the point, be brief and succinct, and tell them what you’re hoping to gain from the connection.
On Instagram and Twitter, it is also a good idea to follow someone, and you can do it at the same time as you message them. But on Twitter and Instagram there are ways to connect, in the literal sense, with people before you message them. Start a list in an excel sheet or organizing app and write them a few comments on Instagram (replies and retweets on Twitter) the week leading up to sending your message.
As always, be thoughtful in your comments and replies. Never use the same comment twice, and don’t automate your Instagram messages. The personal touch is the only way real networking works on social media. Instagram messages are often auto-DMed, which you can spot from a mile away.
How to DM someone on Instagram? Let them know it’s a personal message. That doesn’t mean you can’t copy and paste the same message, but the act of sending the Instagram message on Instagram without automating is personal, and will avoid Instagram’s penalty, the infamous “Action-Block.”
If you need help with Instagram but cannot afford or don’t want management, I offer a one-time coaching call with an in-depth outline and game plan for you to refer back to so you can crush it on Instagram on your own.
The Message: Keep it Personal
This is easiest on LinkedIn, where you get everyone’s real first name. Always address them by their first name when thanking them for connecting on LinkedIn. Since you’ll have to wait for people to accept your connection request one-by-one, you can simply send each a brief message as they connect to you (brief is key on all three platforms. Don’t lose their interest just by confronting them with sheer volume of your message before they see the content of that message). The messages don’t have to be radically different--you could even copy and paste, if you are making everyone the same offer, and just change the first name.
Instagram and Twitter don’t always give you a first name. Personalize your message in other ways. I do not recommend saying “Hi [username]” because that can look automated. Instead, spend a minute on their account or website and tell them what you like about their account or brand.
Never Hard Sell
It may be most practical to simply start off by thanking them for connecting. Personalize that message with something that stood out to you about them, so they have a reason to thank you. Once they’ve responded, it’s finally time for you to tell them why you connected. Are you trying to build your network, did they seem like a good friend to have, or are you looking for their business?
Be succinct, be direct, and then back off. My method is to let them know what I do and ask if they’d be interested in any more information about those services. That takes all of three lines if done correctly. Sometimes, if I get a good sense of them from their profile, I let them know
I can offer case studies. Otherwise, I just offer more information. But to start with all that information would be a risk.
Social media marketing is like a networking event. Imagine, when you’re on social media, that you’re networking: let them enjoy their drink a bit first, let their defenses come down some. Don’t run up to them after too many drinks and start telling them all about your great business idea before saying hi!
And if they’re not buying what you’re selling, the night is young and the place is packed.
For Music Artists:
As an artist, there are no shortage of ways to use your DMs or messages. All the best practices apply: personalize, never automate, don't hard sell. But I want to take a minute to discuss the different ways to use messaging for Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram messages.
First, you can ask people to listen to your song on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc. DMs are one of the very few places on Instagram where you can use links. Links work in Twitter and LinkedIn messages too. Instagram messages should always include a link.
Tell people about tours, albums, or shows. You can link right to the ticket sale page, Bandcamp, Beatport, or wherever your music is. Generate buzz by telling them a bit about yourself in the message. Describe your brand and sound. What makes you unique? Share a snippet of that in your message and watch people really spark an interest in you, your shows, and your music.
If you're playing a lot of local shows, you can target people to message by location on both Twitter and Instagram. LinkedIn generally finds people near you on its own.