• About
  • Work With Me
    • VIP Instagram Intensive
    • Blogging
  • Contact
  • Digital Products & Trainings
    • Instagram Bundle
    • The Ultimate Guide to Hashtags
    • The Ultimate Guide to Instagram Engagement
    • Amplify Your Insights
    • The Instagram Audit
    • Facebook
    • Instagram

Lattes for Lunch

Instagram Coach for Badass Womxn

Should you Send a Welcome DM to Your New Instagram Followers

June 20, 2020 by Nicole

Should you Send a Welcome DM to Your New Instagram Followers?

The upwardly trendy have been coming out in full force over the last few months with this (not so new) Instagram ‘strategy’.

I’m blaming quarantine.

The Instagram Welcome DM!

The Dm that accounts are sending to new Instagram followers after that coveted follow button has been clicked.

You have either: sent these to your new Instagram followers, or, you have been on the receiving end of one of these DMs.

I am not a huge fan of the Instagram Welcome DM nor do I teach them to my Instagram coaching clients as a ‘strategy’, and that is for these solid 4 reasons:

[convertkit form=1116998]


1) It’s Either Impersonal or a Waste of Time

There’s no in-between on this one. If you are sending a welcome DM to your new Instagram followers you are either a) copy and pasting the same message each time, or b) sending a personalized message.

If you are copy and pasting the same welcome DM over and over, then it’s super impersonal.

Not copy and pasting the same welcome DM?

Then you are spending time (seconds, minutes, whatever) clicking over to their profile finding out what their name is, and looking around to get a sense of who they are before crafting a personalized message.

In which case, you are wasting that precious non-exchangeable time of yours.

Now is not the time to spend your time putting the effort into creating those messages!

Wait until they’ve warmed up to your brand and we know they are here to be helped.

2) You are Creating a Habit of Policing New Followers

Sending welcome DMs to each and every new Instagram follower means that you are chained to that app, my friend. 

We don’t yet know what the intent of your new follower is, are they here to stay? Looking for a follow back? Followed because their automation ‘made them do it’?

Now take these broken chains and learn to fly again!

If you are taking the time to write out a thoughtful, personalized welcome DM (see above point ‘b’) then you are spending more time getting to know them then they potentially spent clicking that follow button.

Again, for now, your time is better spent elsewhere. 

3) Treat people The Way You Want to be Treated

How often have you found yourself dying to chomp at the bits and open a new DM from someone you don’t know asking you how things are going in your business?

<chirp chirp?>

Crickets

Yeah me either.

That welcome DM is creating a first impression of you and of your brand.

Did you start out by introducing yourself, telling them what you do, how you do it, and who it helps?

Did you then ask them what they need help in their own business?

Yikes.

Would you ever walk up to another business owner at a networking event and willfully give out this same exact information, in the same format, and ask them equally invasive questions about their business if you were face to face?

I’m guessing not.

Don’t lose sight of you who or what your brand is all about just because you are in a race to test out this new ‘marketing strategy’ that everyone claims you NEED!

Which brings me to my next point…..

4) You Are Missing Out on a More Meaningful Connection

You got way too personal with that who, what, where, why how, welcome Dm that you spent time formatting.

You’ve now spent your time upfront, trying to make a connection right away by soft-selling that new follower who has now run back into their hole.

Long meaningful, mutually beneficial connections take time, and they don’t happen in the course of one DM.

Forming those connections is not something we can ‘skip over’ or cut to the chase with simply by sending a welcome Dm to each of our new Instagram followers.

We have to strive to put the work in with time, not up-front.

[convertkit form=1116998]

Still want to welcome or acknowledge your new Instagram followers, without using a welcome DM?

1) Make sure that the link in your bio is an optimized link tree full of valuable resources that guides new followers through your brand

Here’s where you can for real help, serve, and make connections!

What resources do you have available for new followers in that ‘link in bio’? 

Is there a free guide, a blog post, or a downloadable action tool that can best help them with the sole reason that they decided to follow you in the first place?

This is the place to show off what you have!

2) Follow them back

Social media is not meant to be a one-way street.

Connection is a two-way street and I am personally a huge fan of the follow back.

Following a new follower back is the quickest way to bridge the gap.

You now have access to each other’s content and you can begin the journey of forming a deeper connection with them.

3) Engage with their content

Not entirely sure of your new follower’s commitment to sticking around, but want to acknowledge them?

Engage with two of their most recent posts!

Like both posts and leave a comment on one.

Boom. Done. Hit the easy button!

Stick around for a bit and up-level your Hashtag Game with a copy of >>The Ultimate Guide to Hashtags<<

[convertkit form=1116998]

Filed Under: Instagram Tagged With: Connect With New Followers, DM, Instagram DM, New Followers on Instagram, Welcome DM

the PAST
the FUTURE

Caffeine Induced

Creative

Content Marketing

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Sign Up For The Newsletter

lattesforlunch

📲I help badass entrepreneurs up-level their biz on Instagram with any size audience
#️⃣Hashtag Strategist
💖IG Bundle {Hashtag & Engagement Guide} ⤵️

Nicole | Instagram Coach
▷Struggling to create high-value content for you ▷Struggling to create high-value content for your audience without giving away the farm? 🐮🚜
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Remember, The 'what' and the 'why' of your content is the info you give away for free 📲
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷The 'how' of your content is what your clients pay you for 💸
▷Hashtags Myths - Let's do this!! ▷Hashtags a ▷Hashtags Myths - Let's do this!!

▷Hashtags are such a polarizing topic on Instagram!

▷I'm breaking out the top Hashtags Myths I hear in the DMs and when I work with my clients 😯

▷Typing out Hashtags will improve my reach...

▷There is zero difference in how Instagram reads your hashtags, as in whether you copy & pasted them 

▷Waiting to post hashtags will do [this magical thing]

▷Your feed posts are sorted in chronological order by the time that you hit the post, not by the time that you added in hashtags.

▷If you wait to post your hashtags you are just pushing your content to those tags at a later time, which is hurting your reach

▷High volume hashtags will amplify my insights

▷This one.... <le sigh> if you are using high volume hashtags purely to boost your numbers - you  are providing your account with false metrics

▷Hashtags work better in the caption/comments

▷They work in both! It all depends on how you want to format your user experience and catch your audience before you lose them to the scroll hole

▷I've been shadowbanned because my insights are low

▷I could write a novel on the term 'shadowban' - what it meant when we first saw it in 2016 and commonly and misused the phrase has come to be.

▷Low insights do not equal a ban. If you feel that your content is not populating under the hashtags you used 𝗗𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗞 the hashtags from within your content to check, you will get a false reading.

▷Check from your personal account by typing your chosen hashtags into the magnifier and scrolling to find your content, or have a friend do the same from their account!
▷Can any of my other parental unit friends relat ▷Can any of my other parental unit friends relate to this? 😂
▷Just sip & scroll, sip & scroll 😂 ▷Just sip & scroll, sip & scroll 😂
▷𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷I love writing Instagram Captions, but not everyone has the same zest for maxing out their character length as me 🤷🏻‍♀️
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Here's a quick guide that you to refer to when putting together your IG Captions 👇🏾
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Your caption length only needs to be as long or as short as it takes for you to get your message across
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷If writing a mini-novel is not your thing, that's totally fine!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷If writing a mini-novel 𝙞𝙨 your thing [ahem🙋🏻‍♀️] that's totally fine!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷When I read your captions, I need to feel like I am sitting across from you having a conversation with a friend
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷I also need to trust that what you're saying is a reflection of your brand's values & the experience you provide through your business!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Not sure about your messaging? Here's a tip: If you wouldn't say it out loud, don't write it in your captions!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷What unique high-value, actionable tips, tricks or info are you providing me with, that I cannot get anywhere else? 😲
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷If you want to position yourself as an industry leader, make it happen in your captions!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷You have such a short amount of time to catch the eye of your reader before you lose them to the scroll hole!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Big chunks of text that are not broken out will make eyes glaze over 😴
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Make it an easy read 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 with your content!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐔𝐩
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Edit yourself!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷I love writing my captions in Planoly on Chrome from desktop, with the Grammarly extension so that I can easily catch any errors!
▷A big part of me really wanted Instagram's anno ▷A big part of me really wanted Instagram's announcement this week to be that they were rolling out the Swipe-UP feature across accounts of all sizes 🤷🏻‍♀️
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷I can't tell you how much I dislike that IG incentivizes larger sized accounts by providing them with an additional tool that is not readily available to others
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷But please hear me when I say 👇🏾
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝟭𝟬𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟭𝟬𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷If you cannot sell to a smaller sized audience
[where, honestly, you have much more room to build genuine connections] or generate referrals, create leads, build relationships, or, form collaborations then....
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Amassing a large following is not going to solve your sales problems!
▷I'm too damn stubborn to quit 👏🏾 ▷I'm too damn stubborn to quit 👏🏾
▷⚡️ How to 𝐀𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐲 ▷⚡️ How to 𝐀𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 with any size audience 👇🏾
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Create content with an audience-first mindset
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Create high-value content that compels your audience to save & share it {without even being prompted to do so 😯 }
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷CONSISTENTLY maintain the level of high-value content that you create on your account {this does not = posting every single day 😏 }
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 through the lens of your mission and your brand values; all while using your personal voice! 🗣
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷I'm hosting a live workshop this coming Monday, February 22nd at 7 pm EST called 𝗔𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Can't make the live workshop?
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Your ticket comes with a copy of the recording and the worksheets, which will land straight in your inbox the day after the workshop 💌
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Grab your ticket for just $37 via the link in my bio!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Or send me a DM!📲
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Tickets will be up for grabs until Monday at 12pm EST 🎟️
▷Instagram has exploded in growth over the last ▷Instagram has exploded in growth over the last year with new ways to distribute content 🎉
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Some of us are sipping coffee and diving right in
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Others are sipping coffee and feeling overwhelmed at the thought of trying to pile on 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 way to create content for our business 🙄
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷You don't have to be present on every content outlet of Instagram if it doesn't serve your business
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝗕𝘂𝘁, 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻, 𝗜 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 & 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 - 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 👇🏾
Building reach & impressions
Connecting with new followers
Solving a problem
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 - 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 👇🏾
Behind the scenes
Audience feedback {polls, questions}
Building your 'know, like, trust' factor
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 {𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗜𝗚𝗧𝗩} 👇🏾
Launches
Q&A
Building your 'know, like, trust' factor
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 - 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 👇🏾
Entertainment
Education
Building Visibility {the algorithm still loves Reels!}
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 - 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 👇🏾
Resources
Education
Affiliate Marketing
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Want an in-depth PDF version of this post with quick tips to maximize growth on each of these outlets?
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
▷Send me a DM and it's yours!
See More Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 · Lattes for Lunch· Hello You Designs