Could you open the pod bay doors for a moment, HAL? We have some updates on Instagram and its messaging automation services! 

Is your brand or business taking full advantage of the DMs on Instagram? Perhaps you’re the talk of the town and don’t have the time to reply to everyone? 

Well, further AI developments to your marketing channels could make your life even easier! Let’s take a closer look at Instagram’s automated messaging services, shall we? 

Robots in DMs 

Over 400 million messages are sent to brands and businesses every day through Instagram’s DM service. From in-feed social posts to stories and reels – the possibilities for users to interact with your brand go far and wide. 

Unless you have an entire team ready to reply (or someone with insanely fast typing skills), answering every customer query is a tricky task.  

Not only can this leave you with a ton of work, but you could also potentially lose a sale by skipping over important messages.  

That’s where AI comes in to lend a helping hand!

ManyChat, an official partner of Facebook and Instagram, saves you the hassle of typing out those replies and does the assignment for you – like in this example here:   

As you can see, AI messaging can streamline user interaction with your brand so that the essential information is right at the click of a button.  

ManyChat also offers tons of other choices when replying to customers for you. For example, if a user asks if your brand ships internationally, ManyChat can detect the specific keywords and optimise the conversation with the best answer!  

That’s not all! Want to see what else automated messaging has in store for you? 

The Perks of Being an AI 

Thought AI messaging only helps with messaging as many users as possible? Think again! Automated messaging offers a variety of marketing improvements across Instagram, from personalisation to product sales.

Increased Product Sales: 

Automated messaging systems don’t have to be a boring “yes or no” machine; there’s a  whole range of CTA tools ready for you to utilise. Create a survey on your products, or send customers a point of purchase link.

You could also use Instagram’s AI system to auto-reach out to existing customers or potential new target audiences!  

Qualified Leads:

Automated messages also cut out the copying. AI collects and stores emails and phone numbers for you, meaning a marketer can tag out the AI in real-time through live chat and speak when there’s a potentially intriguing lead. 

Increase Engagement: 

Campaigns aren’t just for the in-feed; you can market to your heart’s content in the DMs too! Send your users promotional offers or giveaways without even clicking the keyboard yourself. 

DM campaigns are a fantastic way to start conversations and assure users get a message back. 

Messaging automation can also function as a customer support system, assisting users in the best steps to make a purchase or solving an issue with postage.

ManyChat may be the official partner for Facebook and Instagram, but it’s not your only option for AI implementation. 

Other automated messaging services, such as chatfuel, offer a similar experience whilst featuring unique qualities. For example, chatfuel has an Instagram Flow Builder, a drag-and-drop interface that allows marketers to build campaigns based on specific flow choices.   

But be wary of the robots

All of these functions sound great… on paper! If AI can pull off the impossible task of sounding like a genuine human, it could redefine the relationship brands have with the customer.  

However, if we’ve learnt anything from Westworld, it’s that putting all your trust into the machines can make things quite stressful. 

Here are a few things to consider when thinking about AI messaging systems: 

Terms of use

As we mentioned earlier, there are a few choices regarding automated messaging services you consider implementing – InstaChamp and Chatfuel being the other two big contenders. 

However, using anything other than Instagram’s official AI service could result in a terms-of-service breach on the platform. Though that doesn’t appear to be the issue right now, it’s best to keep up with Instagram’s terms of use to be on the safe side.    

Human beats robot

Remember when we said it would be awesome if AI systems could act like an actual human? As cool – (and equally terrifying) as that would be, our technology hasn’t reached T-1000 levels of potential just yet. 

People will always prefer natural, genuine conversations with other human beings. Leaving all the talk to a modern take on the answering machine could present your brand as disinterested in the customer’s needs. 

Perhaps the best place to implement AI messaging services is in and around the awareness stage of a customer’s journey, where their questions are broader and easy to answer. 

When the audience hits the consideration stage, that’s when the persuasion professionals swoop in (psst, that’s you!) 

Spam, spam, spam, spam…

Remember, nobody likes spam, not even with eggs. Advertising makes up 36% of all world spam content. Every customer likely understands when spam is heading their way and will bin it instantly.  

To avoid this, make sure you’re not sending out adverts faster than audiences can read them. And make sure your AI’s copy is friendly, genuine and not too inhuman. And always segment your audience, so your messages are personalised – this will help add to that human touch!

We’ll be back

With this new feature, Instagram is definitely the platform to keep your A-Eyes on (thank you, thank you). We have a whole bite-size session on supercharging your brand on Instagram, which you can watch right here! 

Though AI is still in its early days across the marketing world, we’re excited to see how it changes the game further down the road. 

It’s always fun seeing how new technologies lead to experimental campaigns and ways of reaching audiences. And with the Metaverse slowly becoming more of a reality, the possibilities are almost unlimited.  

Until then (and the fall of humankind due to the AI takeover) – if you’d like advice on how to take advantage of automated messaging or want further insights into Instagram marketing best practices – contact our social media experts now!