Over the past decade, Instagram has become one of the most popular social media platforms with the highest number of users in the world. There are currently more than one billion monthly Instagram users worldwide in 2021. It is also known that as much as 90% of Instagram users follow at least one Instagram business account.
The large number of Instagram users makes this social media platform a strategic tool for businesses to market their products or services. Creative and targeted online marketing strategies can be carried out on the platform to attract potential customers (leads) to turn them into customers (or lead generation).
By using the lead generation strategy, businesses can increase consumer curiosity about products or services offered to eventually gain more customers. One way tto implement this strategy is by optimizing Instagram.
Build good interaction & communication with Instagram followers
Before building interactions with social media users, businesses inevitably need to build brand awareness so that social media users will get to know the brand identity, products and services offered by the business. In building brand awareness, Instagram is a powerful social media platform to present relevant and interesting content. Through content, businesses gradually accumulate more and more followers, who become potential customers.
However, having a lot of followers on Instagram is not enough. Once there are many people familiar with a brand and the products or services which it offers, businesses also need customers to purchase their products and services. It is not enough to just acquire users who like their posts. On Instagram, Direct Messaging (DM) is another powerful means to attract followers who interested in buying products or acquire services.
To turn followers into customers on Instagram, followers need to connect with businesses. Trust needs to be built and this can be done by building good interaction and communication with followers to achieve customer loyalty.
Steps to Effective Brand-Customer Interactions
When businesses showcase their products or services on their Feeds or on Instagram Stories, followers may enquire about these products or services either on Instagram Story replies, mentions, comments, or DMs. It is at times like this that businesses must communicate effectively to followers especially in providing a fast response to build followers’ trust in the business. Allowing messages to be ignored may erode the trust that followers or potential customers have in your brand.
Given the importance of good communication and knowing that Instagram is one platform where potential consumers or followers find brands, businesses need to regularly monitor every Instagram Story reply, mention, comment, or DM by followers. Therefore, the Messenger API for Instagram is here to make it easier for businesses to monitor every follower interaction more efficiently all from a single dashboard.
Messenger API for Instagram brings in more loyal customers
Messenger API for Instagram, launched by Qiscus in June 2021, contains functions to support the needs of businesses on Instagram, especially in terms of building interaction and communication. The Messenger API for Instagram allows businesses to create more advanced communication strategies, one of which is the Auto-Reply feature.
This feature allows businesses to provide automatic responses to messages from followers, whether they are in the form of replies to Instagram Stories, comments on posts, mentions of business Instagram accounts by followers, or a DM containing enquiries. It allows a more efficient business workflows in terms of responding to a much larger number of messages in less time.
So, how does the Messenger API for Instagram help businesses increase followers’ trust and turn them into loyal consumers?
One of the things that can increase customer trust in a business is fast responses. The Messenger API for Instagram has auto-structured message templates that help businesses answer many common questions quickly. It also helps businesses become more aware of every comment they receive on Instagram, because in addition to receiving notifications of incoming messages and so on, businesses can also respond to all comments on posts personally via DM.
To illustrate this, imagine a follower who conveys a complaint via comments on a post. The business immediately offers assistance via DM without diverting the follower to another channel. When followers receive a personal and immediate response, their trust in the brand increases. This may also increase their conviction to become a loyal customer if they are already patronizing your brand. As long as the business is consistent in providing good and responsive services, customers will remain loyal to the brand.
The same applies to all replies or mentions that businesses may receive from Instagram Stories. If previously the business had the opportunity to miss the reply or mentions, there is heightened awareness now. This is because all types of interactions will now go to the Messenger API for Instagram inbox and will require the business to read it or reply to it for the message to be categorized as ‘Resolved’.
These features inevitably ‘forces’ businesses to pay attention to all incoming messages on Instagram and carrying out an action to pacify or serve customers. Paying attention to the messages sent by consumers means that businesses will provide appropriate treatments to every consumer, resulting in higher chances of turning them into loyal consumers.
Conveniences for businesses with Messenger API for Instagram
Apart from helping businesses reach more loyal customers, the Messenger API for Instagram also provides other conveniences for businesses to improve their services. Messenger API for Instagram can be integrated with a CRM system, for example, which help businesses to record all customer data and DM conversation history automatically every time a transaction takes place. Customers’ data, such as names, phone numbers or shipping addresses, is stored automatically to make it easier for customers to shop in the future. In addition, businesses will also find it easier to provide appropriate treatment for each consumer. Ease and convenience of shopping is also an important factor to reach more loyal customers.
Using the Messenger API for Instagram also allows businesses to view the analytics related to the communication services agents offer on Instagram. This will help businesses evaluate and improve the performance of their services in order to provide the best for consumers.
In the end, thanks to providing good communication services through Instagram, businesses now have the opportunity to gain even more followers-turned-loyal-customer on Instagram.
Get more customers with Qiscus’ Messenger API for Instagram!
Messenger API for Instagram helps businesses turn followers into customers by providing effective and efficient communication services. When businesses can provide quick and personal responses to followers, customer trust and loyalty are cultivated, which drives interest and loyalty.
By using the Messenger API for Instagram and Qiscus Multichannel Chat, you can now connect with every follower and monitor all forms of followers’ messages or comments more easily and efficiently. If you have any questions on the Messenger API for Instagram and Qiscus Multichannel Chat, contact our friendly consultants here.