In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, leveraging a robust contact list can be the game-changer for your business. Manychat offers a unique platform where Contacts from various channels converge, creating a powerful tool for personalized and efficient communication that will supercharge your sales.

This guide will navigate you through the nuances of managing Contacts in Manychat, providing pro tips on acquiring, managing, and optimizing these contacts for your business’s success.

What are Contacts in Manychat?

This is the name given to the list of users who have contacted your business and are stored in your account for livechat use, broadcasting, and marketing campaigns.

Keep in mind these are not the same as your social media followers, your Contacts are the people you’ve had a conversation with on your DMs after you have connected Manychat to one of these channels.

Contacts are not limited to just one platform; they encompass a diverse range from Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, to WhatsApp. But it doesn’t stop there; email and SMS Contacts can either stand alone or be integrated as additional contact points alongside your social media Contacts.

This multi-channel approach ensures a comprehensive marketing strategy, reaching your audience where they are most active and allowing your business to craft highly personalized campaigns.

Acquiring Contacts like a Pro

The art of acquiring and converting Contacts involves a blend of strategies! Our most successful Manychatters use a mix of the following methods to guarantee a higher rate of contacts on their account, with the advantage that by using Manychat, scaling your lead acquisition has never been easier:

• Organic Strategies: using the free entry points to your chats can help you grow your list to never before seen heights without breaking the bank! Here are some of our favorite:
  • Leverage comments automation to engage with users and add them to your Contact list, this will help anyone who comments on your posts or reels to start a conversation with you
  • Turn on your story mention replies on IG, and message anyone who has mentioned your business on their stories
  • Use the power of Instagram Live automations, so whoever comments on your live video can get an automated sequence of messages about the topic you are discussing
• Meta Ads: Utilize Manychat’s collaboration with Meta to run targeted ads. Our free webinar on using the Meta Ads Manager like a pro is an invaluable resource that can turn you into an expert without breaking the bank! Our favorite type of ad is called CTX, or Click to X! What does the X stand for? Well, any channel you want it to, of course:
  • Click to Messenger or CTM: these types of ads make it so that anyone who click the button on your ad will be taken to a conversation with your business via Facebook Messenger. Our native integration to CTMessenger means you can trigger an automated chat about your promo from the get go!
  • Click to Instagram Direct or CTDM: Just like on FB Messenger, these ads open up a conversation with your Instagram Profile, with the added value that thanks to our automations you can also check who follows you and who doesnt before triggering a message, allowing you to give extra incentives to those new Contacts that dont follow your page yet.
  • Click to Whatsapp or CTWa: this type of ad is special and unique in the fact that you can have it on BOTH Instagram and Facebook, but the difference is that when the lead clicks on the ad button, a Whatsapp conversation will open on their app with your business. If your Contacts chat heavily on whatsapp, this is the type we recommend the most.

• Website Widgets & External Links: Embed Manychat widgets on your site to convert visitors into Contacts seamlessly with easy to embed HTML buttons. You can also have links via our Ref URL trigger all over the place to ensure your contacts can find simple ways to contact you, or even embed a chat bubble on your site that immediately shows a Facebook Messenger modal!

Managing & Filtering

After acquiring contacts in your ManyChat account, effective management, filtering, and segmentation becomes essential. This can be achieved through the use of tags and custom user fields, which are powerful tools for organizing your contacts and tailoring your communication strategies.

• Tags: Tags in ManyChat are labels you can assign to your contacts based on their behaviors, preferences, or any other criteria relevant to your business. For example, you can tag a contact as “Interested in Product X” or “Attended Webinar.” These tags help in segmenting your audience for targeted campaigns. Learn more about using tags effectively on ManyChat’s Blog.
• Custom User Fields: Custom User Fields are akin to personal data slots where you can store specific information about a contact. This can range from basic information like age and location to more complex data like purchase history or customer preferences. Custom User Fields enable you to personalize communication and segment your contacts based on detailed criteria. Discover how to best utilize Custom User Fields in your strategy here.

Retargeting: Mastering DM Lists

All three channels (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) offer DM or marketing lists that Contacts can opt into. Effective contact management involves setting up rules or automations to encourage new contacts to join these lists. Whether it’s for exclusive discounts or event updates, these lists are vital for future engagement. Facebook Messenger now offers this feature for free, Instagram is in open beta, and WhatsApp operates on a pay-to-play model.

Deleting Contacts: Keeping Your List Valuable

Maintaining a clean and effective Contact list is crucial. We recommend removing Contacts who haven’t opted into any retargeting options after a certain period, a good rule of thumb is 3 months. You can read this article here for more information on how to delete Contacts that have no value to your business.

Another way of effectively reducing the number of contacts is by manually merging them once you have identified two Contacts are the same person! Read this article if you would like to learn more about this feature.

By mastering these aspects of Manychat, you can transform your Contact list into a dynamic and powerful tool for your business, driving engagement, and fostering lasting customer relationships.

Looking for inspiration? Check out these other creator success stories using Manychat:

• How Conquista Tu Mundo with Johnny Abraham leveraged Manychat to drive $15,000 in launch sales in 20 days
• Jenna Kutcher’s 3 Easy Instagram Sales Strategies That Generated $900k – Organically
• Amy Porterfield’s 3 Powerful Instagram Strategies

The contents of this blog were independently prepared and are for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ManyChat or any other party. Individual results may vary*

The post Contact Management Guide: Pro – Maximizing Your Manychat Contact List appeared first on Manychat Blog.

Manychat has a native Hotmart integration that you can connect in a few easy steps.

Here, we’ll show you the steps to connect your Hotmart to your Manychat account, so you can start selling and promoting your Hotmart products on Instagram and Facebook right away.

What is Hotmart?

If you’re new to Hotmart, it’s an all-in-one platform for digital creators and entrepreneurs to build and sell digital products, including online courses, memberships, subscriptions, events and eBooks.

As a global tech and education company, Hotmart is a leader in the digital product market offering a complete ecosystem for creators, affiliates, and online course buyers. They have more than 370,000 registered products, 26 million users, sell products in more than 185 countries.

How does Hotmart work?

Here’s how Hotmart works:

• Creators who have expertise in a certain area creates a product (like an online course or an eBook) and sells it on Hotmart.
• Affiliates who have a large online presence help promote and sell this product to their audience in exchange for a commission.
• Buyers purchase the product on Hotmart, via the search page or clicking on a creator or affiliate link.

How does Hotmart help creators?

Hotmart helps creators build their first product, monetize it, and distribute it. There are also detailed analytics, so they can track their progress and make informed decisions about how to promote their products.

What products can you sell on Hotmart?

Hotmart sells various types of digital content, including:

• eBooks in PDF or EPUB formats
• Documents, audiobooks, and music
• Video classes
• Talks and screencasts
• Software
• Images
• Podcasts
• Scripts and any other file formats that can be downloaded.

It is also possible to create subscriptions for membership programs, or any type of product where buyers pay a recurring fee.

How can I benefit from Manychat x Hotmart integration?

Use Manychat x Hotmart integration to follow up on abandoned carts or send updates regarding purchase statuses (either a successful purchase or purchase delivery information). Get most of this integration by freely browsing through your contact list to make sure you have the full information on user data.

How can I integrate Hotmart with Manychat?

Connecting Manychat and Hotmart takes a few easy steps.

First, you’ll need to generate your Hotmart credentials. Here’s a walkthrough video to help you step-by-step in Hotmart:

Next head over to your Manychat account, and follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Manychat account.
2. Navigate to the “Settings” section.
3. Click on “Integrations.”
4. Provide your Hotmart account credentials.
5. Click “Next”

That’s it!

You’re all set to use Manychat with your Hotmart account to start selling and promoting your products!

Ready to integrate Manychat with Hotmart?

Looking for inspiration? Check out these other creator success stories using Manychat:

• How Conquista Tu Mundo with Johnny Abraham leveraged Manychat to drive $15,000 in launch sales in 20 days
• Jenna Kutcher’s 3 Easy Instagram Sales Strategies That Generated $900k – Organically
• Amy Porterfield’s 3 Powerful Instagram Strategies

The contents of this blog were independently prepared and are for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ManyChat or any other party. Individual results may vary*

The post How to Integrate Manychat and Hotmart (5 Simple Steps) appeared first on Manychat Blog.

Each of these effective Instagram strategies is powered by automation, using Manychat Instagram DM Marketing, so you can “set and forget” it – whether it’s a course, book reveal, or a launch offer.

Overview 

Amy Porterfield is a New York Times bestselling author of Two Weeks Notice and host of the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast.

Amy’s journey from corporate “yes-girl” to an 8-figure business mogul is inspirational. She now has:

• An 8-figure business
• A community of over 50,000 eager students
• A podcast with 49 million downloads, and 
• A 32-hour workweek

Amy, who has around 400,000 followers on Instagram, wanted to serve her audience on the platform without adding more to her – or her team’s – to-do lists, or sending her followers to endless “links in bio” for her separate courses and offers.

So, working with School of Bots, Amy was able to launch 19 chat funnels using Manychat in the past 10 months. 

Let’s take a look at 3 ways Amy has leveraged Manychat Instagram DM Marketing – and how you can apply these exact strategies to boost your sales.

Use Case #1: Free webinar

Amy Porterfield has a free, evergreen masterclass, The Relaxed Business Owners Guide to Building a Profitable Email List,  that is related to her course, List Builders Society. 

In order to promote her masterclass, Amy created a carousel post that detailed her experience of losing 5,000 Instagram subscribers because of a glitch. The post also encourages her followers to build a list that they own.

In the end card, she has a CTA for users to comment a keyword, so they can get instant access to her free masterclass.

Once they’ve commented on the post, they receive a message in their DMs. There, they are asked a few questions to register them for the free class – all on autopilot. 

Swipe Amy’s strategy

1. Create an engaging carousel post, offering in-depth information. For example, “3 easy ways to grow your email list.”
2. When writing your post caption, include a CTA at the end that relates to the caption and the carousel post content. For example, “Comment CLASS to get instant access to my masterclass.”
3. Connect your post to Manychat’s comment automation and create your flow in Manychat.
4. Once a user comments, they receive the information on your offer. In this example, Amy sent information and registered people for her masterclass.

In the Instagram DMs, you can also ask for an email address. Once the user types it in, Manychat can automatically add it to your email automation software, so you can continue to nurture your audience on a list that you own.

Results

• 3,243 Registrations Collected
• 83% Webinar Registration Rate

Key Takeaway #1

Experiment with different content – such as posts, carousels, and Reels – and encourage your audience to engage by including a CTA. 

Play the long game. Remember, offering value instead of pushing a hard sell is a potent way to encourage more sign-ups to your offer. You can also convert more subscribers into buyers by adding their email addresses to your list and nurturing them.

Use Case #2: Book purchases

Amy is the New York Times bestselling author of Two Weeks Notice. In order to promote her book and drive more sales, she posted a Reel of her book and offered a limited-time bonus with every purchase.

Users who commented on the Reel received a direct link to purchase the book and the free bonus – all in the Instagram DMs. 

Amy was also able to collect valuable information on the person buying the book, including their name and email address, to add them to her own list.

Swipe Amy’s strategy

1. Create an eye-grabbing Reel. Ensure it relates to your offer.
2. Include a CTA in your caption and on your Reel. For example, “Comment BOOK to get access to the free bonus!” 
3. Connect your Reel to Manychat’s comment automation and create your flow in Manychat.
4. Once a user comments, they receive the information on the book. Remember, you can also use this strategy for guides, webinars, cheatsheets, reports, and more.
5. In the Instagram DMs, you can also ask for an email address. Once the user types it in, Manychat can automatically add it to your email automation software, so you can segment them out and reach out to them for reviews or feedback.

Results

• 2,650 Emails Collected
• 924 Confirmed Purchases
• 35% Purchase Conversion Rate

Key Takeaway #2

Use this strategy to drive book sales and build excitement around your launch – you can use this exact tactic for preorders as well. 

Sold out? You can also waitlist your audience and add them to your Instagram DM List to contact them when it’s back in stock. 

Use Case #3: Instagram Live

Amy also used Instagram Live to drive more book purchases. She leveraged Manychat to help people get more information while she was live – and without taking them away from Instagram.

Swipe Amy’s strategy

1. Set up Instagram DM Automation for Instagram Lives, and create your message flow within Manychat. School of Bots reports that about 85% of users will comment on the live, and give their email address in the DMs.
2. Always pin a comment with the exact CTA. Even if somebody joins the Live for three seconds, they can still opt-in because they see the CTA there, and you’re able to collect leads.
3. Label your Lives with the CTA. For example, “Comment BOOK to get on my preorder list.”

Key Takeaway #3

Use Manychat with your IG Lives to capture more leads.

Overall Results

In the past 10 months, Amy’s chat funnels have collected 18,634 new email addresses, and generated over $1.4 million in sales. 

The best part? 100% of these results are from her free, organic content.

In fact, using Manychat, creators have reported jumps from 50 comments to over 800 comments on a single post – that’s an increase of 1,500%.

Will you be our next success story?

• Jenna Kutcher’s 3 Easy Instagram Sales Strategies That Generated $900k – Organically
• The no-frills giveaway strategy that landed 491.88% ROI for GeForce Now powered by Pentanet

The post Amy Porterfield’s 3 Powerful Instagram Strategies appeared first on Manychat Blog.

Here are 3 powerful Instagram strategies to transform scrolls into sales and chats into cash flow without spending a cent on ads.

Overview 

Jenna Kutcher is a digital marketing expert, New York Times bestselling author, podcaster, educator, and entrepreneur. She is known for her passion for helping others make a living doing what they love. 

Jenna, who boasts 1 million followers on Instagram, was looking for a way to make the platform – one of her sources of business – convert more leads with conversations.

In the past 12 months, Jenna Kutcher has worked with the School of Bots to launch 40 chat funnels using Manychat.

During that time, Jenna has collected 38,490 new email addresses and generated $900,000 in sales. And she now has over 30,000 IG DM list subscribers.

The best part? 95% of these results are from free, organic content.

So, what is a chat funnel?

A chat funnel is a fully automated back-and-forth conversation between your business and an Instagram user, where you can do anything that would add value to your business.

You can almost think of this as a landing page and an email sequence process combined into an IG DM conversation.

With a chat funnel, you can:

• Collect leads
• Qualify leads
• Recommend relevant products
• Sell
• Automate support

All in Instagram DMs. 

Now let’s look into three use cases where Jenna Kutcher has leveraged Manychat to qualify leads, enroll more students in her courses, and sell more on Instagram, day and night.

And how you can swipe her easy evergreen strategies and use them to drive more traffic organically for your campaigns!

Use case #1:  Free Webinar

One of the revenue streams that Jenna has in her business is online courses.

Once a quarter, she has a new launch. During a launch for her program, The Pinterest Lab – which teaches people how to drive traffic using Jenna’s Pinterest strategy – Jenna leveraged Manychat Instagram DM Automation to invite people to her free webinar, which then upsells them to her Pinterest course.

In the past, Jenna would generate 12,000 registrations total for her entire launch, including sign-ups from paid ads, email strategy, Instagram – everything. This time, she was able to collect over 12,000 registrations  – organically – for her webinar using IG DM Automation!

In fact, 55.6% of registrations came from the chat funnel, boasting an 85% registration rate. So in other words, 85% of people who commented on Jenna’s Instagram post registered for the webinar. 

“If you think about your conversion rate of sending someone to a landing page and then having them opt-in, you would never see an 85% registration rate, and 13% of purchase conversions for our chat lead funnels,” says Jenna. 

“So out of the 100% of people that opted in and signed up for the webinar, 13% of them ended up joining my program.”

Jenna and her team were able to drive nearly $500,000 in revenue through this funnel alone. 

On top of this, Jenna also tested out different sign-up invitations when it comes to a launch. 

What they found was when Jenna would talk about the benefits or the end result of how the course would impact somebody’s life, and she was promoting it through more of a lifestyle way, those posts converted better than “hard sell” marketing strategies.

For example, her Pinterest program promotes a strategy that takes just one hour a week. So Jenna’s content would focus on her audience’s ability to expand their return on investment with the investment being an hour per week of their time. 

Jenna would activate all the different angles that would advertise the main point, which was to drive traffic using Pinterest. 

Results

• 12,489 webinar registrations 
• 55.6% of registrations from the chat funnel alone
• 85% registration rate (in other words, 85% of people who commented on an Instagram post ended up registering for the webinar)
• 13% purchase conversion rate for chat funnel leads
• $491,659 revenue made

Key Takeaway #1

When you start to think about Manychat automation and calls to action, you don’t have to have hard sell content. Think about covert ways that you can communicate the end result or the benefits of what you’re selling.

This will likely resonate with your audience and be content that people will watch and enjoy – and connect with it, even if they don’t know that they need the thing that you’re talking about.

Use Case #2: Free Quiz

Jenna’s free quiz, called Level Up Quiz, was one of the first automation that she set up for her business using Manychat. This quiz was intentional and was built to do two things.

First, it is aimed at serving their audience with the best place that Jenna can start helping them based on their responses. 

As Jenna has been an entrepreneur for more than a decade, she has many free resources and online courses. The quiz works as a “qualifier” to help her audience navigate through the resources and courses and find the right one for them.

The second thing that this quiz gives Jenna and her team insight into what their audience is working on and needs more of.

“This is basically like a direct line of saying, ‘Tell me what you need and let me help you in the best way possible’,” Jenna explains. 

“This is our main opt-in that we have up on my Instagram as a call to action when we’re not in a promotional campaign. So it is a very great entry point to our brand, our education, how we can help serve people and really get them into our ecosystem.”

The quiz includes a series of simple questions and it allows the audience to be in the driver’s seat of their outcome, almost like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” novel.

And then at the end, based on the responses to those questions, they connect them to Jenna’s best resources.

Since its launch, the quiz has collected nearly 6,000 emails and has an 85% completion rate, and it keeps her audience on the one platform to complete it – Instagram.

“One thing that I absolutely love about this automation is that a lot of people have incredible quizzes, but they’re sending people off Instagram onto a different platform,” adds Jenna.

“What’s incredible about how we were able to set this one up is that people can literally take the quiz in their DMs by answering super simple questions and then getting the correct result delivered again in their DMs, never inviting them off the app, never asking them to stop scrolling their newsfeed. They’re already there and they’re getting served.”

Using Manychat also means Jenna can automatically follow up with her quiz-takers to ensure that the resource they delivered was the right one and to see if they’re interested in the next steps.

Results

• 5,836 Emails Collected
• 85% Quiz Completion Rate

Key Takeaway #2

If you have a quiz anywhere else or you’ve never considered creating a quiz, using Manychat is an easy way to build one to connect your audience to something that they need that you already have. 

It also means you gain valuable insights to see where your audience is at in their journey and what they are requesting.

Use Case #3: Book Purchases

Jenna is a New York Times bestselling author of a book called “How Are You Really?”. She wanted to build out a chat funnel because the book is a main content pillar in her business.

“It’s something that I’m very proud of and something that I want to get into more people’s hands. So we created a very simple chat funnel so that whenever I talk about a content theme that has some inclusion to my book, I can drive a result,” Jenna explains.

Using Manychat, someone can comment the word BOOK or BOOK CLUB, and then they will get sent a DM saying, “You want to hear about my book? When you buy my book, you will also get $997 value for free with this special thank you gift.”

Since they’ve been running that chat funnel, they’ve collected over 3000 emails. They’ve had over 1000 confirmed purchases, and a 37% conversion rate for somebody who comments, does the funnel, collects the freebie, and orders the book. 

“If you are sending people to platforms that you don’t own and can’t control, say Amazon, you are not able to gather their customer information, but with Manychat you can,” adds Jenna.

One of the biggest challenges with Jenna’s book is that she was selling copies, but she couldn’t actually reach out to her customers for feedback or a review directly.

When Jenna started doing the feedback process using Manychat, it meant she could collect info on people who are not only interested in getting the book, but the people who purchased the book and claimed the freebie.

“And the best part is that people can claim that freebie right in their DMs. They don’t even have to leave the platform. So this is one thing that I wish I would’ve had when I launched my book over a year ago, but it is better late than never,” Jenna adds.

Results 

• 3,187 Emails Collected
• 1,164 Confirmed Purchases
• 37% Conversion Rate

Key Takeaway #3

If you’re selling a product on a different platform and you can’t track your customer information, setting up a chat funnel using Manychat can be an amazing way to do that.

That way, you can get back in touch with those people, to check in with them post-purchase, and to follow up with them if you have additional offers that they might be interested in. 

Jenna’s 3 Hot Tips to Drive More Sales on Instagram… Organically 

1. Focus on your content creation strategy 

Start approaching Instagram in an entirely new way. Think about what your brand pillars are. What do people think about when they think of you, and how do I make somebody care about this content that I’m sharing? 

What story can I tell that makes it more compelling? We want to think about the content creation strategy from a place of not just checking off our to-do list, but how can I make this exciting to engage with so that people get in the practice of engaging with what you’re sharing?

2. Create your first Manychat automation 

Make it simple, but an effective funnel so that you can start to see real results. Identify the goal of the funnel, set it up, and then try different strategies to invite people to engage with it.

Remember, sometimes the more covert methods work better than being super overt about what it is talking about.

So think of the different angles. Think of the things that people might be interested in that are parallel or adjacent to what it is that you’re sharing.

3. Try different calls to action (CTAs)

In the actual post itself or in the caption copy, give your audience a reason to test it out. You will not get results, and you will not get insights if you’re not trying different things. 

Don’t be afraid to experiment, but create that first automation and then consistently share it over and over and over again to figure out what works best for you and your audience.

Ready to generate more sales on Instagram with Manychat? Try it for free today!

• How Frazer Brookes leveraged Instagram Recurring Notifications to land 2,029 subscribers in 14 days with zero ad spend
  
• The no-frills giveaway strategy that landed 491.88% ROI for GeForce Now powered by Pentanet

The post Jenna Kutcher’s 3 Easy Instagram Sales Strategies That Generated $900k – Organically appeared first on Manychat Blog.

Until now, businesses were restricted to Meta’s 24-hour rule, which meant they could not re-engage customers using Instagram DM Automation tools after the initial 24 hours had passed.

Now, Instagram DM Lists are the official way you obtain your subscribers’ permission to broadcast to them on a daily basis – directly in their DMs.

What is broadcasting for Instagram?

Formerly called Recurring Notifications, and previously only available on Messenger, Instagram DM Lists are a smart and cost-effective way to stay in touch with your subscribers on Manychat.

Let’s explore how to set up Instagram DM Lists and their use cases.

The top use cases for Instagram DM Lists

Let’s take a look at how our Agency Partners and Educators implement Instagram DM Lists for a range of use cases.

They use them for:

• Giveaways, like “12 days of” seasonal giveaways
• In-person and virtual event registrations
• Free newsletters detailing upcoming events and competitions
• Announcements to your paid membership community
• Upcoming sales, promotions or secret gifts
• Evergreen campaigns, like challenges and webinars

There are also multiple ways to encourage subscribers to opt-in using:

• Instagram keywords
• Instagram comments
• Instagram Story reply
• Instagram Live comments
• Ads that Click to Instagram Direct
• DM link (For example: ig.me/m/your_username)

Best of all, these tools are available within Manychat.

Next, you’ll learn how to set up your first Instagram DM List and send it as a broadcast.

How to create your Instagram DM List within Manychat

Before you get started: Instagram DM Lists are only visible to Manychat Account Owners and Admins.

In order to broadcast to your Instagram DM list, you must first have your subscribers opt into your list.

To do this, you will need to create your Instagram DM List and give it a topic.

In order to broadcast to your Instagram DM list, you must first have your subscribers opt into your list.

1. Choose any automation with a ”Messenger list” feature (we recommend adding a default one to the Welcome Message) To do this, you will need to create your Instagram DM List and give it a topic (the default one we suggest is called ‘’Promo and Updates’’.
   
   
2. Well done! You’ve created your first Instagram DM List! Your Instagram DM List is now ready to use. Note that you’ll use this message flow to encourage subscribers to opt into your Instagram DM List so you can broadcast to them regularly.
3. Now, let people opt-in to your Promo & Updates [default] list to confirm their subscription status. Use CGT (comment growth tool) or any other Manychat feature to boost your DM list flow.
   
   Remember: You can create multiple Instagram DM Lists for your subscribers, but you must have them opt-in to each list in order to send them that broadcast.

Step 2: How to broadcast to your Instagram DM List

After subscribers have opted into your Instagram DM List, you can use the Broadcast tool within Manychat to send out a broadcast to these subscribers.

Head over to “Broadcasts” section on the left-hand side of your Manychat dashboard.

Hit “New broadcast”.

Select broadcast with Instagram, and then type the message that you want to send to your Instagram DM List.

This message should be related to the topic of your Instagram DM List you created in Step 1: Creating your Instagram DM List Topic. 

You can include a button, image, or gallery of images if you wish. For Instagram DM Lists, you are limited to three content blocks. 

For example, you can send two messages and one image, or two images and one message in a single broadcast.

When you’re ready to send your broadcast, hit the “Target Audience” button in the bottom left-hand side of your dashboard.

From the drop-down menu, select the Instagram DM List you created in Step 1: Creating your Instagram DM List Topic.   

Hit “Send now” to send your broadcast immediately.

Remember to follow this process for each Instagram DM List you create.

Looking for inspiration to get started with Instagram DM Lists using Manychat? 

Check out these handpicked case studies that illustrate ways you can leverage this handy feature for unbelievable results:

• How Frazer Brookes leveraged Instagram Recurring Notifications to land 2,029 subscribers in 14 days with zero ad spend
  
• The no-frills giveaway strategy that landed 491.88% ROI for GeForce Now powered by Pentanet

The post How to broadcast with Instagram (BETA 2024) appeared first on Manychat Blog.

Hence, here’s how you can learn to write cold emails that work.

1. Segment your email list for personalization

First, you need to focus on your email list. The cold email usually means emailing people who have not interacted with your business. This means that cold emailing isn’t about emailing your current subscribers but rather potential subscribers and potential customers.

Consequently, your email list will consist of addresses belonging to people who either don’t know about you or have a vague idea about you.

Nevertheless, you still need to segment your list, primarily if you built it yourself instead of buying it. Some people on your list may have even interacted with you, but only once and not in a meaningful way.

You need to divide all these types of users into different categories and cold email them separately. Furthermore, try to personalize your cold emails as much as possible. If you know just a few details about the person, use them to your advantage.

2. Work on your subject and from lines

The next thing to think about when it comes to the cold emails themselves is customization. Namely, the customization of your subject and “From” lines. Both are meant to encourage recipients to open and read your emails.

Therefore, they need to be as effective as possible. Otherwise, your open rates might end up being very low, which will lead to the failure of your cold emailing strategy.

If you have no experience with the subject and “From” lines, you can hire an experienced writer from the custom writing reviews site Best Writers Online, who will help you work on them.

Your subject line needs to be short and precise. It should tease the topic of your email and intrigue the user to make them open the email. Your “From” line can help you establish a connection with your audience, so try to use a person’s name instead of just your brand name.

3. Respect the person you are writing to

Even though this is such a basic concept, many marketers forget how important it is to respect the person they are writing to. You can’t just use the entire email to market, market, and market. You need to bring value to the user.

Likewise, you should follow these tips:

• Respect their time: Understand that they don’t have much time to spend on your email. That’s why you need to keep it short and precise. What you want to say can likely be said in fewer words.
• Don’t assume too much: Don’t think for your recipient. But while you need to assume that they know some things, you should still explain to the others. It’s about finding that perfect balance.
• Give first, ask second: As mentioned above, don’t demand something from the user but rather deliver value to them first. Give them a discount, a free e-book, an excerpt of your latest interview with an industry insider, etc. Before you ask them to buy your products or services, you must offer them something.
• Please get to the point right away: It’s best to start your email with why you are writing to the person. Get to the point immediately and reiterate what you want again in the email. Of course, you should still remember about offer value first.

4. Remain a human being while writing

Another prominent mistake marketers tend to make is writing their cold emails as if they are robots. Nobody talks like that – not even in the business world!

People want to read something that sounds natural. If you don’t have enough experience, you can hire an expert writer from the writing services reviews site Writing Judge who will do the writing for you.

Otherwise, follow these tips:

• Sound like a human: Try to write how you talk to someone. This isn’t a report – you are having a conversation.
• Avoid big words: Using big words can make you sound like you know what you are talking about. On the other hand, they can make you seem dumb if you misuse them or overuse buzzwords that everyone is tired of.
• Reference real events: Refer to what is happening right now to show why your products or services are relevant.
• Utilize humor: Use a bit of humor here and there to lighten up the mood and connect with your audience personally. It can also help you show your personality.
• Make compliments: Make genuine compliments, but don’t go overboard. Everyone likes to be praised, but you need to do it sincerely.

5. Use tools to help you with email marketing

Email marketing, like any other type of marketing, is much easier when using tools to help you. That’s why you should look for email marketing software you like that you can integrate into your strategy and start using it to make your activities easier to organize and execute. Here is a short list of some of the most popular tools used by cold email marketers:

• MailChimp: A tool that helps you set up, execute, and track the performance of your email marketing campaigns, including cold emails.
• Grammarly: A tool that enables you to check all your texts for linguistic mistakes, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word choice mistakes.
• Canva: This tool allows you to create pro-level graphics without experience, thanks to its numerous templates and customization options.

6. End with your CTA and signature

Every cold email is much like any regular email – it needs to end with a call to action. Your CTA must be present throughout your email, but the end of your letter should have it.

Of course, you shouldn’t go overboard with your CTAs, or you might get on your audience’s nerves by repeating something repeatedly like a parrot.

If you need help writing your emails, you can contact the custom writing reviews site Trust My Paper to find a writer who will be perfect for you.

With their assistance, you can perfect your emails and add as many CTAs as it would be reasonable to add. Moreover, take some time to work on your signature. Here, you should put your name, title, and contact info.

7. Determine the best time to send emails

Lastly, don’t send out cold emails whenever you feel like it. Instead, try to determine the best email sending time for them. There are times during the day and during the week when your target audience is most likely to check their inbox and open your email to read it. Do your research and identify this time to schedule your emails to be sent during those timeframes.

Final thoughts on writing cold emails

Cold emailing is a great technique to use if you are doing it right. Utilize the tips in this article to help you get started, create cold emails that work, and start reaching out.

The post What is the Art of Writing a Cold Email? appeared first on Manychat Blog.

Best and Worst Days to Post on Instagram

Some days and times are better for posting on social media than others. If you take no other factors into account, 10 a.m.to 3 p.m. on weekdays is the peak time to reach the most followers. Weekdays are usually better than weekends and posting on Tuesday and Wednesday will likely get you the best Instagram engagement rates. For almost every industry, Sunday is usually considered the worst day to post. Here is a breakdown of the best—and the worst—times to post on Instagram on every day of the week.

Monday:

• Best time to post: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (peaking at noon)
• Worst time to post: Monday 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Tuesday (best day overall):

• Best time to post: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (peaking at 9 a.m.)
• Worst time to post: 1 p.m.

Wednesday:

• Best time to post: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (peaking at 11 a.m.)
• Worst time to post: 10 a.m.

Thursday:

• Best time to post: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (peaking at 11 a.m.)
• Worst time to post: 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Friday:

• Best times to post: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (peaking at 2 p.m.)
• Worst time to post: 9 a.m.

Saturday:

• Best time to post: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (consistent engagement)
• Worst time to post: 8 p.m.

Sunday (worst day overall):

• Best time to post: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (consistent engagement)
• Worst time to post: 4 p.m.

Why The Location of Your Audience Can Decide When to Post

The one key to getting the best engagement is to post when your target audience is most likely to read it. And the days and times listed above are not the best if most of your followers are in another country, fast asleep. Here are the best times to posting your Instagram content globally, depending on where in the world your audience is. (Note: The times below are in the Central Time zone, not local to the region).

• United States/Canada (Western): 12 a.m. to 6 a.m.
• United States/Canada (Central): 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.
• United States/Canada (Eastern): 4 a.m. to 9 a.m.
• South America: 4 a.m.
• United Kingdom: 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.
• Europe (Western): 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Europe (Eastern): 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.
• Middle East: 3 a.m.
• Africa: 6 a.m.
• South Asia: 3 a.m.
• Southeast Asia/East Asia: 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
• India: 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
• Australia: 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Best Instagram Posting Times By Industry

Because various industries will get different results on different times and days, where you work can determine when to post on Instagram Generally speaking, the best time for any industry to post is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, but there are certain days and times where each industry is most likely to get views, likes and comments on its content. The list below is based on a compilation of statistics on unique times and days for each industry to maximize engagement with its audience

Tech

Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Retail

Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Health care

Mondays, Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Education

Mondays at 8 a.m., Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., Saturday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Non-profit

Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Media/Entertainment

Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Best Times to Post Various Types of Instagram Content

Reels

The overall best time to post Instagram Reels is in the mornings. Mondays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. is the best posting time, but 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. also works well on both weekdays and weekends. Wednesday is often considered the worst day to post Reels can also do well in the afternoon on Fridays at 2 p.m. or Sunday at 3 p.m.. In the evening, Mondays at 9 p.m., Wednesdays at 10 p.m. and Saturdays at 7 p.m. are also peak times to post Instagram Reels. Try to post five to seven Reels a week, and make sure that you repost a Reel three to five days after you first put it up.

Video

Videos generate higher engagement during lunch hours (11:30 a.m.to 2 p.m.) and in the evening (7 p.m. and 9 p.m.), than any other times. This is because videos are either watched during longer lunch hours or in the evenings. The best days to post Instagram videos are Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Stories

Instagram Stories generate better engagement on weekdays rather than on weekends. The best times to post an Instagram story tends to be before work (5 a.m. to 7 a.m.), during lunch hours (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) or in the early afternoon (1 p.m. to 3 p.m.).

Live

Instagram Live is a great tool to help connect with your audience—so it’s important to go live only when they’re not preoccupied with other things. That means work hours are a bad time to post (though you might get a decent engagement rate after 4 p.m.). So is posting during dinner time (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.). The peak time to go live on Instagram is in the evening, after 8 p.m. up until 11 p.m.. You might also get good results posting during the lunch hour, with 12 p.m. being the optimal time.

Other Tips on When to Post on Instagram

Use Instagram Insights

Once you have more than 100 Instagram followers, you can use Instagram Insights to see the demographics of who interacts with your post. It will also let you know when your audience is most online and what your engagement rates are, both of which can tell you when to post on Instagram. While there might be statistics on the best time to post, Insights will work better to determine the best posting time for your brand and business. So make sure you monitor your Instagram analytics to set up a schedule and overall strategy for posting.

Different content works at different times

Science has shown that most people have high working memory in the morning and low working memory in the evening. What does that mean? Basically, this is when your cognitive skills and executive functions are at their highest. In other words, you think better in the morning and feel more in the afternoon. So post your more intellectual and thoughtful content in the morning, when Instagram users are at their sharpest. Your inspirational content, the posts that are designed to get a more emotional response, get maximum engagement in late afternoon and evening.

Post consistently

Trying to find the best times to post on social media s far less important than posting consistently. If you find a right time that works for you—when your post gets the best engagement—make sure to post at that time consistently. Posting on Instagram every day is important, though perhaps not as important on the weekends. And you’re more likely to grow your audience if you post multiple times a day. You don’t have to post at the same time everyday, but it works better if your followers start to expect your content on a regular basis. And nothing will stall your Instagram account faster than extended periods of silence. One thing that can help is scheduling social media content in advance and creating a calendar of when you want to post various types of content. 

Remember, finding the perfect time for each Instagram isn’t always possible. But knowing when your audience is most likely to be online and react to your content is one way to maximize engagement.

Find out how ManyChat automation can help you organize your Instagram post!

The post Best Times to Post on Instagram appeared first on Manychat Blog.

It might seem intimidating to produce great Instagram captions over and over again for each Instagram post. And it does take creativity and planning. But if you remember a few tips, your captions can help your Instagram posts turn Instagram users into Instagram followers—and perhaps convert them into potential customers and fans as well.

Here’s a checklist of strategies to follow to create effective Instagram captions for all your posts:

Follow a template for most of your Instagram captions

There are a few questions you should ask yourself before even starting to write:

What is the purpose of this post?

This is probably the most important aspect of writing an engaging Instagram caption—and of the image you’re putting up. Are you trying to showcase a product or share some information?

What’s the ideal caption length?

Instagram captions can be up to 2,200 characters in length. But while long-form Instagram captions have become more popular, it’s important to remember that longer doesn’t always mean better. Some topics might do better with short Instagram captions: a thoughtful quote or a cheery observation. But in other cases, a longer caption that resembles a blog post might be necessary to tell a story.

Does your caption reflect your brand voice?

Your caption should be written in a tone that harmonizes with your brand voice. And your brand voice is often determined by who your ideal customer is and what you want them to do. Whether light and quirky or insightful and academic, your brand voice should determine the tone of every Instagram caption.

How does your caption complement the image?

One commonality of better Instagram captions is that they all complement the image. Not only is the writing catchy and the subject interesting, but the caption sells the story behind the image and makes the post more than just a sum of its parts.

Make sure your caption starts strong

Nothing is more important than the first sentences of your Instagram caption. In fact, Instagram will cut your caption off after the first two or three lines. So a good caption needs to start with a strong hook: a factoid or statement that immediately captures the reader’s attention. This is not where you sell your product—that comes later. Instead, try to spark the reader’s curiosity about your Instagram post.

Here are some tips for your very first sentence:

1. Ask a question: Nothing complicated or too deep. A good question is often a great social media strategy—it will stop your reader and make them think about the answer.
2. Keep it short: Your first sentence should be short—it’s all about catching the eye.
3. Use a quote: Nothing too long, but preferably something thought-provoking.
4. Try an unusual statistic: Find one that’s not well known about a popular topic.
5. Be exciting: Whether your first line is a question or statement, your goal is to evoke strong emotions and anticipation.

The following sentences should be just as urgent, though they can be longer. This is where you lead your audience to the topic of your post—and tell them why the image matters. Your most important information should always be near the beginning of your caption.

Adjust your Instagram copy to increase engagement

Instagram would be just images if captions didn’t add value to the post. And value is what determines a post’s engagement. There are many different ways to provide value to your reader, whether it’s detailed information about an interesting topic or entertainment through humor or inspiration. But there are some specific ingredients for a great caption that generates engagement:

Include calls to action

Assuming your audience knows how to engage with you is a big mistake. Instead, midway or toward the end of your post, you should be asking the reader to do something specific. A call to action will provide a next step for your Instagram followers and can lead to conversions and sales. Ask your readers to double tap, to click on a link, to enter their email or to share a hashtag, and you’ve created an engagement with your audience that will continue beyond the post.

Mention influencers

While tags are included in images, mentions are included in captions. When you mention Instagram users who have a lot of followers and a strong social media presence, they will see your post and perhaps promote it. Even if they don’t, mentioning influencers will increase the reach of your post. Influencer marketing mentions will increase brand awareness with your target audience. And an Instagram influencer who likes your product might even become a brand ambassador.

User-generated content is always valuable

When it comes to creating brand loyalty, there are few things better than user-generated content. This is content created by other Instagram users, whether your followers, customers or even your employees. You can encourage user-generated content about your brand with contests that encourage Instagram users to respond to your posts, or by requesting reviews. You can then repost the best user-generated content—but make sure you ask for permission first and give credit when posting.

Provide savable information

When ranking your post, Instagram gives weight to the number of comments it generated—but also consider how many users have saved your post. So while you want comments, you can create a post that is savable (and therefore ranks higher in the Instagram algorithm) by including content that users save because they don’t want to forget it.

Be smart when including hashtags

If the first section of your caption is the hook—catchy sentences designed to arouse reader interest—and the middle section is valuable content designed to improve engagement, the last section of your Instagram caption should be hashtags. Instagram will allow you to add up to 20 hashtags, but few posts that should use that many. In fact, most Instagram posts use no more than seven, and too many hashtags might lead Instagram followers to categorize your post as spam. 

Some quick hashtag tips:

1. Use a mix of specific hashtags that are unique to your post and more general hashtags that are trending in popularity.
2. Create a branded hashtag that refers to your company directly and encourages readers to share your content.
3. You should have most of your hashtags together in your captions, preferably at the end of your caption.
4. Research, research, research! You can generate the right Instagram hashtags by:
   • Researching what your competitors are using
   • Using Instagram analytics and search to research which hashtags get the best results
   • Tailor your hashtags to appeal to your customers and support your company goals
   • Use hashtag suggestions tools to generate ideas
   • Remember that hashtags can be used in your responses to comments, in Instagram profiles, and in the image itself.

Plan your Instagram content ahead of time

Successful social media marketing depends on consistent posting. Your Instagram account should post one to two times a day, every day. It can be hard to generate new content unless you come up with an overarching content strategy and write your content well before you post. This will give you a chance to look at your post with fresh eyes when you make edits. You should also remember to post at the best time of the day—not to mention the best time of the week and the best time of the month. Creating captions in a hurry and posting fast is a strategy that rarely works, and usually results in unpolished and less-than-professional posts.

In summary, the best Instagram captions will make your target audience view your Instagram post as valuable content rather than just clickbait. With snappy opening lines, substantive content, and carefully selected hashtags, your caption can result not only in more likes, comments and shares, but can also start a meaningful interaction between your readers and your brand.

Find how ManyChat can help you improve your Instagram content!

The post How to Write Instagram Captions That Increase Engagement appeared first on Manychat Blog.

Reposting a post on Instagram can be tricky because Instagram wants you to focus on creating your own Instagram content. However, there are times when it might be helpful to repost. By reposting from brands and accounts that complement your business, you can set up partnerships that could be useful in the future. Meanwhile, reposting from influencers can help pass on valuable Instagram content to your followers and diversify your feed. In addition, this also help establish your brand and communicate your core values and mission to your followers.

Here are some other reasons to repost on Instagram:

• If you or your company is tagged in the post
• To cultivate a community of like-minded Instagram users
• To save time when you can’t create original content
• To highlight any user-generated content that applies to your business
• To promote hashtags related to your industry or your brand
• To use content that has already been proven to increase engagement

What to know before reposting

Before you repost on Instagram, there are some legal issues and etiquette considerations. First, Instagram’s terms of use clearly states: “You can’t post someone else’s private or confidential information without permission.” Second, Instagram’s TOS also makes it clear that each Instagram user is responsible for the content on their feed. What does this mean for reposting? Consequently, this means that the content creator who puts up an original post owns the copyright for that post, and that you cannot use photos or captions from a post from another account without permission. This includes accounts that provide stock photos and anything that you might find on Pinterest.

Here is a checklist of proper reposting etiquette:

1. First, contact the account of the post you’re interested in. Some people recommend a comment, while others say a direct message is better. Permission isn’t always required to repost, but having written permission will help you avoid any problems later. You should state which image you want, what the purpose is for and that you will give them credit.
2. Give credit! It’s extremely important that you give credit to the Instagram account of the original poster in your repost. You should tag the account in the caption and in the photo. Even if the photo is something related to your brand, the photo is original content from another account, so you should give them credit.
3. Add a #regram hashtag to make it clear to your followers that this content comes from another account.

Things to avoid when reposting on Instagram

• Never edit the photo or change the original caption. You can always add your own information if you have space.
• Never repost paid ads.
• Don’t use a repost to direct sell your product or business.
• Don’t fail to specify what you want to repost. For example, a lot of accounts will let you repost images but not their captions or their written content.
• Don’t plunder the same account for new content. Repost from a diversity of sources.

How do I repost on Instagram?

Here are several ways to repost on Instagram:

Photo to Feed

1. Screenshot your post.
2. Resize and edit the post.
3. Create a new post.
4. Find the screenshot.
5. Create a new caption.\
6. Give credit by tagging the creator of the image and original poster.

Photo, Video or Reel to Instagram Story

1. Tap on the paper airplane icon below the photo, video or Reel you want to repost to your story.
2. Select “Add post to your Story.”

Reel to Feed

1. Screen record the Reel.
2. Edit any black space on the screen.
3. Tap “New Post” and select “Reel.”
4. Edit the new post (filters, stickers, etc.) as necessary.
5. Credit the original poster of the video.

Story to Feed

1. If you’re tagged in the story, it should be in your direct messages.
2. If you’re not tagged in the Story you will need to use a third-party app.

Third-party Instagram apps to help with reposting

Here are some third-party apps that will help you repost an Instagram Story that you aren’t tagged in or to repost an Instagram Reel to your Instagram feed without recording it first.

• Repost for Instagram. You can access both Instagram and your own photos through the app, which will allow you to customize your post. It will automatically give credit to the original Instagram account. However, there are quite a few ads.
• Reposta. You can find this repost app on Google Play. Although it’s very simple to use, there aren’t many customization options for your repost.
• Regrann. This app allows you to save posts and download full size images to your Instagram feed, but you must upload them manually.
• Reposter for Instagram: Download and Save. With this app you search for posts and tags, then repost later. But, even though there are a lot of options to customize your posts, the constant subscription pop-ups can get annoying
• InstaRepost. You can repost photos and videos without a watermark and from other social media platforms, including Pinterest, Facebook and WhatsApp. You have to upgrade to get rid of the watermark though.

In summary, reposting on Instagram can be incredibly useful to your business–if it’s done right!

Want More Tips Using Instagram For Your Business?

The post How (And Why) You Should Repost on Instagram appeared first on Manychat Blog.