3 Funnels to Create on Instagram: How to Use Automated DMs for Listings, Lead Gen & More
Successful agents know that systems and automation can give them back their time and lead them to more closings.
When you have funnels running in the backend of your business, you can focus more on the front end.
This strategy works incredibly well for social media marketing, especially Instagram.
It also centers your focus to proactively start conversations with potential customers, grow your database, and increase your business.
One strategy generating massive results is through prompting people to engage with you through DMS (direct messages), and you can automate how this flow works using automated DMs based on triggers that you set.
This is not a spammy chatbot approach or too techy to try.
It's a way for you to automate a strategy that can generate more business, and I'm sharing three easy ideas to get you started.
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Instagram is a powerful place to attract new homebuyers and sellers to you and expand your reach.
However, to maximize its full potential, we want to take those conversations off of Instagram. Likes and follows alone aren't going to help you reach your production goals. Instead, we need people to actually reach out to work with you or refer business to you. That's why I always recommend including calls-to-action in strategic posts to guide people to take the next step.
A basic example would be if you shared a listing on Instagram, you'd want to include information about how somebody could learn more and see the home. The call-to-action would be scheduling a showing, so you might tell them to call you or head to a link-in-bio.
While that might seem like a simple process, the action of getting out of Instagram, opening up their phone, looking back at your number in the post, and calling is a lot of work. People are also less likely to head to any link in bios when they're engaging and scrolling through social.
Today's strategy solves this dilemma and taps into a feature that people not only use but also gives you the opportunity to form a relationship, and it all takes place in the DMs (direct messages).
Instead of sending people off the platform, you meet them where they are and still accomplish your same goals of speaking with them, getting their information, and nurturing them down the sales funnel. We want to get people into your DMs so you can have an actual conversation!
How Automated DMs Work for Real Estate
Automated DMs are the start of your funnel. You encourage people to take a specific action using keywords. So, you can encourage people to use this keyword and by doing so, it starts the funnel. From there, you can start a conversation, share a lead capture, or get really creative with what happens next.
To best explain how it works, here are a few ways I'm using it on my instagram - @IdeasforRealEstate.
I have a free resource of a week of complete social posts. I share this resource on Instagram in reels and posts frequently. Instead, of sending people to my link in bio, I encourage them to comment "SOCIAL POSTS," and then I DM them the resource. I use to manually send this to everybody who commented. And while I used a 'saved reply' in Instagram's messenger, it was still very time consuming, especially if I had a very popular Reel people were commenting on. Now, I use an automated DM tool to do this for me! So, if you comment on any of my posts and use the keyword, SOCIAL POSTS, the freebie will be automatically sent to you, and I can start engaging with you in the DMs as well. I also have it set that I'll even automatically comment back on your original comment and let you know to check your DMs!
Another way to see an idea in action is to send me a DM on Instagram with the keyword, "CHAT." And you'll get an automated voice-note back from me with a quick question so we can start a conversation. You can get incredibly creative with the actions people take to trigger the keyword and then what happens next! So, send me a DM with the keyword, "CHAT," and give it a try.
Using ManyChat to Set-Up Your Automated DMs
There are a lot of different automations you can set up, from sending a simple reply when somebody comments on your posts to creating more complicated automations. My favorite tool, and the one that I'm using myself, is ManyChat. If you haven't heard of ManyChat yet, it's a game changer for creating strategic automations that are still authentic to you! Click here to try ManyChat for your own marketing.
It works by setting up a custom keyword and when people use it throughout the platform, it will trigger an automated DM from you to that user.
You can write your own automated responses, send back videos or voice memos, and even leverage some in-app lead gen tools. The platform offers a lot, but I don't want to get into the weeds of everything that you can do. Instead, I want to start with some automations that you can practically start using in your business right away.
So, let's dive into three ways you can implement automated DMs to enhance what you're probably already doing on Instagram!
Idea 1 - Capture Buyer Leads & Schedule Showings for Your Listings
The next time you have a listing you're promoting, leveraging an automated DM funnel can help you schedule more showings and encourage more potential buyers to reach out to you.
Let's say you create a post or reel sharing a new listing. In the caption, we want to encourage people to either schedule a showing or learn more. What you can do is say, "comment SHOWING to view the home in person" in your caption. From there, you can set ManyChat to send an automated DM to that person to schedule the showing.
There are a number of sales strategies you can use, but you could make it simple by automatically replying with a message asking about specific availability. I think sending an automated voice memo from you would really stand out here. What would you say next to somebody requesting a showing? Record yourself saying that and automate it!
You could also try another approach for people who aren't quite ready to see homes yet. In your caption, you could encourage them to comment INSERT STREET ADDRESS or DETAILS, and then send them more info. It could be a 3D home tour link you send their way or a link to your website with more info. However, if you take this approach, don't just send a link and be done with it. Remember to ask a question to keep the conversation going.
Idea 2 - Increase Traffic to Your Open Houses & Events
Automated DMs can also be triggered outside of comments. People can reply to one of your Instagram Stories using one of your custom keywords or even comment on an Instagram Live.
Filming an Instagram Live is a great way to increase the exposure to an upcoming open house or when you're currently at an open house.
So, get in front of that camera or walk through the home while you talk about that open house. Instead of people having to look at all the details in a post caption or somewhere else, you can say comment "OPEN HOUSE" and I'll DM you the address, open house time, and more info on the home.
If you set this up before your open house, when you go live and people comment, they'll automatically get this info. It's also a marketing strategy that you can share with your sellers at a listing apointment!
Likewise, you can promote the open house or any event you might be hosting on Instagram Stories. Instead of sending people to a link or somewhere else, encourage them to reply to your story with your custom hashtag. This is a much more engaging way to get people to take the next step and to increase traffic to whatever kind of event you're hosting.
Idea 3 - Share a Freebie to Generate Leads
Lastly, one of the most impactful ideas you can try is to get the contact info for more potential buyers and sellers. From here, you can have a one-on-one conversation with them and add them to your database to proactively nurture.
Sharing free resources, such as guides and exclusive content, provides value while generating leads.
In the Marketing Suite, our members can leverage strategic and unique lead capture templates that they can use across social to stand out. One of these resources is our Listing Marketing Plan. Unlike a listing presentation, this is a high-quality marketing piece that clearly demonstrates exactly what you'll do to market a seller's home. It can be used on social to generate seller leads.
For example, we have all kinds of social post templates that provide value to sellers. Then, in the caption, we encourage leads by sharing the Listing Marketing Plan. So, using automated DMs, we would say comment "PLAN" for an exclusive look at my signature marketing plan to get your home sold!
So, you can do the same thing as well. Share a valuable resource, encourage people to comment with your keyword, and then send the resource over as a way to generate a lead. In ManyChat, you can also set it up so people have to reply with contact info before you send them a resource. That way, you don't even have to worry about other landing pages and more tech set-up.
Another lead gen strategy we're seeing our Marketing Suite members have success with is through our Local Homebuyer Handbook. Instead of being a traditional home buyers guide that people really aren't interested in, our template has prompts for valuable local content and market info that keeps the resource fresh and relevant. If you want to give one of our lead gen strategy templates a try to incorporate with automated DMs, click here and use code PODCAST25 to save 25% off your first month.
No matter what you do, the key here for this strategy to work is to offer something that people will really want so that, in turn, they'll give you what you really want - their contact info.
Giving Automated DMs a Try for Real Estate
Each of these ideas can help you streamline your communication on Instagram and, more importantly, work towards actively starting a relationship with more homebuyers and sellers.
So, to recap, try this strategy for:
Promoting listings and scheduling showings
Increasing open house and event attendance
Lead generation through freebies
And to see it in action, again send me a DM on my Instagram @IdeasforRealEstate with the keyword "CHAT" to see how it works. From there, I'd also be happy to answer any questions you might have.
I'll be using these automated DMs in my own business to connect with more people like you, and I encourage you to give it a try as well!
Amplify Your Marketing & Keep the Momentum Going
Since 2014, I've experienced the challenges and opportunities in real estate marketing. And that journey inspired me to create The Marketing Suite, an innovative solution for real estate marketing. Inside, agents have exactly what they need to attract more customers, create memorable brands, and foster relationships with their spheres that lead to closings.
Marketing Suite agents get daily social posts, innovative strategies, email marketing, high-end materials, templates, live trainings, a supportive community, and more. Use code JOIN25 for 25% off your first month, and elevate your marketing without stress, overwhelm, and tired tactics!
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