DMs can have a bad name for being salesy or sleazy. But they can be a great way to build a relationship with your followers.
So, how can you use DMs to stand out to, rather than put off, your audience?
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1. Don’t Sell
This is particularly rife on LinkedIn at the moment, where you connect with someone and immediately receive a sales message from them. Not cool! Sure, the odd person might respond positively. But do you really want to switch off the rest of your audience straight away?
Instead, send new connections and followers a message that simply says “Hello”! Thank them for connecting/following, add a brief message and sign off. No leading questions that make them feel a sell is coming next. You’ll find that most people will respond to these messages and the relationship will start to be built.
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2. Send A Voice Note
Instead of typing out your message, speak it! This is often quicker to get the message across, is more natural and relaxed, and is less likely to be ignored than a text-based message. Hearing your voice will also help the relationship develop quicker. There will be a sense of knowing that text can not create.
If you’re nervous, have a quick practice of what you want to say or make a few notes. The more you do, the easier you’ll find this.
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3. Send A Video
An even stronger way of building that relationship is letting them see your face AND hear your voice! Try sending a video to new followers saying hello. You could record a video each time, making it applicable to that user. Or you could record a video that you send out each time. While this would be far less personal, it would be a huge time saver, and could even be managed by a VA or assistant.
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4. Build Your List
If you have a new lead capture, or are running a webinar or event, DMs can be a great way to let people know! Simply sharing in a feed post doesn’t ensure that all your connections or followers will be aware. By sending individual messages, you can let them know that you have something valuable for them that is free!
DM the followers/connections that you think the lead capture would be most relevant to and make it clear in the DM that the download/webinar, etc. is completely free.
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5. Be Genuine
We often receive DMs that lead on to the sell. We could be having a nice conversation with someone, and next thing they’re jumping in with the sell. Instead, be genuine. Start conversations because you’re genuinely interested in the person. Don’t go through a process of building rapport that moves straight to the sell.
The reality is, relationships will lead to sales. So just work on the relationship. Be genuinely interested in the person and what they have to say. It will show and it will make a difference!
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