ManyChat hosted its second annual Instagram Summit in April 2022. Charlene Ormo, co-founder and CEO of After Click Media, shared a presentation that explained how to fill your pipeline with leads via Instagram DM Automation by ManyChat.
If you were a PowerPass holder at Instagram Summit, there’s still time to rewatch the on-demand sessions. If not, don’t worry; this article explores some of the tips she shared. (But make sure you get a PowerPass next year!)
But before we dive in, let’s start with a solid foundation.
What is a Chatbot?
Generally speaking, a chatbot is specific software that effectively functions as a digital assistant and facilitates online conversations itself and between users.
When a chatbot is part of Instagram DM Automation, it enables you to host automated conversations on Instagram with your audience.
How effective are chatbots?
Very effective, according to Ormo. She proved her point by sharing how she used a combination of chatbots and ads to generate 20,000+ leads for an infopreneur in less than one month.
Separately, Ormo used chatbots in every part of the funnel to generate 39,000+ leads in approximately three weeks for our Instagram Summit.
How can you replicate Ormo’s success for your business?
Ormo has a few measured steps for using chatbots (or Automation) to increase leads.
Define your end goal
The first step is clarifying your goal. You can use Automation for many things, but you need to choose one goal at a time to create successful chatbots. Some examples of an end goal might be:
- Generating more leads
- Producing more sales
- Relying less on humans (or removing them entirely) from the customer support process
- Automating responses to comments
Once you have a goal, you can measure your progress towards it.
Identify your assets
Take inventory: What do you already have? What can you build? Consider what’s available in your channels, lead magnets, and network. Assets can be existing customers or leads, or items of value you can use as lead magnets.
Maybe you have an established email newsletter audience or a library of on-demand webinars and ebooks. Assets like these can help lure users into your Automation funnel.
Identify your sources of traffic
Where is your audience coming from? Look at all of your channels (email, website, social media, affiliate channels, etc.) and note how users arrive at your content. Keep in mind that some of the assets you listed in the previous step may also be your primary traffic sources.
Map out your chatbot blueprint
Create a guide to use while creating your Automation. Your guide will serve as the roadmap for your chatbot, and you can refer to it while you build the steps the user will take.
Tools you can use for the guide may include:
In this step, you should also take a look at your:
- Traffic sources: To help you understand where your audience is coming from.
- Opt-in point: It will guide the tools you’ll use to capture your audience.
- Customer journey: You’re the one setting the direction — what steps does the customer take to get to the end-point you have in mind?
- End goal: Remind yourself of the end goal to ensure your efforts head in the right direction.
Give your chatbot some personality
Is your chatbot funny? Serious? Neutral? What’s its name? If your brand voice allows for it, add emojis (they work in any language, too).
Once you create a personality, test it. You can always rework it if it doesn’t seem to fit your brand. You want the bot to sound like someone who would work for your business and whom people would enjoy talking to.
Start building
Practice leads to progress. Remember, it’s not about getting things perfect — it’s about getting things done.
Use the ManyChat Flow Builder to create your Automation funnels.
If you’re new to ManyChat, use our free video course to guide you through all the steps for creating Automations.
Test and launch
Don’t forget to test your chatbot flow once you’ve created an Automation (or several). You don’t want to launch your bot if it has a typo or sends users to the wrong URL!
When everything looks correct, launch it, and get ready for users to enter your flows.
Chatbots can be an effective tool for filling your pipeline with leads and sales. If you follow Ormo’s tips, make your Automations personal to your brand, and use a customer journey that makes sense for your business, there’s no limit to the success you can achieve. Test, launch, and watch the leads come in!
Ready to get started with Instagram DM Automation?
