Looking to generate more leads? Consider Click to Instagram Direct Ads, one of the most effective lead generation ads. This blog post explains what are Click to Instagram Direct Ads and why use them for lead generation. Plus, we’ll walk you through the process of setting up a Click to Instagram Direct Ad and taking your Instagram Ads to the next level using respond.io. This includes sending automated surveys to Instagram leads, managing Instagram messages at scale and extending the messaging window.

Want to make the most out of your Click to Instagram Direct Ads? Get a free respond.io account and connect your Instagram Business Account to respond.io now.

Click to Instagram Direct Ads: An Introduction

Instagram offers different ways for customers to connect with your business - customers can comment directly on your content or send a direct message (DM) to your inbox.

Many businesses prefer to chat 1:1 with their customers as it's easier to track & manage conversations. Thankfully, Instagram has features that encourage your customers to send you a DM. This includes Instagram Profile Links and Click to Instagram Direct Ads.

What Are Instagram Profile Links

Instagram Profile Links bring people to your Instagram account. Once they are on your account, they’ll find the Message button conveniently placed at a highly visible location. Clicking on it will take visitors directly to your Instagram DM inbox.

Instagram Profile Links are great for connecting with your customers. You can place them on your website or inside newsletters to direct people to chat with you. But if you want to eliminate the extra step of taking customers to your Instagram account, consider Click to Instagram Direct Ads instead.

What Are ig.me Links

Instagram has recently introduced a new type of link for customers to get in touch with you directly, the ig.me link. When the ig.me link is clicked, it skips the profile page and opens a 1:1 chat window instead.

This link will also be the shortest official Instagram link you can get without using a third-party service.

To use an ig.me link, add your username to the end of ig.me/m/, for example, ig.me/m/respond.io. You can display or share this link wherever you want customers to contact you.

What Are Click to Instagram Direct Ads

Click to Instagram Direct Ads allow people to start a conversation with you in your Instagram DM inbox. They can be shown in Instagram Stories or Feeds.

When swiped up or tapped, Click to Instagram Direct Ads open an input bar where leads can write you a custom message. Once they send the message, the new conversation will appear in your Instagram DM inbox.

Conversations opened through an Instagram Ad will come with a thumbnail image of the ad. The thumbnail is accompanied by a disclaimer that says you replied to their promotion.

Once leads start a conversation, you can message them back with qualifying questions. You need someone there to answer messages unless you connect to a third-party CRM that allows automatic lead qualification. More on that later.

Despite the need to have agents on standby, Click to Instagram Direct Ads have a number of advantages over conventional lead generation campaigns. Read on to find out why you should run an Instagram Ad campaign for lead generation.

Why Use Click to Instagram Direct Ads

Click to Instagram Direct Ads help you start a conversation with more leads and allow faster interactions with leads, helping you to move them down the funnel faster.

We'll look at how typical B2B businesses advertise to understand how Click to Instagram Direct Ads bring more leads. First, you show ads to target buyers. When clicked, the ad will take leads to a contact form. Once you get their email or phone number, you can start connecting with them.

However, the drop-off rate is high in conventional advertising. Many are unmotivated to fill in a long contact form or have privacy concerns. Plus, leads may inadvertently provide the wrong contact details, in which case you can’t get back to them.

Click to Instagram Direct Ads eliminate the need to fill in a contact form, thereby lowering the drop-off rate. Moreover, you don't have to worry about getting the wrong contact details.

Click to Instagram Direct Ads also push leads down the funnel faster because the interactions on Instagram are faster. You'll get an instant reply from leads most of the time. By contrast, it takes days to get an email reply in a conventional ad campaign.

Want to get started with Instagram advertising? We’ll guide you through the process in the following section.

How to Set Up A Click to Instagram Direct Ad

Click to Instagram Direct Ads are only supported on Instagram Business Accounts. If you’re using a Personal Account for business, convert it to a Business Account.

Before setting up an ad, you’ll need to connect your Instagram Business Account to your Facebook Page and Facebook Business Manager Account. Once you’re ready, go to Facebook Ads Manager.

1. Click the green Create button.

2. Create a campaign with the Messages objective.

3. Edit the Campaign Name and Campaign Details.

Where appropriate, declare your Instagram Ad as a Special Ad. You may also set up an A/B test to understand which ad strategies give you the best result. Click Next to continue.

4. Select Click to Message as the Ad Type and Instagram Direct as the Messaging App.

5. Choose the Facebook Page and Instagram account you want to create the ad for.

Edit Budget, Schedule, Audience, Placements, Optimization and Delivery on the same page. Then, click Next.

6. Choose your ad format under Ad Setup. You can opt for a single image or video. Alternatively, create a carousel ad with 2 or more scrollable images.

7. Add media from Ad Creative. Images will be automatically cropped but you can manually edit them.

8. Write the Primary Text. The Call to Action will be Send Message by default.

9. Click the Create button under Message Template.

10. Create a Template. Write a Greeting Message and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If you’ve created a Template, leads will see the Greeting Message and FAQs when they swipe up or tap your ad. Click Save and Finish when you’re done.

Finally, click Publish to launch the Click to Instagram Direct Ad. And that's how you create an ad on Instagram.

After your leads send you a custom message or FAQ, you can respond with qualifying questions to decide if you should pursue them. Want to qualify leads automatically? Create an automated survey on respond.io to qualify a large number of leads faster. Connect your Instagram Business Account to respond.io to get started.

Taking Click to Instagram Direct Ads to the Next Level with Respond.io

Respond.io helps you qualify Instagram leads faster through automated surveys. Plus, we make it possible to manage messages at scale and extend the 24-hour Messaging Window to 7 days.

Send Automated Surveys to Instagram Leads

Most companies don’t have the resources to qualify a large number of leads from Click to Instagram Direct Ads. This is where automated qualifying surveys come in. You can qualify leads automatically by creating surveys and automation rules on respond.io.

Ideally, you’d want to send qualifying surveys to new leads from the ad only and not everyone who sends you a DM. To send surveys to the right person, you need to separate leads and existing customers through an onboarding menu.

Before setting up an onboarding menu, create a new Custom Field to record the results. Navigate to Settings > Contact Fields to do so.

1. Click Add Custom Field.

2. Add Contact Field name and description. Select Text as the Custom Field type.

Click Add when done. You are now ready to set up an onboarding menu. To start, go to the Survey module.

3. Press Add Survey.

4. Fill in the survey name and description. Create a Multiple Choice question with Options. Remember to include an Option related to your ad.

Check the Save as Custom Field box. Then, select the Custom Field you’ve created in step 2 from the dropdown list. Click Create when you’re done.

Next, create an automation rule to send the onboarding menu to all new Contacts. Go to the Automation module to begin.

5. Click Add Rule.

6. Create an automation rule to send the onboarding menu. Add a Rule Name and select Conversation Opened as the Set-Up Trigger.

Once done, click Create. You’ve successfully set up an onboarding menu. The next step is to create a qualifying survey. First, navigate back to the Surveys module.

7. Press Add Survey.

8. Fill in the survey name, description and qualifying questions. You may also create survey success and failure messages.

Once you’ve created the qualifying survey, it's time to create an automation rule to send the survey to new leads.

9. Go to the Automation module and click Add Rule.

10. Add a rule name and an optional description. Then, select Custom Field Changes To as the Set-Up Trigger. Make sure the value of Custom Field matches the ad-related Option you’ve created in step 4.

Then, set up your Action. For a smooth qualification process, we recommend using an automation rule with multiple Actions. For instance, an automation rule that sends an explainer message and Survey, and adds a Tag to qualified leads.

After qualification, it’s time to message your leads to turn them into customers. While Instagram offers native messaging tools like Instagram Message Inbox & Facebook Business Suite Inbox, they aren’t the best option for large businesses. If you are a large business, we recommend using Instagram Direct Message API connected to respond.io.

Manage Instagram Messages At Scale

Instagram Message Inbox & Facebook Business Suite Inbox work fine for small and medium businesses dealing with a low volume of messages. But they lack advanced features like conversation auto-assignment and performance monitoring, making it challenging to manage a high volume of messages.

Connecting the Instagram Direct Message API to respond.io helps large businesses manage Instagram messages at scale. Respond.io offers specially designed features such as Automatic Contact Assignment and Performance Reports, which make managing messages a breeze.

Respond to Messages With Extended Messaging Window

To encourage prompt response, Instagram has implemented a 24-hour Messaging Window for Instagram Messaging API users. This can be problematic if your business is closed during the weekend and the message goes unnoticed.

Fortunately, you can continue messaging your customers within the next 7 days by using a Human Agent Tag. Once you connect your Instagram Direct Message API to respond.io, you can use the Human Agent Tag by default.

Further Reading

If you're interested in using Instagram for Business, check out these articles:

• Everything You Need to Know About Instagram for Business
• Best Messaging Apps for Marketing, Remarketing, Sales, Support & Notifications
• What is Business Messaging