On Instagram, you might have noticed a lot of users prompting you to comment or reply with a specific word in exchange for a link. That’s because Manychat is huge on Instagram right now, and if you’re a business owner, you should jump on using it, too! I have seen massive boosts in both my engagement and my email list. I’ll share how to increase Instagram story views and gain new leads in the video!

Normally, my Instagram stories get around 400-500 views. Recently, I used a new tactic that brought me over 1,500 views on a single story AND it generated tons of new email leads, too. I’m going to share how I did it and how you can do it on your own account!

Using Manychat

Have you noticed users on Instagram prompting you to reply to them with a specific word in exchange for a link? Then, you receive a DM from them shortly after! They’re using Manychat to automate these responses. The creator selects a keyword, prompts users to reply via comment or direct message, and when they do, they automatically receive a message from the creator in their DMs. Manychat has been popular in reels for some time now, but recently, it has become especially useful in Instagram stories, too.

Manychat for Business Owners

For business owners, it’s a great idea to use this system for sending opt-ins, paid offers, or affiliate links.

Recently, I tested an Instagram story automation on my own account. I invited followers to DM me a certain word in order to get access to my free email class. That story blew up, and gained over 1,500 views plus 30 new email list leads! I followed up with another story using a new Manychat automation, inviting followers to get more information about how to use Manychat for their own accounts. That story gained over 2,000 views, and led to 140 people DMing me for that link!

For context, I normally see around 400-500 story views and 10-15 link clicks on a single story. Getting 30 opt-ins to my email class was huge, plus, I got to follow it up with a teaching moment for my audience!

Why Does Manychat Work So Well?

So, why did the Manychat automation work so well? How can you imitate it on your own account? Let’s get into it!

Manychat is an approved Instagram program. This is very important! Using Manychat will not negatively affect your Instagram engagement. You will not be penalized for using Manychat in conjunction with your account.

When you use Manychat in your Instagram stories, you prompt followers to reply to your story. When they reply, Instagram sees that as engagement. As it clocks your increase in engagement, it pushes your story up to more people.

This is amazing news for business owners! Our goal is to use Instagram to drive sales. This tool not only helps us increase conversions, but it boosts our engagement, too!

I only started using Manychat in my stories recently, but I can already think of so many ways to use it in order to reach my warm leads and get them more engaged with my account!

Manychat Boosts Engagement

Traditionally, I have used link stickers on my Instagram stories. I noticed that if the first story in a series of stories has a link sticker, my views for the rest of those stories are low. Using a link sticker takes people OFF of the Instagram app. Even though it’s a feature offered by Instagram, their algorithm still recognizes that as people leaving the app, and therefore, pushes your story to less people.

Instead, when you prompt someone to reply to your story, that works in your favor! You get a story reply, plus, the user does not immediately leave the app. It’s a huge win for business owners who want to share their offers or freebies with people on Instagram.

Building Your List

Email list building should always be a priority in your marketing, even above sharing your paid offers. My recommendation is to use Manychat to share your freebies as much as possible.

Experiment with the days and ways you share your Manychat automation. When you post a series of stories, make it one of the very first things you share. You’ll see the most engagement on that story, and everything you share in the hours following will gain more visibility as well.

Try It Out!

Click here to try Manychat for your account! It starts at only $15 per month. It’s made a huge difference on my account, and I’m excited to see the impact it has on your account, too.

We have a tutorial on how to set up story reply automations here, plus, you can grab both a reel reply template AND two different types of DM automations by clicking the links listed here.

We’ll see you in next week’s video on Tuesday at 8 AM!