In this article, I’ll show you how to send automated messages using Funnel Freedom, specifically Instagram DMs (Direct Message).
If you’ve been paying for Manychat or any other software to send automated messages, you’re not going to have to anymore because Funnel Freedom can automate your messages as well.
In this tutorial, I’ll describe the exact step-by-step process of how you can automate your Instagram DMs using Funnel Freedom. Needless to say, this process also works for the Go HighLevel software since that’s the parent SaaS framework on which Funnel Freedom is built.
Let’s get into it!
What’s an Automated DM?
If you’re not sure what an automated DM is, let me show you a quick example of one of Funnel Freedom’s users, Becca Dunkin.
She has an Instagram account with almost 500k followers, which is pretty cool. But she gets a ton of people that DM her.
The best part is that you can automate automated DMs.
If you pay close attention to her Instagram bio, you’ll see this:
- DM me “learn” for more info
If someone goes to her Instagram and messages her the word “learn”, she’s going to send an automated DM to whatever she wants.
This will save her time as she won’t have to do it manually.
Automate Instagram DMs Tutorial
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how to set up your Instagram DM using Funnel Freedom.
Step 1: Integrate Your Social Media Accounts with Funnel Freedom
First things first, you need to make sure your Instagram and Facebook accounts are integrated into the Funnel Freedom or Go HighLevel software.
Go to Settings > Integrations and connect your accounts.
If the Facebook and Instagram icons are grey instead of lit up, it means they’re not connected.
If you can’t get your social accounts to connect, most likely, you don’t have a business or creator account. So make sure to go to Instagram and set up your account as either a:
- Business profile, or
- Creator profile
Pro Tip: Make sure to create a Facebook page and link that page to the Instagram account. This will link both pages and make it easier to integrate them to Funnel Freedo more Go HighLevel.
Step 2: Create the Workflow
The next step is to create the actual workflow in the Funnel Freedom software.
In the main dashboard, go to Automation.
This is where you can create multiple workflows:
- Email automation
- “Mini-chat” automation (what we’re focusing on in this article)
With Funnel Freedom, you can do unlimited automations here, in case you have different projects.
To start, click on Create Workflow.
And then Start from Scratch.
You’ll be taken to the workflow builder to build your automation.
Now, rename your workflow (1) so you understand what it is later. After starting to have multiple automations, the last thing you want is to look at your workflow list and have no idea what each one does. In this example, I renamed it to “IG Dm “Freedom1”.
Next, click on Add New Trigger (2) and start typing “customer” (3) in the search box on the right. You want to select the Customer Replied (4)—either search for it or type it; it is the same thing.
After adding the trigger, you need to create some filters.
Click on Add filters, and then select Reply channel and Instagram DM, as you see in the image below.
Just as a side note, using this software, you cannot only automate Instagram DMs but also SMS, calls, voicemails, WhatsApp, conversational AI bots, Google My Business messaging, and many more.
Next, as you saw in Becca’s case, you’ll need to add the word to the automation.
Step 3: Choose Your Trigger Word
Click on Add filters again and select Contains phrase. In this example, I added the word “Freedom1”.
Let me explain why I chose “Freedom1” as the trigger for this particular workflow.
When you’re talking to someone in the DMs, they may use the word “freedom” very often or other related terms such as quitting their job, making money online, or whatever.
You don’t want to send an automated message whenever someone uses the word “freedom”, as it will look a bit weird.
The best tip to select your trigger word is to add something different. Adding the number 1 after the word makes it unique. Think about it, no one will write “freedom1” in a normal DM conversation unless you ask them to.
To truly target your automation to those who want what you’re giving, they’ll have to write that trigger word exactly as it is. This will trigger Funnel Freedom to send a message using Instagram, starting the automation you’re learning to set up.
Don’t forget to save the trigger by clicking Save Trigger on the bottom right.
Step 4: Add a Tag
Next, hit the plus button.
To organize your leads, it’s best practice to add contact tags based on what people are doing. It’s not necessary, but it will keep your contact list organized.
Select Add Contact Tag, and name your tag for internal purposes only, and then select your tag. In this case, I added the tag ig dm “freedom1”.
Now, when someone DMs you, the software will tag them, meaning this person is interested in your products or services.
As I mentioned, it’s not necessary but will keep you organize as you go.
Step 5: Add Your DM
The next step is to add the actual DM.
Click again on the plus sign and search for Instagram DM.
This is the actual message you’re going to send when the workflow is triggered.
In this particular case, I’ll be sending this free course, my lead magnet.
Now you can start writing your DM.
To make it more personal, you can add custom values (those little curly brackets), like first or last names, email, phone, and many more. It will make it more engaging.
After the message, I just put the link to the free course.
The automated message is ready. Don’t forget to toggle the Draft/Publish button to activate it and to save it.
But you can also continue with the messages. For example, I can add a delay of 1 minute and add another Instagram DM to start the conversation with a simple question.
Sending this second message is more natural, as it will look like you’re actually there in real time writing to them.
How To Get People To Engage in DMs?
You want to make sure that people are engaged.
Sometimes, you send them your free lead magnet, and they don’t even click on it.
One strategy to avoid that is to add another Instagram DM to your automated workflow.
Create another time delay, this time of 1 hour, so they have time to consider it. But we don’t want to wait too long—1 hour is the sweet spot.
In this message, you could ask them if they get a chance to go through your lead magnet and if they have initial thoughts about it.
We want to know exactly if people are taking the course. Because if they are watching the course or whatever it is that you’re giving away for free, you’ll know that they have entered your system—they have entered your email list.
You can have this entire workflow where you walk them through the process.
Testing To See If It Works
Let’s head over to Instagram and see if this automation works.
As you can see, after entering the word “funnelfreedom1” in the Instagram DM, the automated message was sent. It took a bit of a delay, so it wasn’t immediately, but we’re talking a couple of seconds.
And there’s your link 🙂
Of course, after a minute, it will start the conversation we set up earlier.
What Happens Next?
Your lead is now inside of your system in Funnel Freedom.
When you go to Conversations inside your dashboard, you’ll see all the conversations that were started through your triggers.
You can literally talk to them inside the Funnel Freedom software.
And after they signed up for the free course or your lead magnet, you’ll be growing your email list that you can see if you go to Contacts.
How To Close a High-Ticket Sale with DM Automation Strategy
What most people do is they stop at the automated DM. That’s because most don’t want to get their hands dirty and talking to people all day.
But if you’re willing to go and actually speak to someone on a 1-on-1 conversation and try and hep to solve their problems, you’ll stand a chance to make so much more money with your offers.
This is one of the fastest ways you can close a high-ticket sale or a sale in general.
Automation is great, but that’s just an initial way to get someone to respond to you in a way that you can get someone into your email list.
However, if you want to sell a high-ticket package, that’s when a DM conversation comes into play.
The automation gets them to you so you can start having a conversation with people.
