💰 How to Turn Instagram Followers into Paying Customers

Selling higher-priced items on your online store? Maybe you run a service-based business like a gym or a psychology practice?

Well, I have some good news for you.

Today, you’ll learn about an alternative ad strategy that not only boosts your credibility but also drives more qualified leads your way.

It’s called the Instagram Direct Message (DM) Funnel.

If your current advertising strategy focuses on pushing traffic directly to your website, it might be time to test a new approach.

Let’s explore why this funnel works and how you can leverage it for both service-based and product-based businesses.

Why the Instagram DM Funnel Works: Building Trust Through Micro-Conversions

Typical Facebook Ads rely on a one-step process: run ads, get clicks, make sales. But this approach often results in high bounce rates and wasted ad spend.

Why?

Because it ignores the customer buying journey.

For high-consideration purchases, the jump from ad click to purchase is just too big.

Think about it: you wouldn’t see an ad for a new car and immediately buy it.

You’d spend time researching, considering your options, and eventually, when the time is right, you’d make the purchase.

Even smaller purchases have similar buying journeys.

The Instagram DM Funnel bridges the gap between ads and sales by breaking the process into a series of micro-conversions:

1. Run ads with a primary Call to Action (CTA) to follow your Instagram account.

2. Use your Instagram content to provide free value and build trust.

3. Run a retargeting ad to your followers with a CTA to Direct Message (DM) you.

Each step involves a small commitment from your audience.

By the time they see your retargeting ad in step 3, they’re already familiar with your brand and more likely to convert.

Let’s dive into the strategy behind this funnel and how you can implement it yourself.

The Strategy: A Three-Step Approach to Building Your Authority Funnel

Step 1: The Follow Campaign – Start with a Low Commitment Ask

Your first goal is simple: get potential customers to follow your Instagram account.

This is the initial micro-conversion and serves as the entry point to your funnel.

There are two main ways to do this:

• Facebook Ads Manager: This option is perfect for advanced marketers who want more control over their campaigns. Use the ‘Engagement’ objective and set your Call to Action to “Follow.” This allows you to use sophisticated targeting options, like interest-based or lookalike audiences, making it easier to reach your target market.

• Instagram Boosting: For beginners or those looking for a quick start, boosting a post directly from Instagram is a simpler alternative. Choose a well-performing post and add a CTA to follow your account. While it offers fewer targeting options compared to Ads Manager, it’s still effective for growing your audience, especially if your organic content already resonates well.

Pro Tip: Regardless of which method you choose, your creative needs to speak to people who don’t know you yet. Use a strong hook that grabs their attention, give a compelling reason to follow, and include a clear follow CTA.

The best performing creatives typically are vertical videos swipe-through carousels.

Note: If you’re using the carousel format in Ads Manager, be aware that it currently doesn’t support the ‘Follow’ CTA. To work around this, post the carousel on Instagram first and then boost it from there.

Step 2: Organic Engagement – Nurture Your Audience with Valuable Content

Once you’ve got them to follow your Instagram account, it’s time to build rapport. This is where your organic content strategy comes into play.

Share valuable insights, tell stories, and showcase what makes your brand unique. Whether it’s quick tips, case studies, or testimonials, your goal is to create content that’s both informative and entertaining.

For service-based businesses, this could mean sharing industry insights or mini-tutorials that showcase your expertise.

If you’re in e-commerce, go beyond simple product images. Show how your product fits into everyday life, solve problems, and make your audience imagine themselves using it.

Think of brands like Bae Juice, HiSmile, and Budgy Smuggler  – their content is a great example of entertainment first, product showcase second.

Step 3: The Message CTA – A Direct Invitation to Communicate

Now that your audience is familiar with your product and service, it’s time to invite them to slide into your DMs.

Create a retargeting ad campaign with a ‘Message’ CTA. This could be a special offer, a free consultation, or simply an invitation to chat.

The ad creative will very clearly ask the viewer to send you a message with a specific word to receive something of value in exchange such as a PDF download, video or booking link.

• Facebook Ads Manager: Use the ‘Engagement’ objective with ‘Messages’ as your CTA. This allows you to retarget those who’ve interacted with your content or visited your profile.

• Instagram Boosting: Create and boost a purpose built post with the message CTA. In the boost audience settings you are able to select people who have engaged directly with your account. Ensure you turn off advantage+ audiences.

By having your potential customers send you a direct message, you are now able to have a 1:1 conversation on the platform, working through their questions before making the final sale.

Advanced Strategy: Implement DM automations to handle initial queries. Tools like ManyChat can help you pre-qualify leads, answer FAQs, and even schedule calls automatically, making your DMs a 24/7 sales channel.

Why This Funnel Works: The Psychology Behind Micro-Conversions

People are more likely to take small, low-commitment actions rather than make a purchase immediately. Each micro-conversion within this funnel moves the viewer one step further towards the conversion stage of buying.

By the time they reach the final stage, they’ve already experienced multiple touchpoints with your brand, making them more receptive to your offer – whether it’s booking a call or making a purchase.

Keeping this funnel within Instagram keeps the interaction more organic than platform switching to a website.

Implementing the Authority Funnel for Your Brand

You can start building this funnel out today even if you don’t implement all the steps.

Start with boosting your best performing content to a broad audience, then start building specific content to drive new followers. 

Experiment with implementing various Call To Actions to motivate the viewer to follow your account.

After you get used to boosting or using the Meta Ads platform, start to implement the retargeting Direct Message ads with you managing replies yourself to start.

When you have messages flowing through, implement automation to help qualify leads without you having to respond immediately.

Once you’ve implemented the DM funnel, send me a message by replying to this email. I’d love to know how successful it was for you.

Until next time, keep selling out,

Luke

P.S. If you found this guide helpful, check out more advanced strategies in past issues of The Sellout: Past Episodes.