For some people the title of this blog will mean nothing and even confuse them… For other people, it will come across as a nice millennial, Generation Z reference to the use of direct messaging to start a conversation with someone you are interested in (romantically… cue the music!).

But not to worry, we’ve not diversified into matchmaking. Yet.

There is a very similar issue to overcome in business however, when it comes to considering how best to approach potential clients or people you would like to work with using social media.

As you may well be aware, all of the big social networks now have integrated direct and private messaging platforms. Facebook has messenger, Twitter has direct message and LinkedIn has InMail.

Approaching potentials and leads using direct messaging has really taken off over the last few years and it’s now a great way to start an initial conversation. Obviously it’s much more informal than an email or a meeting, but it is instant and it means that you can gauge whether to take the conversation further or put it on the backburner pretty much straight away.

For the purpose of business, we would suggest you use Twitter and LinkedIn as you are much more likely to be connected to professionals on these platforms. Both channels allow unlimited characters now so you aren’t restricted by character numbers.

So how do you slide into a business contact’s DMs…?

Talk to people in the same way you would face to face

One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to using direct messaging is that they come across as either over salesy, templated or too abrupt.

Like any other sales-based interaction, direct messaging should be approached as if you were talking to someone face to face.

Don’t immediately go in for the kill with the whole sales spiel… do your research on the person you are talking to and strike up a conversation which is personal to them.

For example:

“Hi Chris, how are you today? I’ve just seen that Karman Digital have been featured in Marketing magazine. It was a great read!”

As you can see, there is no immediate sales pitch in the message - it’s a friendly, personal introduction.

Set out a goal before you start to chat

Setting out a goal is essential before you approach a professional connection. Without a clear objective you may as well just be having a casual conversation with a complete stranger.

When it comes to direct messaging, the goal in most cases will be to turn a complete stranger into a lead, which is no mean feat.

In many cases this will be pretty difficult and you are likely to be rejected more than a few times. That’s why it’s also important to set a fallback goal, just in case your first goal doesn’t work out.

A fallback goal could be to make sure that you at least get an email address or contact number for the connection. It could be that you send them to a landing page to download a piece of primary content. It could even be as simple as making sure you get a follow back from them on social.

An example of this could be:

“I noticed that you were asking about pensions the other day. Now might not be the right time to chat but we do have a free guide on the subject, which I thought might help. If you’re interested, you can get it here - http://www.marketingwebsite.com/pension-guide’

Make it clear from the outset that there is something in it for them

We know that the over the top salesy approach isn’t the way to go, alternatively you can also be too vague and indecisive.

Remember, the people you are talking to aren’t stupid. They can tell if they are being sold to or not. Luckily, the majority of people are nice and will listen to what you have to say... if you talk to them in the right way.

So… get the point earlier rather than later!

Make it clear to the connection that the solution you are offering will help them and tell them exactly what it is.

The sure fire way to lose a person's interest in your company is by not telling them what you are offering, how it can help them in their current context and how easy it is for them to get what you have to offer.

Time it perfectly

Timing is crucial when it comes to this sort of approach.

If you go in on Monday morning, all guns blazing, you will more than likely be met with complete silence. Why? Because it’s Monday morning and most people have thousands of emails to sift through before they even get around to looking at their LinkedIn or Twitter feeds.

Obviously it’s hard to tell when your contacts will be online, but a rule of thumb is that people are much more likely to be browsing their social channels in the afternoon or in their downtime.

Finally, develop a rule

This type of task is one of those that you can easily get annoyed with and just give up on, especially if you are getting a lot of rejections.

One way to get around this is to develop a rule or set of rules when it comes to interacting with connections.

Now, you don’t have to live by these rules, it should be more of a routine of how you go about approaching potentials.

For example, you may want to set up a rule that when you add a new person as a connection, you have to send a personal email or greeting within 24 hours. Or you may set up a rule that you always spend an hour a week nurturing key relationships with your current clients on social media.

Setting rules helps you get into more of a routine.

Just keep trying and keep talking to people

Like any sales work, this type of approach is all about persistence and politeness. Get into the habit of keeping an eye on your DM inboxes and don’t ignore people who are also trying to talk to you.

Once you get into a routine, you will know exactly what works and what doesn’t work with your type of client / customer.

Remember, the key to social media is in the name… it’s social and it’s designed to allow people to communicate effectively with each other. So use it!