Instagram’s added a new info page for businesses looking to maximize their DM connection process, which includes a range of tips and pointers on how to make best use of direct chats to stay in touch with your audience.

The overview includes some broad notes on how DMs can be of value to brands in building community, and where you can look to connect.

There are also case studies, links to key Help section explainers, and notes on the fundamentals of IG DMs.

That could provide some helpful guidance in your process – and with more people now connecting via DM, it could be a valuable consideration.

In its Q3 earnings call last October, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined the company’s four key areas of focus, one of which being:

“Adding new business messaging features to monetize the user shift towards messaging, and away from social apps”

That’s been a significant behavioral trend, with data showing that more Instagram users are now engaging via DM, as opposed to posting updates to Stories or the main feed.

Indeed, an internal report from Meta, which was shared with The Wall Street Journal, showed that while time spent on Facebook and Instagram did actually increase throughout 2022, creation and engagement was in steady decline, with fewer people posting personal updates than they have in the past.

In other words, people are finding value in content discovery in both apps, largely driven by the increasing usage of Reels, but they’re sharing them, and engaging with their connections, via DMs instead.

That’s likely due to the rising angst and division caused by social sharing, and people having had their fill of the drama that can be linked back to your public updates. Meta now sees this as a key opportunity, because while it’s unlikely to match TikTok for pure entertainment value, what it does have is your social graph – and the more it can capitalize on that, the more it can press that advantage.

Which is why it’s now exploring DM usage for brands, as a means to align with this shift.

Will that work?

Past experiments have shown that consumers aren’t overly excited about having brands step into their DMs, but Meta says that, now, over a billion people per week message businesses across its apps.

That seems like a potential opportunity, and these tips could help your brand stay up with the trend.

You can check out Instagram’s DM tips for brands here.