How to simplify customer service on Instagram with Messenger API 

Is your brand’s Instagram account full of pre-sales and support requests that your social media manager can’t answer? Do you feel like you’re frustrating customers with slow answers or missing out on easy revenue?

Then keep reading! 

With more than 500 million active users every single day, Instagram has proven itself as a channel with huge business potential. Not convinced? Take a look at these stats:  

• The app has more than 1 billion users each month   
• 60% of users say they discover new items/services via Instagram  
• 90% of users follow at least one company on the app 

In 2021, Facebook announced the release of the Messenger API for Instagram. Don’t worry if you’re not sure what an API is, in this case it can be thought of as a tool that lets you send messages from your internal systems to Instagram.  

With this API, brands can now have direct, personal conversations with Instagram users to answer pre-sales questions, provide customer support, and even thank users for saying how amazing your brand is in an Instagram Story! 

If you’re not already using Instagram for customer care and conversion, this is a great time to get onboard! Customers frequently use Instagram when they're already interested in a brand, and may check out a company's profile to learn more about a product or search for answers. Now you can pounce on that opportunity!    

What is Messenger API for Instagram?

With the API, companies can send and receive Instagram messages using the same communication management tools they already use. This means that teams don't need to switch between the mobile app and multiple desktop tools. Even brand mentions in Stories can now be handled directly in the same company inbox!  

Teams can also forward messages internally, for example to involve customer service, marketing, or sales departments so users get the right answer quickly and the perception of your brand increases! 

Here at Sinch we’re proud to be an official Facebook solutions partner. We partnered with Leiturinha, a children's book club in Brazil, to test the API when it first came out.   

The results were promising to say the least! After implementing the API, Leiturinha saw a 42% reduction in response times. That’s some happy customers! 

"The Messenger API for Instagram made daily processes simpler, more secure, and effective," said Ana Mori, Sinch's Strategic Alliance Manager in Brazil.   

They increased daily, personal engagement with customers by 30% and improved customer perception by 35% too. Not bad, right?  

So let’s take a quick look at all the great ways the API can benefit your brand:   

• Direct Messages: Reply to private messages through your existing service platform to provide the right answers quickly and keep your customers happy. 

• Story Mentions: See when a user tags your brand's handle in a story and reply directly. Thank users for the fantastic review and grow loyalty, or delicately handle unhappy users and improve brand perception. 

• Quick replies: Set up to 13 quick responses for users so they can easily ask the most common questions and get their answers asap.   

• Away messages: Set up automatic responses when your team is unavailable   

• ig.me links: Give your customers an easy way to start chatting with you on the platform they love to boost loyalty, with click-to-message Instagram links.

• Ad integrations: Hook your Instagram ads up to your Instagram inbox and have your sales and marketing teams ready to answer and convert any incoming queries. 

How to use the API?

By now you’ve probably realized this opportunity is too good to pass up on. But where do you start? Instagram is a powerful channel to engage your users, but it’s also a bit different from email or SMS. How do you build valuable interactions with customers while following Instagram’s own best practices?  

The easiest way is of course to get some help! Partner with an expert, a company that has the know-how and experience to make your campaigns fly.     

In case you missed it, Sinch is an official Facebook solutions partner, and has been for years. We know how to build top-notch engagement strategies perfectly suited for Instagram. We’ve got a robust technology infrastructure to get the messages flowing and we’re ISO 27001 certified, so you can rest assured that we’re on top of internal data security and that all messages are encrypted. In short, we’ve got you covered!   

Want to start using Messenger API for Instagram? Talk to our experts.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!