Importing Instagram Contacts to Messenger: A New Way To Automate Marketing

Facebook and Instagram have been testing a number of integrations that will make it easier to reach users on each platform. The latest is an integration that would allow you to import your Instagram contacts into Facebook Messenger, a feature that would make it possible to use new Messenger ads and bots to hit touch points with followers on Instagram.

The new options exists in the People tab. You can choose the option, “Connect to Instagram” and the integration will add your Instagram contacts to the people you can reach via Facebook Messenger. The integration will only import Instagram contacts that you follow and that also follow you will be imported, so accounts that follow you, that you don’t follow, won’t be able to access you via Messenger, as the connection works both ways. This is important because there are so many fake Instagram accounts.

This integration is possible because of Instagram Messaging, a feature that is used by 375 million people. This is great for small businesses that are marketing on Instagram and Facebook, and want to leverage Facebook’s multiple mobile areas to send marketing and promotional messages to users on both platforms.

The option is not yet available to users, but it’s being tested by Facebook/Instagram and will not be formally announced when it is completely deployed. This is just one of the ways Facebook is helping small business marketers build larger and more engaged social networks.