Peter Vander Wall explains why Instagram DMs are his favorite feature: they let you reach people directly without the algorithm, whether through story replies, group chats, or cold outreach. He treats it like dating, not a transaction, and never expects immediate responses.
This is my favorite feature on Instagram. It's not reels, stories or this announcements thing. They just added for like half their users. It's DMs. TikTok and YouTube are really great social media platforms, but they're really limited in the way you can directly message another account. But on Instagram, I've connected with some really awesome people through DMs, just swiping up on their stories, meeting in a group chat, or just reaching out cold and introducing myself. Now, the key to this is not asking for something from them for a really long time. Don't expect they're gonna respond right away. Don't expect they're gonna let you pick their brain. The connected with these successful people over Instagram DMs is because I wasn't looking to get something from them. I just thought, hey, this person seems cool. I want to be friends with them. It's almost like dating. You don't usually get the girl by asking her out the moment you meet her, right? You get the girl by making a positive impression over time.
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