Instagram Outreach Isn't About Sending More DMs. It's About Getting the Right People to Reply.

Bhushan Patil — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:39:48 +0000

Most people think Instagram isn't a good platform for B2B outreach.

And honestly, I understand why.

When people think about B2B, they usually think about LinkedIn, cold emails, or booking meetings through traditional outbound channels.

But I think we're missing something.

There are thousands of service providers whose ideal customers already spend a lot of time on Instagram. Personal branding agencies, video editors, creative strategists, social media managers, and many other businesses operate there every day.

For these businesses, Instagram can be a place to find potential clients and start conversations.

But there's a problem.

Sending more messages doesn't necessarily mean getting more conversations.

After spending a lot of time doing Instagram outreach and building ScaleUs, I've started looking at outbound in a simpler way.

I see three main pillars:

Finding the right people.
Getting those people to read your message and reply.
Turning those replies into genuine conversations that can lead to meetings.

Let's break these down.

1. Finding the right prospects is a skill

When people start doing outreach, they often focus on how many people they can contact.

But before thinking about volume, I'd ask a different question:

Am I even reaching the right people?

A well-written message sent to someone who doesn't need your service is still a bad outreach attempt.

My approach to finding prospects on Instagram starts with just one person.

I find someone who fits my ideal customer profile (ICP). Then I visit their following list and look for a mid-level influencer or creator in a similar niche.

From there, I explore that creator's followers.

The idea is simple: if the creator attracts an audience similar to my ideal customers, their followers may contain more relevant prospects.

It's not a guarantee. You still need to check whether individual accounts fit your ICP.

But it gives you a starting point instead of randomly searching Instagram usernames.

The process looks like this:

One ideal customer → a relevant creator they follow → that creator's followers → a filtered prospect list.

Over time, you get better at recognizing the right accounts and understanding which audiences are more likely to contain potential customers.

That's far more useful than building a huge list of random usernames.

2. Getting a reply is the real challenge

This is the part I find most interesting about Instagram outreach.

Finding prospects becomes easier with practice. Sending messages also becomes easier.

But getting someone to actually read your message and respond? That's a different challenge.

Instagram has an unusual problem for outbound: messages from people you don't follow may land in message requests or hidden requests.

That means your message might never get the attention you'd expect from a normal inbox conversation.

You have very little space to make a first impression.

On notifications and inbox previews, people may only see a short part of your message before deciding whether to open it.

So what do you do with that limited attention?

I try to think about the message from the recipient's perspective.

They don't know you. They didn't ask you to contact them. And they probably receive messages from people trying to sell something.

If your opening immediately sounds like a pitch, you've given them a reason to ignore it.

Start with context, not a generic greeting

Compare these openings:

Opening A:

"Hey, I came across your profile and wanted to connect..."

Opening B:

"Shon, the person in your last post..."

The second opening creates a more specific reason to pay attention. It suggests that the sender has something relevant to say about a particular person or piece of content.

Of course, the rest of the message needs to deliver on that opening.

If you're referring to someone's post, make sure you actually understand what you're referring to. Don't manufacture interest or pretend to know something you don't.

The point isn't to trick someone into opening a message.

It's to give them a genuine reason to read it.

I've found it useful to avoid starting every conversation with the same "Hey", "Hello", or "I saw your profile" formula.

Instead, I look for a real detail that can naturally start a conversation.

That detail might be a person featured in their content, a project they're working on, or something specific they've shared.

The goal of the first line isn't to sell your service. It's to earn enough attention for a real conversation to begin.

And that's an important distinction.

3. Don't turn a reply into a sales pitch immediately

Getting a reply is progress, but it's not the finish line.

This is where I think outbound becomes a conversation skill rather than just a messaging task.

Imagine someone replies to your opening message.

You now have an opportunity to understand them a little better.

Instead of immediately sending a pitch, ask a relevant question. Respond to what they actually said. Let the conversation develop naturally.

Not every reply will become a business opportunity. Some conversations will go nowhere, and that's normal.

But if someone has a relevant problem and your service can genuinely help, a meeting can become a logical next step.

The objective isn't to force every conversation into a meeting.

It's to recognize when there's a real reason to have one.

I think this is where people should spend more time improving their outbound process: not just writing the initial message, but learning how to hold a good conversation after someone responds.

4. A simple way to think about Instagram outbound

Here's the framework I'd use if I were starting from scratch.

First: Build a targeted list.

Find people who fit your ICP. Use relevant creators and audiences to discover potential prospects, then qualify the accounts individually.

Second: Write a message worth opening.

Use genuine context. Avoid generic openings and premature pitches. Give the recipient a clear reason to engage with what you're saying.

Third: Learn to have better conversations.

Listen to the reply, ask relevant questions, understand whether there's a fit, and suggest a meeting when it makes sense.

These three stages are connected.

A great message can't fix a completely irrelevant prospect list. A great prospect list can't compensate for messages that nobody wants to read. And a good opening can't replace the ability to have a useful conversation.

You need all three.

But if you've already become good at finding prospects and sending initial messages, your next improvement might not come from sending more DMs.

It might come from getting better at conversations.

Where ScaleUs fits into this

I've been building ScaleUs around the practical workflow of Instagram outreach: discovering targeted prospects, engaging with relevant accounts, and managing outreach across multiple Instagram accounts.

Building the product has also made me think more carefully about the different stages of outbound.

Automation can help organize repetitive work, but it doesn't remove the need to target the right people, write relevant messages, or understand the person you're speaking with.

Those parts still matter.

Final thought

If you're an agency owner or freelancer trying Instagram outreach, I'd suggest starting with three questions:

Am I contacting the right people?
Does my opening give them a genuine reason to reply?
Do I know how to continue the conversation when they do?

Don't measure your progress only by how many messages you send.

Pay attention to the quality of your prospects, the responses you receive, and the conversations that develop from them.

Because in the end, outbound isn't just about reaching more people.

It's about starting conversations with the right people.

DEV Community: Bhushan Patil