The world of e-commerce is evolving rapidly, with businesses leveraging new technologies to meet changing consumer expectations. Among these innovations, conversational commerce has emerged as a game-changer, transforming the way businesses interact with their customers. 

Unlike traditional e-commerce, which relies on landing pages and manual interactions, conversational commerce revolutionizes the shopping experience. When customers engage with a brand, marketers are now able to hold their attention with real-time conversations at scale. Through these autonomous conversations, they are building a better understanding of customer needs and navigating them to specific products or information, enhancing the shopping experience. Conversational commerce is augmenting traditional e-commerce and is becoming the future of online retail and social shopping.

What is Conversational Commerce?

Conversational commerce refers to the use of conversational strategies and tools to facilitate online shopping. It prioritizes real-time, interactive, personalized, and AI-agent automated customer shopping experiences.

By creating a conversational experience that mirrors in-person shopping, businesses can differentiate themselves in a crowded market, foster stronger relationships with customers, and improve customer retention.

Core Features of Conversational Commerce:

• Real-Time Engagement: Customers can ask questions and receive instant responses.
• Personalized Interactions: AI-powered tools respond dynamically and provide tailored recommendations.
• Multi-Platform Accessibility: Available on messaging apps like Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, as well as Web, SMS, and other mobile Apps.

Examples of Conversational Commerce in Action:

• Customers ask questions about new products in the website search bar or chat and are led directly to recommended products.
• Personalized direct messages on social media guide customers through their purchasing journey.
• An AI Agent on a product page helps guide and recommend a customer in choosing the right option for them.

By delivering a seamless and interactive experience, conversational commerce positions your brand as innovative and customer-focused, helping to build trust and drive loyalty.

Why Conversational Commerce Outshines Traditional E-commerce

While foundational to online retail, traditional e-commerce methods often fall short of meeting modern consumer expectations for personalization, speed, and convenience. Here are 5 ways a conversational marketing strategy can improve customer expectations:

1. Enhanced Customer Interactions

In traditional e-commerce experiences, customers browse and purchase without real-time assistance. Conversational commerce, on the other hand, facilitates two-way communication through live chat activated in the customer-preferred channel. This creates a more engaging and fulfilling shopping experience, allowing online retailers to answer questions and convert potential customers instantly.

Online shopping experiences and interactions with a sales associate are often reactive, requiring customers to reach out via email or phone. Conversational commerce strategy flips this dynamic, allowing businesses to deploy AI agents that proactively engage with customers, enhancing the online shopping experience.

2. Personalized Shopping Experience

AI-powered tools can analyze customer preferences and behaviors to provide tailored recommendations live in the conversation. Instead of directing customers to static product pages, conversational commerce dynamically adapts to individual customer needs, ensuring that users feel valued and understood by the brand.

This level of personalization extends to promotional efforts as well. Customers can receive targeted discounts or exclusive offers within the conversation, further incentivizing purchases and driving brand loyalty.

3. Streamlined Conversion Funnel

One of the challenges of online stores and e-commerce is often high cart abandonment rates due to its linear conversion process. In contrast, conversational commerce simplifies the funnel by addressing customer queries instantly and guiding them to make confident purchasing decisions. This results in higher conversion rates, fewer lost sales, and reduced cart abandonment.

4. Real-Time Problem Solving

Conversational commerce empowers businesses to resolve customer concerns or hesitations immediately, whether it’s clarifying product details, assisting with inventory, or tracking orders. This instant support customers receive builds trust and enhances the entire customer journey, setting it apart from the delayed response times typical of unmonitored messaging channels.

For example, a customer hesitant about sizing can get immediate assistance from an AI agent with detailed size guides, reducing the likelihood of returns and boosting confidence in the purchase.

5. Adaptability Across Platforms

Conversational commerce tools aren't confined to desktop or mobile websites. They can operate seamlessly across various channels. Whether through social media or messaging apps, businesses can reach customers wherever they are, ensuring convenience and accessibility.

This multi-channel approach is especially valuable in today’s landscape, where customers interact with brands across multiple touchpoints. Conversational commerce strategies ensure a consistent experience regardless of the platform, making it easier for customers to make purchases in their preferred shopping channel.

Key Benefits of Conversational Commerce

The advantages of conversational commerce extend beyond improved customer experiences. They also contribute to significant business growth:

1. Higher Conversion Rates

Real-time interactions help address customer concerns instantly, reducing hesitation and boosting conversions. When customers feel supported and understood, they’re far more likely to complete a purchase.

Studies have shown that businesses implementing conversational commerce solutions experience conversion rate increases of up to 20% compared to a typical e-commerce conversion rate of 3%. This demonstrates the powerful impact of personalized engagement on driving revenue.

2. Improved Customer Retention

By providing personalized recommendations and support, businesses can foster long-term relationships with their customers. Repeat and returning customers are a cornerstone of sustainable growth, and conversational commerce makes it easier to maintain an engaged customer audience.

By combining follow-up and feedback strategies with conversational commerce, brands are able to reinforce positive experiences with customers and help keep their brands top of mind. Using this technique re-engages customers and gathers valuable insights into customer purchasing preferences to customize the shopping experience further.

3. Scalable Customer Support

A recent survey uncovered that consumers say companies should make personalized customer service their #1 social media priority in 2025 and nearly three-quarters of consumers surveyed expect a response within 24 hours or sooner (Sprout Social). Conversational tools can handle multiple inquiries simultaneously, ensuring consistent support even during peak shopping periods. This scalability reduces the strain on human resources and enhances operational efficiency.

AI-driven solutions can operate 24/7, ensuring that customers always have access to assistance, regardless of time zones or hours of operation.

4. Enhanced Brand Loyalty

Conversational interactions make customers feel valued, increasing their likelihood of returning to the brand. With 73% of recently surveyed social users agreeing that if a brand doesn’t respond on social, they’ll consider buying from a competitor (Sprout Social). Conversational commerce nurtures a positive customer experience, strengthening connections with your customer audience.

Successful Conversational Commerce With Shopify Stores

Introducing Instagram Story to DMs: From Story Views to High-Conversion Conversations

Instagram Stories are more than passive touchpoints—they’re opportunities to connect with your audience and drive real results. Tildei’s Story to DMs feature transforms story viewers into active participants, delivering engagement and revenue directly from the channels your customers already use.

For Black Friday, Katz Gluten Free invited viewers to reply “Black Friday” to their story, creating a direct path from engagement to sales:

• 43% link click-through rate: Nearly half of the customers who replied clicked through to the website.
• 23% click-to-transaction rate: A quarter of those visitors converted into customers.
• 10% transaction rate: Total campaign participants converted into paying customers.

With Story to DMs, Katz turned story views into meaningful customer interactions and revenue growth, demonstrating how this feature enables brands to connect with their audience and achieve tangible results.

The Future of E-commerce is Conversational

Conversational commerce stands out as a perfect next step for e-commerce, offering personalized, real-time interactions that drive engagement, loyalty, and revenue.

For businesses aiming to differentiate themselves in a crowded market, adopting conversational commerce is not just an option—it’s a necessity. By leveraging AI-driven tools and embracing customer-centric strategies, companies can redefine the shopping experience and secure a lasting competitive edge.

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A Knowledge Graph that Powers Your Marketing and Commerce

We are at an inflection point.

After decades building lifecycle marketing platforms like Braze and Salesforce, we have witnessed the evolution of digital marketing firsthand. From the early days of email to sophisticated cross-channel orchestration, marketers have continuously sought better ways to connect with customers. Seeking the elusive “right message, in the right channel, at the time.”

But the emergence of AI represents a paradigm shift unlike any before. It brings that connection between marketer and customer within reach.

But brands share a common challenge in this new landscape: their marketing content, product information, and valuable brand assets are scattered across disconnected systems. It lives in Google Drives, eComm platforms, websites, or various workflow tools and systems. This fragmentation makes it impossible to fully leverage the content you’ve invested in creating or deliver consistent messaging at scale.

At Tildei, we are reimagining how brands activate their knowledge in the age of AI. With our combined expertise from Braze and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, we've built a platform that transforms how brands connect with customers.

The Journey Builder is Dead

For years, marketers have relied on journey builders – visual flow charts where you map out "if this, then that" decision trees to determine what message a customer receives next. These tools were revolutionary when they first appeared. After almost 2 decades, they've reached their limit.

Journey builders force marketers to predict every possible customer path ahead of time. They're deterministic, rigid, and ultimately create an artificial constraint on customer conversations. Real human conversations don't follow flowcharts – they adapt, respond, and evolve organically.

The journey builder is dead. And what's replacing it is something far more powerful.

The Era of the Knowledge Graph Begins

At Tildei, we've built a platform that unifies your product catalog, brand voice, and marketing assets into a single knowledge graph – a comprehensive, interconnected web of everything that makes your brand unique.

This knowledge graph serves as the "source of truth" for your brand, enabling AI-powered agents to access all relevant information when engaging with customers. Rather than following pre-determined paths, these agents fluidly determine the next best message based on:

1. The complete context of the customer conversation
2. The entirety of your brand knowledge
3. The specific goals you've set as a marketer

This represents a fundamental shift from journey orchestration to knowledge activation.

From Flowcharts to Fluid Conversations

Imagine no longer needing to build complex decision trees that attempt to anticipate every possible customer scenario. Instead, you define your brand parameters, marketing objectives, and success metrics, and our platform dynamically generates the most appropriate response for each individual interaction.

A customer asks about size recommendations? The system pulls from your fit guide, previous purchase history, and return patterns to offer personalized advice.

Someone inquires about product sustainability? Your agent instantly accesses your brand's environmental initiatives, materials sourcing documentation, and certification details to provide a comprehensive answer.

This isn't just about automation – it's about amplification. Your marketing team's expertise and creativity are embedded into the knowledge graph, allowing you to scale personalized communications. Scale your strategy, not your team.

The Future Is Knowledge - Activated

As we look to the future of commerce, the winners won't be determined by who has the biggest marketing budget or the most complex journey maps. The advantage will go to brands that can effectively activate their collective knowledge across every customer touchpoint.

At Tildei, we're building the infrastructure that makes this possible. We invite forward-thinking retail and commerce leaders to join us in reimagining what's possible when your brand knowledge becomes truly unified and activated.

The journey builder is dead. Long live the knowledge graph.

Boosting revenue, increasing sales, and improving conversions are priorities for every Shopify store owner. But achieving these goals requires more than just great products—it’s about creating seamless, engaging, and responsive experiences for your customers. This is where Tildei’s conversational AI agent steps in to revolutionize Shopify businesses.

If your store's current social media strategy leaves you wondering how to close the gap between likes and conversions, you’re not alone. Many Shopify merchants struggle with a disjointed customer experience on social platforms. Ads lead to sites, posts point to shop pages, but somewhere along the way, potential customers fall through the cracks.

Tildei bridges the gap by syncing your Shopify data and enabling conversational commerce directly on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. The result? Increased customer engagement, higher conversions, and more revenue.

The Missing Link in Social Media Commerce

The path from social engagement to purchase often feels like endless taps and clicks for your customers. Too much manual effort, too much friction, and too many missed opportunities mean that Shopify businesses lose out on sales they could easily secure. What if you could simplify the shopping experience, making it intuitive, interactive, and customer-focused?

With Tildei’s AI agent synced with your Shopify product catalog, your customers can have dynamic, real-time conversations with your brand that feel personal, empowering them to make smarter purchase decisions. It also means reducing the number of lost opportunities and increasing the number of meaningful customer interactions that build brand loyalty.

What is the Tildei AI Agent for Shopify, and How Does It Work?

Tildei’s AI agent is an advanced conversational tool designed with Shopify merchants in mind. Powered by your Shopify product catalog and brand information, the agent creates a personalized shopping experience by catering to customer needs and facilitating conversations over social apps in real time. Here’s how it works:

Smart Integration:

The AI agent is trained on your Shopify catalog, pulling up-to-date information on inventory, pricing, and product attributes. Updates in your Shopify store are reflected in real time in Tildei, so your Agent is always up to date.

Real-Time Conversations:

The agent works on your brand's behalf 24/7, around the world, in any language. It facilitates conversations with customers across Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp offering immediate responses to questions that drive conversions.

Smarter Interactions for Better Recommendations:

The AI agent doesn’t just regurgitate dry data. It interprets customer inquiries, offering nuanced responses and tailored recommendations.

For instance:

Customer: “Do you have anything perfect for a summer holiday?”

AI Agent: “Yes! I recommend our linen sundresses in stock—they’re light, breathable, and perfect for warm weather. Want to see the colors available?"

Built-in Conversation Starters:

Using the AI agent, you can take advantage of automated experiences that begin by customers taking actions on social that they already do on a daily basis:

• Comments can launch DMs: You can caption your social posts encouraging customers to comment with a specific word. When they comment with that trigger phrase, the AI agent automatically begins a conversation with them in their direct message or messenger inbox sharing information (promo codes, tips and tricks, early access) related to the post.
• Replies to Stories can initiate chats: When you share a story, you can include a CTA to reply to the story with a certain word or phrase. Once the user sends a message using the trigger phrase, a conversation begins, and they can interact with the AI agent from there.

Ads seamlessly start conversations: Ads on Facebook and Instagram can include actions that link out to conversations in either Instagram, Messenger, or WhatsApp. The moment the customer clicks the action ‘Send Message’ the dialogue begins and they can engage with the AI agent.

Real Success with Tildei AI: The Katz Gluten-Free Case Study

For Black Friday, Katz Gluten-Free encouraged followers to reply “Black Friday” to their Instagram Story to be the first to know about upcoming deals. Here’s what happened:

• 43% Link Click-Through Rate: Nearly half of the customers who responded clicked on the provided link.
• 23% Click-to-Transaction Rate: A significant portion of those visitors converted into paying customers.
• 10% Total Transaction Rate: Out of all participants, a remarkable 10% made purchases.

By leveraging Tildei, Katz Gluten-Free created targeted conversations, engaging customers at a deeper level and turning story views—and replies—into impactful sales.

Key Benefits to Using An AI Agent for Conversational Commerce

Introducing Tildei’s AI-powered agent into your Shopify marketing strategy delivers revenue-changing benefits:

1. Increased ROI from Social Media Campaigns

Social media posts aren’t just for likes anymore—they’re conversation starters and conversion engines. An engaging post with a conversational CTA can lead customers directly into meaningful 1-on-1 interactions, turning engagement into revenue. Using Tildei, your campaign goals can shift from just impressions to facilitating purchases, breaking down the barrier between “clicks” and actual sales.

Example: A product feature post invites viewers to “DM us to find out your perfect match!”—sparking a personalized chat that ends with a transactional experience.

2. Richer Conversational Data for Future Personalization

Every interaction your AI agent has is a learning opportunity. Unlike current experiences on social, where customer shopping data is not attributable, Tildei stores conversational attributes and can add them to customer data profiles. This allows you to:

• Personalize future interactions with customers based on their preferences.
• Create campaigns that speak to customer needs and desires.

Imagine knowing exactly how a customer navigates your product offerings and tailoring recommendations for them the next time they engage with your brand.

3. No More Missed Opportunities

A big challenge for online merchants is responding quickly to customer inquiries. Customers expect fast service, and delays could result in lost sales and lower customer satisfaction. Tildei’s AI agent is available 24/7 to respond instantly to customer queries, ensuring you never miss out on a sales opportunity and providing your customers with the information they need.

Example: A potential customer messages your Instagram at 11 PM about a product’s availability. The AI agent provides an immediate, detailed response, guiding the customer to checkout and no longer waiting until the morning to hear back from your team.

4. Tailored Shopping Suggestions

Tildei’s AI agent uses real-time Shopify data to offer accurate, personalized product suggestions. Whether a customer asks about size options, available colors, or even product details, the AI agent ensures their conversation is updated and reflective of your inventory.

Building an Engaging Customer Journey with AI

Tildei’s solution brings Shopify merchants closer to their customers in ways that are simpler than ever before. By syncing product data, enabling real-time social interactions, and learning from each customer engagement, your business doesn’t just sell products—it builds relationships. These relationships, nurtured through smart AI-driven strategies, turn first-time buyers into lifelong brand advocates.

Start Your AI-Powered Adventure Today

Don’t get left behind in the fast-evolving world of conversational commerce. Shopify merchants like Katz Gluten-Free have already seen tremendous results by integrating Tildei into their social media marketing strategy. Now it’s your turn to transform passive social media engagements into valuable conversations and sales.

Contact Tildei today and experience the next level of Shopify marketing. Your AI agent is waiting to help you boost engagement, streamline conversions, and grow your revenue.

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Instagram isn't just about pretty pictures anymore. With over 2 billion active users each month, it’s become one of the most powerful tools for businesses looking to connect with customers. But here’s a surprise for many brands—Instagram Direct Message (DM) is a hidden gem for boosting engagement and driving conversions.

Yet, many businesses still don’t maximize this opportunity. Why? Managing direct messages is often seen as time-consuming, unscalable, or reliant on delayed responses that lose potential customers. Until now.

With AI-powered agents, brands can streamline their Instagram DM interactions, meeting customers in real time and converting chats into sales moments. The strength of this channel lies in its organic nature - engaging directly through actions users already take like commenting on posts or replying to stories.

With Instagram Direct Messages, you can encourage customers to start conversations in three impactful ways:

1. Comment-to-DM Interactions
2. Replies to Stories
3. 'Send Message' Ad CTAs

Here’s how these strategies can help you tap into Instagram’s true potential.

Why Marketers Need to Prioritize Instagram Direct Messages

Instagram isn’t just about discovery—it’s about driving action. 44% of Instagram users shop weekly on the platform, making it a key funnel for connecting consumers to brands.

Behavior is changing and moving away from pure feed engagement, and we know you've seen it with your own brand accounts. Even Instagram app CEO Adam Mosseri acknowledges the dramatic shift in how users interact with the app, stating, "More friends post to stories and send DMs than they do posts on the feed."

Here’s where the real opportunity for businesses lies—managing DMs isn’t just about answering questions anymore. It’s about creating tailored experiences that feel as good as chatting with a trusted friend. With agentic technology, it’s become scalable, efficient, and incredibly personal.

Here are three ways to entice your audience to strike up a conversation.

1. Encourage Engagement with Comment-to-DM Posts & Reels

Marketers know the power of comments for algorithm ranking—but did you know comments can also launch direct conversations? With Comment-to-DM, you not only encourage comments, but you create opportunities for private, personalized interactions in Instagram messages.

How Comment-to-DM Works:

• On a feed post, prompt your followers to comment with a certain phrase to receive something in return.
• When they comment with the phrase, your Tildei AI agent direct messages the user automatically with relevant, corresponding information.
• The AI agent can continue the conversation, answering questions and guiding the customer toward conversion.

Comment-to-DM Use Case:

A beverage brand promotes its newest flavor lineup by sharing a vibrant post with the CTA, "Want 10% off? Comment ‘NEW’ below!” When a customer comments “NEW” under the post, they receives a DM instantly from the brand with the discount code. The AI agent is at the ready to answer any follow up questions and provides tailored recommendations based on their response. The overall experience drives purchase intent and enhances the customer journey.

2. Inspire Story Replies with Reply-to-Story CTA

Instagram Stories are both high-impact and deeply engaging. 500 million users tune into Stories daily, spending an average of 20 minutes each day swiping through updates. But beyond passive views, replies are a powerful tool to boost visibility and engagement.

How Reply-to-Story Works:

• Post a story with a CTA asking followers to reply with a specific word (e.g., “SALE” or “SPRING”) to learn more.
• When the viewer replies with the trigger phrase, Tildei’s AI agent automatically replies back to them with the information, codes, or next steps.
• Once the conversation begins, the AI agent can take it further, answering questions, helping find the perfect product, or connecting them with customer service.

Reply-to-Story Use Case:

An outdoor brand teases followers with an early-access ski sale on their Instagram Story. The caption reads, "Reply ‘SKI’ to unlock exclusive deals!" When followers reply, they receive a DM with their early-access code and additional support from the AI agent, like curated recommendations for ski gear.

3. Run Ads That Start Conversations with Send Message CTAs

Instagram ads are already a marketing favorite for driving traffic, but adding the ‘Send Message’ CTA takes engagement one step further. Clicking this CTA triggers a DM conversation, allowing customers to connect directly with your AI chat assistant.

How a 'Send Message' Ad Works:

• Design a Meta ad that aligns with what your ideal customers need and a reason to have a conversation.
• Use the ‘Send Message’ CTA to bring users straight into a direct conversation with your brand.
• Your branded AI agent can handle queries, provide personalized suggestions, and seamlessly guide customers through their buying decision.

'Send Message' Ad Use Case:

A home goods brand launches an ad for a “Perfect Chair” quiz. With a ‘Send Message’ CTA, customers immediately receive a DM from the AI agent inviting them to take the quiz. After taking it, the AI agent offers tailored chair recommendations based on their input, answers any  design related questions, and sends them a link to purchase.

Why Tildei is the Key to Instagram DM Success

Instagram DMs represent an incredible opportunity to create tailored marketing experiences, but it takes the right tool to unlock their potential. That’s where Tildei’s AI agents come in.

Here’s how Tildei turns your DMs into revenue:

• Harness the Conversational Triggers: ****Comment-to-DM, reply-to-story, and ad-to-DM are all accessible out of the box with Tildei and ready to use instantly.
• Tailored Interactions in Real Time: Tildei’s AI agents engage with customers using your unique brand voice, delivering thoughtful, human-like responses with guardrails in place.
• Data-Powered Insights: The agent pulls relevant product info (e.g., pricing, sizes, or availability) directly from your knowledge base (or your Shopify catalog if you're a Shopify store), enabling seamless and accurate recommendations.
• Full Lifecycle Strategy: Activating conversations with your customers in their DMs is more than just a one off campaign. You can create different trigger phrases for different campaigns, for different stages of the lifecycle, and get them to engage again and again.
• Conversations Across their Lifetime: Once you customers experience communicating with your branded AI agent, they can continue to come back with new questions, customer service, and guidance for new purchases.

Real-Life Success Story:

One Tildei-powered brand saw a 43% click through rate and 10% transaction rate just by leveraging reply-to-story strategies. These interactions turned passive viewers into loyal, paying customers—all through automation.

Take the Next Step in Instagram Marketing

Instagram Direct Message isn’t just a new channel—it’s the channel to connect meaningfully, scale relationships, and drive conversions. With Tildei, you can harness the power of AI to create personalized conversations that matter.

Are you ready to elevate your Instagram marketing strategy?

Launch your AI-powered Instagram DM experience with Tildei today.

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With more than 2 billion monthly active users and climbing, Instagram is one of the best channels for reaching a wide audience in meaningful ways. Instagram Direct Message (DM), also called Instagram Direct, has remained relatively untapped as a marketing channel. Historically seen as just another inbox to monitor, Instagram DM is the next new marketing frontier, ready for a transformation.

Your customers are already on Instagram and actively messaging your brand, so now it's time to take advantage of it. Launch your Instagram AI agent to automate the DM experience and let the revenue flow. Instagram has built-in triggers that launch conversations based on commonly used interactions, and your AI agent is there to respond in real-time.

To ensure that you’re set up for success, here are some of the rules you need to consider to do it right and do it well.

Unique Benefits of Instagram Direct Message

Instagram DMs have a number of specific capabilities beyond traditional chat that make it a useful feature for improving reach, engagement, and conversion.

• Conversation Starters: Instagram makes it easy for your customers to start conversations through actions they already take. When a follower comments on a Post or replies to a Story, using a partner like Tildei, a DM conversation can automatically begin.
• Programmatic Ads: More ways to grow your audience, Meta Ads can also link directly to starting a conversation with your brand in Instagram DM
• FAQs: A small way to optimize your conversations, you can set up Frequently Asked Questions directly in Instagram DM to reduce time responding to repeat questions
• Saved Replies & Auto-Replies: Another small way to begin optimizing, you can quickly leverage pre-saved responses to reply to customers faster
• Automation: Partnering with a third-party provider like Tildei allows you to automate messages and responses. AI-powered conversations go beyond traditional chatbot functionality and serve as an AI agent learning, evolving, and adapting to context.

The above are just a few examples of how you can leverage Instagram messaging as a tool for growing your audience, unlocking new revenue streams, and improving customer loyalty.

Instagram Direct Message Rules

We’ve all sent DMs to our friends and brands from our personal accounts on Instagram, but the world of Instagram DM for business operates a little differently. The rules for using Instagram DM as a business are spread out over different developer pages, so we've gathered a list of some of the basics in one place. Use the below list as a guide to ensure your Instagram business account checks all of the boxes when communicating with and marketing to customers over Instagram DM.

1. Instagram DM Message Types and the 24-Hour Response Window

Instagram has set some general rules and limits around how businesses can use Instagram DM. The rules below are helpful whether you’re messaging customers manually or automating your responses with a third-party tool on the Instagram API.

Standard Messaging Window: 24-Hour Response Requirement

When a customer sends an Instagram DM to a Business account, the business has up to 24 hours to reply. After 24 hours from a customer interaction, a business can no longer reply to the customer, except in specific situations (we cover this in more detail below).

If more time is needed to allow a human agent to respond, you can add a tag to your response to send the message outside the standard 24 hour messaging window but still within 7 days of the user’s message.

Message Types

There are three types of messages that you can send:

1. Response: As it states, this is in response to a customer’s message. The message can contain promotional and non-promotional content and must be sent during the standard messaging window (within 24 hours of the last customer message).
2. Update: These messages and sent proactively and not in response, but they too must be sent during the standard messaging window (within 24 hours of the last customer message). These can also include promotional and non-promotional content.
3. Tagged: There are different types of tagged messages, but only the ‘Human Agent’ tag is available on the Instagram API. This message can be sent outside of the standard messaging window and is for issues that cannot be resolved within the 24-hour window.

Message Limits

At the high level, Instagram states that it has, “ . . . limits in place to stop direct messages that people may not want to get, like spam.” It’s a general statement, and we haven’t seen specific limits on the number of messages that can be sent.

Our guidance is to respect the 24-hour response window, ask for opt-in for future messages, and ensure messages are helpful for your customers.

2. Image File Formats, Sizing, & Aspect Ratio on Instagram DM

Instagram Direct allows you to send text-based chats as well as images and videos as a way of increasing engagement. With most messaging applications, there are limits imposed on the sizing of images and videos sent via DMs on the Instagram app.

PNG, JPEG, and GIF file formats are accepted for images sent through Instagram. Any other formats may be automatically converted to one of these two formats, so avoid using others (like TIFF or BMP). Instagram DMs provide a maximum resolution for sent images of 1080 pixels wide. While no specific limit on resolution has been set, all images above 1080p resolution will be compressed to that size, and image quality may therefore be affected. Images must have a minimum resolution of 320 pixels wide; any images with lower resolution may similarly experience quality issues due to resizing.

The maximum image file size is 8 MB.

A number of different image aspect ratios are supported in Instagram messages, including:

• Square: 1:1 aspect ratio
• Landscape: 1.91:1 aspect ratio
• Portrait: 4:5 aspect ratio

Images are automatically adjusted to fit the window for a new message, so stick to these available aspect ratios to avoid any quality issues.

3. Video File Formats and Sizing

Like images, videos are limited to certain file formats and size requirements for use in a DM. Accepted file formats are MOV, MP4, OGG, AVI, and WEBM files for messages, and the maximum file size accepted is 25 MB. Videos generally may be up to 15 seconds in length; longer videos may be split or trimmed by Instagram automatically.

The same aspect ratios as those available for images are available for videos.

Audio files are also available up to 25 MB, and the supported formats for audio are AAC, M4A, WAV, and MP4.

4. Content Restrictions

In an effort to keep Instagram safe for all, the app places content restrictions for DMs. This includes restrictions around sensitive or inappropriate content. Inappropriate content includes offensive, abusive, misleading, harmful, hateful, and/or sexually explicit content.

In most cases, these restrictions shouldn’t be a worry for business accounts. Keeping your messages focused on your brand and product offering in a helpful manner will ensure you stay well above this line.

In any case, Instagram's algorithm scans all messages and message requests for violations of these rules regularly. If an account is found to be in violation, the account can be flagged, restricted, suspended, or banned. Users also have the ability to report accounts that violate these restrictions, which may lead to similar account action.

5. Instagram DM Automation

While Instagram places limits on automation for personal accounts, the good news is that business accounts are not subject to the same limitations.

Accounts registered as businesses are permitted to use automation tools for direct messaging, saving your team time and improving the overall customer experience.

Automation Embedded into Instagram DM for Business

A number of embedded automation tools exist within the app itself, like Saved Replies and Auto-Reply.

Saved Replies allow you to create keyboard shortcuts for quickly sharing commonly used replies. After creating the keyboard shortcut, when you want to use your saved reply, type the keyboard shortcut as your message and tap the chat icon that appears to autofill your saved reply.

With Auto-reply you can add, delete, or edit your frequently asked questions and your automated responses. These questions will be displayed automatically when people message your account on Instagram.

Next Level Automation with AI Agents on Instagram DM

Instagram only offers very light automation to help with managing your DM inbox, as it’s meant more for very small businesses or individual creators. Instead, most businesses benefit from third-party tools that help elevate the customer experience in Instagram DM.

At Tildei, we’ve built our conversational AI platform to support your marketing experiences in Instagram DM. Conversations begin with marketer-defined experiences, while the AI agent is ready to respond when the customer asks something outside of the intended path. Trained on your brand tone, guidelines, offerings, and more, the AI agent follows the context of the conversation and evolves with the customer.

Not only does that mean your customers receive the information they need in real time without having to wait for a response, but they are also experience a dynamic conversation instead of a static chatbot.

Conversations start from comment-to-DM triggers, reply-to-story triggers, ads-to-DM flows, and— the most traditional—a customer coming directly to your platform to send you a message.

Leveraging Instagram Direct Message to Grow Your Business

While there are some rules and guides to keep in mind, Instagram DM is one of the most powerful tools in a marketer's toolkit to not only grow brand awareness but facilitate conversions and drive revenue.

More than 60% of Instagram users follow or research brands and products on the platform, and 70% of shoppers report using Instagram to inspire their purchases. These statistics show a strong connection between consumer behavior and Instagram engagement—and Instagram DMs allow businesses to capitalize on that connection. Follow these rules and your business is bound to grow!

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Last month, I ran an experiment.

As the newest member of the Tildei GTM team, I’ve quickly learned just how fast-paced an early-stage startup can be. Every day, we are trying something different. Amidst all the noise, it can be easy to lose track of the bigger picture. 

So, after 4 weeks on the job, I wanted to take a step back - or rather, a step in. I spent hours inside Instagram Direct Messages (DMs) observing how our target brands are interacting with their customers. 

Long story short? They aren’t. 

Of the 100 brands I reached out to, 58 of them didn’t respond at all. Of the 36 that did, most of them (70%) took over 30 minutes to get back to me. In the fast-paced worlds of social media and online shopping, that’s an eternity.

Clearly, most brands aren’t prioritizing engaging DM experiences. 

But should they?

‍The Opportunity in the DMs‍

‍The Success of SMS 

The average brand is no stranger to email and SMS marketing, with the latter surging in popularity over the last couple of years. For good reason, too. Open rates of 98% are unheard of for emails. The results speak for themselves:

• 72% of people have made a purchase after receiving a text from a brand
• 86% of consumers made 2+ purchases in the last year from SMS messages
• 65% of people who made an SMS-driven purchase in the last year say that texts caused them to buy sooner than they originally intended

(Data from Klaviyo’s 2024 SMS Consumer Report) 

Given the success of SMS marketing, it seems fair to question why brands should care about Instagram DMs too. 

‍How Instagram is Different

The thing is, almost every brand is already using Instagram. Today, there are over 200 million business accounts on the platform. Most of these have hundreds, thousands, even millions of followers who are, or once were, interested in their products. 

Almost every consumer is using it too. And not just to chat with friends or watch funny Reels. Nearly 47 million people in the U.S. will make a purchase through Instagram this year. 

These aren’t the same conditions as email and SMS - Instagram’s existence as a social platform positions it uniquely for conversation between brand and buyer. 

More specifically, Instagram can facilitate more conversations with consumers who are more interested in having them. Think about it: brands are posting multiple times a week in their Feed and multiple times a day via Stories, often alongside ad campaigns and influencer partnerships. Each of those posts is an opportunity for your followers to start a direct  conversation with your brand and lead to a purchase.

Needless to say, both parties benefit: 

• Consumers get to initiate the conversations they need, in a platform they are already using, without feeling like they are being spammed
• Brands get to cut through the fluff and focus their conversational power on the consumers they know are interested in buying

This is  a different kind of interaction than email and SMS messages - one that is more relevant, and more personal. If Feeds and Stories are where brands show their personality, the DMs are where consumers can feel it and experience it first hand in a conversation - using the same visually engaging interface that they already use to message their friends every day. 

Using AI to Drive These Conversations at Scale

The problem with personalization is that it isn’t scalable. Or at least it wasn’t, until the emergence of AI agents. To make the most of your DMs, AI tools are more than a ‘nice to have’. They are necessary.

Solving for Speed 

The average human attention span is around 8 seconds, and it’s most likely even shorter in social media environments  like DMs. Consumers are easily distracted by other notifications - both in and outside of Instagram - and eager to get back to their dopamine-inducing Discover page. 

If a brand wants to retain a person’s interest, they need to act fast. Not only does this improve their chances of a conversion, but it also boosts the consumer’s perception of the company (51% of the most memorable brands on social media respond quickly to customers).

By meeting consumers in their DMs, in real-time, brands unlock the opportunity to convert a potential buyer during the tiny timeframe, while they are actively interested, in a way that isn’t possible over email or SMS. And bear in mind, 84% of us say we have made impulse purchases before. Responding a handful of seconds later could be the difference between a buy and a nice try. 

Level Up Your CDP 

The best thing about fast replies is that they are a catalyst for more fast replies in a back-and-forth dialogue. And each of those replies becomes  a data point that can be used to improve future interactions - both in and outside of the DMs. 

Very quickly, you turn Instagram into a third central marketing channel, interconnected with email and SMS and feeding valuable data back into your CDP. The consumer experience improves across each of those channels as a result. 

Personalize in a Way Humans Couldn’t

When was your last order? What new products have since been added to the store? What questions did you ask the website chatbot last week? 

These are the kind of mid-conversation considerations only an AI agent could make. By drawing in data like this from other parts of your marketing stack, AI facilitates a much greater level of personalization at a faster speed than your average human agent. More often than not, that could be the difference between a new purchase and another “I’ll think about it”. 

Training the Consumer

Clearly, there is a lot of hidden value in your DMs waiting to be unlocked. But right now, the majority of consumers aren’t thinking about the DMs as a channel for meaningful communication with brands. The results of my experiment indicate as much. 

In order to get the most out of your newly supercharged DMs, brands need to be proactive about initiating conversation. 

The Importance of Calls to Action

You can easily encourage conversations  by signposting your conversational abilities with calls to action throughout your Instagram account. Here are three obvious places where you could include a conversation-focused CTA:

• Posts - Ask your followers to comment on the Post using a specific keyword in order to receive a DM starting a conversation. For example, you might be a bakery and you post recipes that use your products. In addition to mentioning your product in the Post’s caption, you can tell users to comment a keyword in order to receive a link to the product directly in their DMs. 
• Stories - A similar scenario can play out via Stories too. Maybe you are a clothing company just launching a new limited edition hoodie series. Throw up a story signposting the hoodies, telling users to reply with  a keyword in order to get early access to the series. 
• Ads - Unlike Posts and Stories, Ads support a direct ‘click to conversation’ flow. You might be a jewelry company that likes to run Instagram ads. Bolster that effort by offering a ‘Click to chat with a stylist’ button at the bottom of the ad, taking the user to the DMs and kicking off a conversation.  

Once users see how frequently you are directing them to the DMs, how easy it is to have a conversation, and how well you are able to handle the questions that they ask, they will also start to initiate more DM conversations on their own accord. 

Just like that, you have added a third key channel for your marketing - one that is uniquely centered around conversation and complements your existing communication over SMS and email. 

Conclusion: Time to Embrace the DMs 

Starting out on my DM experiment, I had little idea of what to expect. The results ended up painting a much clearer picture than I would’ve predicted: most brands simply aren’t focused on driving conversions in Instagram DMs at the moment.

And that’s understandable. Answering all of their DMs has traditionally taken a significant amount of manpower. And often, the organic engagement doesn’t justify it.

We don’t think this needs to be the case. Recent advancements in AI give brands the ability to drive engagement and DMs, at scale, in a more personalized way than ever before. And with each of these comments, replies and DMs, the algorithm pushes your brand another step up the engagement ladder, fueling the next wave of follower growth. 

So, take the plunge. You’re already investing in email and SMS marketing. What’s stopping you from betting on Instagram too? You might just unlock your next marketing goldmine.

We’re excited to share that Meta’s WhatsApp Business Platform pricing updates present new, cost-effective opportunities for brands to scale customer conversations. These changes simplify costs and encourage high-quality messaging, creating a massive advantage for businesses using WhatsApp to build meaningful, real-time customer connections.

WhatsApp Pricing Changes Overview

1. Free Service Conversations

Beginning November 1, 2024, any service conversation initiated by a customer will be free. Businesses can respond to customer queries within a 24-hour window without incurring costs, promoting higher engagement and more responsive customer service.

2. Free Utility Messages Within 24-Hour Service Windows

From April 2025, utility messages (like order updates) sent within the customer service window will also be free, reducing the cost of providing essential customer service updates. For more details on how WhatsApp’s 24-hour service window works, check out Meta’s guide on customer service windows.

3. A shift from Conversation-Based to Per-Message Pricing

Starting April 2025, pricing for the WhatsApp Business platform will be per message instead of per conversation. Pricing per message simplifies ROI comparisons with other channels and also aligns pricing with Meta’s other paid messaging solutions. The rollout begins in April and goes through July 2025. Tildei customers will be in Phase 2 of the per message pricing change, starting in July 2025.

According to Meta, “with per-message pricing, brands will be charged:

• Per message for each marketing template
• Per message for each authentication template
• Per message for each utility template sent outside of a customer service window

For example, if you send a marketing template and then two utility templates to a WhatsApp user, that will incur 3 charges (1 marketing, 2 utility). If the 2 utility templates are sent while a customer service window is open between you and the user, however, it would only incur a single charge (1 marketing).”

For a more detailed breakdown, check out the official Meta pricing update page.

Unlocking the Value of WhatsApp Opt-Ins with Free Service Conversations

One of the most exciting changes to pricing is the free service conversations. After sending out a marketing template message to customers, which still incurs a fee, you can blend customer service interactions without additional cost. By leveraging these changes, engaging customers on WhatsApp becomes not only more affordable but also more efficient, enabling brands to deliver greater value while optimizing their communication strategy. This unlocks enormous value for brands, making it easy and cost-effective to engage customers via WhatsApp.

How Brands Can Maximize WhatsApp Opt-Ins

By placing WhatsApp conversation buttons on their websites or social media profiles, brands can encourage customers to initiate a conversation. Whether through a button on your website, a link in an email, or even a QR code on product packaging, the customer starts the conversation, and it’s free for you to respond. This makes WhatsApp an incredibly affordable tool for engaging customers, nurturing relationships, and driving value, especially in the early stages of the customer lifecycle.

Leverage Consultative Selling for Enhanced Engagement

Brands can also take it a step further by leveraging consultative selling. Engage customers in personalized product recommendations or 1:1 conversations to enhance their experience while minimizing costs. A great example of this is our client Double, who used WhatsApp to offer a personal stylist through our platform. Their conversational marketing approach led to higher customer satisfaction and significant sales growth. For more details, check out the full Double case study.

For more ideas on how to drive meaningful customer engagement, check out our post on 3 Essential WhatsApp Marketing Campaigns to Get Started.

Radically Simple to Start WhatsApp Marketing Today

Getting started with WhatsApp has never been easier. Our platform is designed to get you up and running in no time. Whether you want to start engaging customers, grow your opt-in list, or launch your first campaign, it’s all possible with just a few clicks. You can start conversations today by integrating WhatsApp with your digital channels and letting customers initiate those first interactions—now at no cost for service conversations. It's as simple as placing a WhatsApp button on your website or social media, and you're ready to go!

Why the Change is Impactful for Conversational Marketing

The shift to a conversation-first marketing strategy is a significant advantage for brands that want to engage customers at scale. Our platform integrates seamlessly with WhatsApp, allowing businesses to leverage the free service conversation window and optimize their use of template messages. Here’s why the changes are so impactful for conversational marketing:

Scale Conversations with Ease

Our product helps you manage thousands of customer interactions through WhatsApp, leveraging customer-initiated conversations that fall within the free window. This allows brands to focus on delivering value rather than worrying about rising costs.

Enhanced Customer Experience

The free utility messages within the 24-hour window enable brands to provide crucial post-purchase support and other updates without any expenses incurred. This strengthens customer trust and ensures a smooth, engaging experience from start to finish.

Real-Time Insights

With per-message pricing, businesses can better track ROI for each campaign, analyzing what works best and adjusting their strategies accordingly. Our platform offers real-time insights into customer conversations, helping brands optimize their messaging for maximum impact.

For more insights on how to maximize your WhatsApp marketing efforts, check out our Ultimate Guide to Best Practices, Strategies, and Examples.

Encouraging High-Quality Interactions

The new pricing model is designed to reward businesses that deliver timely, high-quality customer service. With service conversations being free, you can focus on building strong, lasting relationships with your customers without worrying about costs. This encourages more personalized, meaningful interactions, which will ultimately enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Next Steps for Brands

Here’s how you can prepare for the upcoming WhatsApp pricing changes:

1. Audit Your Current Strategy: Review your existing marketing campaigns to see where you can integrate free service conversations and optimize the use of template messages through WhatsApp.‍
2. Optimize Message Templates: With our platform, streamline your template messaging to focus on combining marketing and service messages for a more holistic and cost-efficient customer experience.‍
3. Focus on Building Opt-Ins: Continue growing your opt-in list through strategic placements of WhatsApp buttons on your website, social media, and other digital channels. Make it easy for customers to initiate the conversation and unlock the value of free service windows.

Conclusion

The WhatsApp Business Platform pricing changes present a unique opportunity for brands to reimagine how they engage customers. By transitioning to per-message pricing and offering free service conversations, WhatsApp is becoming an even more powerful tool for personalized, scalable marketing. Leveraging our platform, you can optimize these changes to deliver high-quality conversations, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth—all while keeping costs in check.

Tildei Emerges from Stealth with $6 Million in Seed Funding to Revolutionize Conversational Marketing in Instagram and WhatsApp

NEW YORK, October 2024 — Tildei, a pioneering conversational marketing platform, today announced its emergence from stealth with $6 million in seed funding. The company aims to transform how brands interact with customers in social channels like Instagram and WhatsApp by leveraging artificial intelligence to enable personalized, intelligent conversations at scale. Susa Ventures led the round with participation from Ludlow Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Vine Ventures, MXV Capital, Marcelo Claure, Jason Lemkin, and other angel investors. The company was incubated out of MXV Capital, a NYC based early stage fund.

Tildei will use the funding to further develop the platform's AI capabilities, expand its channel support, and grow the team.

In an era where consumers increasingly prefer chat and social apps for communication, Tildei offers a paradigm shift from traditional mass messaging marketing approaches. The platform empowers brands to engage in real-time and context-aware conversations with customers which can range from answering basic queries to assisting with purchases. According to a study by eMarketer, in 2023, consumers spent an average of 151 minutes a day in social and chat apps like Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp. Tildei's vision is to meet consumers in their platform of choice and power conversations where they are happening.

Tildei was founded by marketing technology industry veterans Mark Ghermezian, Kevin Dutra, and Manisha Shah. Ghermezian was the co-founder and founding CEO of Braze (BRZE), a lifecycle marketing platform that IPO'd in November 2021. Dutra and Shah were founding team members at Rebel, which was acquired by Salesforce in 2018.

“The proliferation of LLMs could not have come at a better time. Today's customers expect personalized, immediate interactions. But that’s out of reach for the average brand," said Ghermezian, co-founder and CEO of Tildei. “Our platform bridges the gap between this expectation and the limitations of current marketing tools, allowing brands to connect directly with their customers in social channels like Instagram and WhatsApp.”

The first channels supported by Tildei’s AI conversational platform are Instagram and WhatsApp, leveraging their respective 2 and 3 billion global active users. The company plans to add additional social channels this year, quickly expanding to help brands engage with customers wherever they are. The AI powered platform understands both a brand’s voice and the nuances of each channel so that marketers can take advantage of templates, quick replies, and other features for the best experience regardless of what social app is hosting the conversation.

"Tildei represents the future of marketing in a world dominated by chat and social apps," said Chad Byers, co-founder and General Partner at Susa Ventures. "What impressed us most about Tildei is not just their innovative approach to conversational marketing, but also the team's deep expertise in the martech space. With their AI-driven platform, Tildei is poised to revolutionize how brands engage with customers, creating more meaningful and personalized interactions at scale. We're excited to support Tildei as they lead this shift in customer engagement."

About Tildei

Tildei enables brands to have meaningful conversations with their customers at scale. The platform makes it simple for marketers to create engaging conversations, capture data, and convert customers through truly personal interactions. Tildei was founded in 2022 and is based in New York City. For more information, visit www.tildei.com

Contact info: support@tildei.com 

‍About Susa Ventures

Susa Ventures has been leading pre-seed and seed stage rounds since 2013. We invest $1m-$4m into software, internet and technology-enabled businesses. Each investor at Susa partners with only 2-3 startups per year, so each relationship is meaningful to us. Since inception, we’ve been partners to Robinhood (HOOD), Flexport, Viz, Stord, Human Interest, and many other unicorns, all from the seed stage. 

About Gradient Ventures

Gradient Ventures has been investing at the forefront of artificial intelligence since 2017. We are led by former founders, technical experts, and domain specialists, who know how to take an idea to product-market-fit and beyond. Gradient Ventures is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, visit www.gradient.com. 

About Lerer Hippeau

Lerer Hippeau is an early-stage venture capital firm founded and operated in New York City. Our portfolio includes more than 400 leading enterprise and consumer businesses including Guideline, MIRROR, Blockdaemon, K Health, Allbirds, ZenBusiness, and Thrive. We're experienced operators who invest early and stay in our founders' corners as they build iconic companies. Learn more at lererhippeau.com.

About MXV Capital

m]x[v Capital is a New York-based early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to funding and founding the future of B2B enterprise SaaS. m]x[v brings a founder and operator perspective to the table, providing hands-on support to help early-stage companies successfully launch, scale, and grow their businesses. For more information, visit www.mxv.vc.

As co-founders, Kevin Dutra, Manisha Shah, and I share a key commonality: we believe marketers and customers have the best experiences when there’s real connection. Before Tildei, Kevin and Manisha were pioneering the email inbox as the ultimate landing page through interactivity at Rebel and Salesforce, while I was exploring the importance of a multi-channel platform that seamlessly manages engagement at Braze. Both our previous innovations changed the way marketers and customers interact by breaking down communication silos.

The modern customer is savvy, expects a certain level of personalization, and is burnt out from hollow attention grabbing marketing stunts. The modern marketer understands that  success is about keeping the relationship with their customer alive, relevant, and timely. It’s about building connections through nuanced customer interactions rather than relying on one-way, mass communication, or triggered events in a journey flow. Through our collective insights, we recognize that creating brand experiences to meet the modern customer requires a different approach. Tildei was born from the idea that marketers need a best-in-class platform for building experiences on conversational channels.

AI and LLMs are baked into Tildei's DNA, allowing the platform to immediately understand our customers' voice, goal, and values. Marketers can devise campaigns that turn conversational channels like WhatsApp and Instagram DMs into personal shoppers, a concierge, or bespoke guide that tailors customer experiences at scale—without building out complicated journey flows. The foundation of Tildei is twofold: Elevate the marketer to empower the customer. By seamlessly integrating with your brand's universe—from websites and product catalogs to CRM data - Tildei becomes a digital embodiment of your brand, capable of engaging in meaningful, impactful conversations that authentically reflect your unique identity and values.

It’s been an enthralling ride so far, and I’m thrilled that Tildei has officially emerged from stealth with $6 million in seed funding. Our AI-driven conversational marketing platform is revolutionizing how marketers create campaigns and deepen customer relationships.

This funding round was led by Susa Ventures, with additional participation from Ludlow Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Vine Ventures, MXV Capital, Marcelo Claure, Jason Lemkin, Ben Lang and other esteemed angel investors. 

With this funding, Tildei will further enhance its AI capabilities, expand channel support, and grow our team. The feedback from our current customers has been both positive and constructive, and we’re proud to partner with marketers who are driving innovation in their regions and industries. The future of marketing is conversational.

On that note, I want to express my deepest gratitude to our early customers, partners, and of course our investors for their belief in Tildei and our mission. We’re committed to equipping marketers with a new way of thinking about campaigns, ensuring that customers and prospects have a voice.

I invite you to reach out to me and our team to learn more about conversational marketing and how Tildei can help you connect with your customers.

Marketers obsessed with innovation in the retail space are exploring how to enhance their strategy with artificial intelligence (AI) tools in a meaningful way. 

For many organizations, the prime challenge is to integrate AI technology into their marketing workflows to retain a competitive advantage and stand out from the pack.  

Tildei provides marketers with a platform to seamlessly bring the benefits of AI into their strategy through the powerful use case of conversational marketing.

What are the Benefits of Conversational Marketing 

Conversational marketing allows brands to communicate with customers and prospects through interactions on popular channels at the convenience of the customer. In addition, the conversational aspect makes it easier for brands to continue to personalize customer experience on other channels. 

The two main benefits of conversational marketing are:

1. Improving customer experience and strengthening the relationship between brand and customer
2. Collecting customer feedback, data, and preferences in a frictionless way, and embedding it into the brand and future communication

The Tildei platform incorporates AI in a way that prioritizes the marketer’s creativity. The marketer trains the AI on tone and voice and drafts campaign prompts that can create conversational flows for customers. With Tildei, the marketer is not spending time building out conversational flows and instead can focus on integrating the conversation into larger strategic initiatives. 

In this post, we’ll cover how conversational marketing can be used to enhance your in store and website experience. 

Conversational Marketing for Enhancing In-Store Experience

Our findings show that the in-store shopping experience is a major draw for customers, as it eases browsing by offering sensory and interpersonal interactions. According to Appnova, consumers look for unique experiences – more than half would attend a pop-up store, while 42% would participate in an experience-driven social event or demo inside a store.

Conversational marketing is well-suited to meet the needs of today’s consumers and bridge the in-store and online shopping experience. 

Let’s say your brand is launching a new fragrance line. For in store customers, you can include a QR code. Scanning the QR code, opens up a WhatsApp channel or prompts a download. The WhatsApp channel is branded and prompts the shopper to an activation for the fragrance line, where there is a blind smell test. Shoppers can sniff the fragrance and learn about the origins of each scent. The WhatsApp experience educates consumers on the process of creating the perfume. 

Once they finish smelling the fragrances, the chat can ask them which one they like best. The chat experience can ask more questions around whether they plan to wear it everyday or if they are shopping for a special occasion. The experience can end with a discount code to further push for conversion. 

Conversational Marketing Augments the In-Store Experience

• The online experience is on all the time: If the store is busy, the sales associate is occupied, or you’re unable to hire multiple sales associates, or the customer has a question after they leave the store, the described WhatsApp conversational marketing experience can interact with the shopper.
• Tailor follow-up experiences: New communication on multiple channels can reflect the choices and interactions on the chat
• Deepens the showroom: The gamification over chat  increases in person interactions with the product. Shoppers are slowing down and smelling the fragrances and thinking about their preferences—spending more time in-store and building brand relationship

Conversational Marketing for Enhancing Web  Experience

As of July 2024, mobile devices contribute to 61.95% of all website traffic. Conversational marketing allows brands to take advantage of mobile browsing by providing a space to prompt organic dialogue on the channels where customers live. 

At Tildei, we’ve launched conversational experiences on WhatsApp first based on its inherently conversational approach and its fast growing user base with additional channels on the horizon. Let’s look at an example of how conversational marketing can drive personalization on web experiences. 

A prospect comes to your website through a promotional email around our example  fragrance launch. They are a bit of a fragrance nerd and have a few questions about the launch—which is themed by different cities. The prospect notices that one of the scents is based on Nice, France. She read the fragrance notes, but the scent seems floral and they are interested in a beach scent. She searches for beachy fragrances, but the search term only pulls up a coconut scent. The prospect notices that she can get more information by talking to a fragrance stylist on WhatsApp. They click the link and it opens their WhatsApp application on their phone. The channel is branded and the prospect receives a welcome message and the option to take a fragrance quiz or ask a question. 

The embedded knowledge in the platform pulls the information into the chat and the prospect is able to have the experience of a well informed sales associate from the comfort of their phone. 

Conversational Marketing Tailors the Online Experience

Conversational campaigns offer several benefits. 

• Continued Attention: Without the ability to ask more questions, a prospect might have given up their search, but these campaigns can replicate the in-person shopping experience, keeping them engaged.
• Collect Preferences: Knowing what the prospect is looking for allows for personalized follow-up messaging. After they receive a sample, for example, another chat can inquire about their preferred fragrance, and subsequent emails can include content tailored to their interest in aquatic fragrances.

Interested in learning more about how to build out campaigns like these and how AI can enhance your marketing efforts? Reach out to us and let’s talk. 

The Power of Point Solutions: Agile Experimentation in Marketing

As a seasoned email marketer who's now diving into the world of conversational marketing, I've learned a valuable lesson: sometimes, the best way forward isn't the all-in-one solution that promises to do it all. Instead, it's about being agile, experimenting with point solutions, and discovering what truly works for your audience.

The Case for Point Solutions

Enter point solutions - specialized tools designed to excel at specific tasks. Here's why they deserve your attention:

• Quick Implementation: Point solutions are often easier to set up and start using, allowing you to test new ideas rapidly.
• Focused Functionality: These tools typically do one thing exceptionally well, which can be perfect when you're exploring new channels or strategies.
• Lower Initial Investment: Both in terms of time and money, point solutions often require less upfront commitment than overhauling your entire tech stack.
• Flexibility: If a tool isn't working out, it's generally easier to switch to an alternative without disrupting your entire workflow.

The Allure of All-in-One Platforms

Big software solutions often paint a tempting picture: a single, integrated platform that handles everything from customer data to campaign execution. While these comprehensive systems have their merits, they can sometimes hinder agility and innovation, especially when you're venturing into new territories or trying to reach a new audience.

Go Big or Go Home

All-in-one platforms (which you may have or be considering) offer a tempting picture: a single, integrated platform that handles all of your channels.  Some of these platforms started with one channel and continued to add others, and some came as multichannel from the beginning.  As new channels emerge, though, adding them to the same toolset usually means sacrificing some (sometimes big) parts of that new channel’s experience. You are then left with a surface-level set of features vs. a robust platform that let’s you really leverage the channel’s unique advantages. A classic "jack of all trades, master of none" scenario.

On the other hand, point solutions are designed to excel at specific tasks, diving deep into the nuances and intricacies of a particular aspect of marketing. They typically provide more advanced features, greater customization options, and a level of expertise that all-in-one platforms simply can't match. This focus allows marketers to fully explore and really test the potential of a specific channel or strategy, rather than settling for a watered-down version within a larger platform.

When trying to experiment with a new marketing approach or channel, using the built-in tools of an all-in-one platform is akin to half-heartedly attempting a new strategy, merely for the sake of saying you've tried it. This approach doesn't allow for a true, in-depth experiment because you're not getting the full experience that a dedicated point solution provides. If you're genuinely committed to understanding and exploring a new marketing channel, do it with a solution that really allows you to. This means leveraging the specialized capabilities of point solutions to conduct thorough, meaningful experiments that can yield valuable insights and potentially great results for your marketing strategy.

The Test-and-Learn Approach

Here's how you can leverage point solutions to drive innovation:

1. Identify Opportunities: Look for areas where your current solutions are falling short or where you want to explore new strategies.
2. Research and Select: Find point solutions that address your specific needs. Don't be afraid to try a few different options.
3. Implement and Test: Set up small-scale experiments to see how these tools perform in real-world scenarios.
4. Analyze and Learn: Pay close attention to the results. What's working? What isn't? What surprises you?
5. Optimize and Scale: Based on your findings, refine your approach and gradually increase the scope of your experiments.

From Point Solution to Integrated Workflow

As you discover what works best for your audience and objectives, you'll face a decision: do you continue with the point solution, or do you integrate these learnings into your existing tech stack?

Here are some considerations:

• Integration Potential: Can the point solution be easily integrated with your existing tools? Many modern SaaS platforms offer robust APIs and pre-built integrations.
• Scalability: Will the point solution continue to meet your needs as you grow, or will you eventually need to transition to a more comprehensive solution?
• Team Adoption: How has your team responded to the new tool? Sometimes, a great user experience can be worth maintaining a separate solution.
• Cost-Benefit Analysis: Weigh the ongoing costs of the point solution against the potential costs and benefits of integrating its functionality into your main tech stack.

Collaboration is Key

Your relationship with these point solutions doesn't have to be passive. Engage with their teams, provide feedback, and share what you’ve learned. Many of these companies are eager to improve their products and may be open to developing custom integrations or features that better suit your needs.

Conclusion: Embrace the Experimental Mindset

In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, agility is crucial. While comprehensive platforms have their place, don't underestimate the power of point solutions to drive innovation and uncover new opportunities. By adopting a test-and-learn approach, you can stay nimble, respond quickly to changing market conditions, and continuously improve your marketing strategies.

Remember, it's not about having the most sophisticated tech stack (or the simplest) - it's about finding the right tools that deliver results for your specific audience and objectives. So go ahead, experiment with that new email automation tool, or try out that innovative WhatsApp marketing platform. You might just discover your next game-changing strategy.