Instagram, with more than one billion active users in a month, is one of the most popular social media platforms globally. As Instagram users are increasing, this platform is playing a leading role in digital marketing, and thousands of brands and businesses use it to gain customers. That’s why Instagram is adding more tools and features for businesses to help them grow and manage their accounts.
To help them manage their DM inbox, Instagram has recently introduced primary vs general Instagram messages.
In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about general vs primary Instagram messages and using them.
Manage Your DMs Like A Pro Now!
What Do Primary And General Mean On Instagram DMs?
If you have a business account on Instagram, you have probably noticed new changes in your DM inbox. In the new updates, Instagram sorts messages into two categories; Instagram general messages and primary ones.
But what does primary and general mean on Instagram and what is their difference? How to get primary and general dms on Instagram? These are the questions that we want to answer in this part to show you how to use this primary vs general Instagram tool like a pro.
Opening your DM inbox on an Instagram professional account, you can see that it’s divided into three tabs; Primary, General, and Requests. Here’s how Instagram introduces them:
- Primary messages: This tab belongs to messages that you would like to see first. All messages will appear here but you can easily swipe them into the general tab. You will receive notifications for unread messages in this tab but you can turn them off in the settings.
- General messages: In this tab, you can see the messages that you would like to get back to them later. You won’t get a notification for unread messages in this tab, but you can turn them on from your settings.
- Requests: Here you can the messages that you receive from users that you don’t follow. Once you accept their message request, the chat will be moved to the primary tab.
How Do You Get Primary And General On Instagram?
As we mentioned, having a business account on Instagram allows you to filter and organize your messages.
This feature is perfect for brands and influencers who get tons of DMs every day and need to sort them. As you’ve realized what’s the difference between primary and general on Instagram, now, let’s see how to use them to manage your DMs like a pro.
- Log into your Instagram account and go to your DM inbox from your profile.
- Tap and hold on a conversation you want to move.
- If you are in the primary inbox, select “Move To General”, otherwise, tap “Move to Primary.”
- You can also select multiple conversations and move them together.
How To Turn On General Messages On Instagram?
If you can’t see general messages on Instagram after the new update, it’s because you are using a personal account on Instagram. Unfortunately, this feature is only available for business profiles yet; so to use it, make sure to switch your account from personal to business from your settings. After that, you can easily move to general Instagram inbox and sort your messages.
How to Manage Instagram DMs?
What are general messages on Instagram and how do you get primary and general on Instagram? How to check inbox on Instagram on business accounts? You already know the answer, now, let’s consider other tools and features you can try to manage your inbox.
Create Quick Replies
Another new and cool feature that is added to Instagram recently that is perfect for online shops and businesses. With the Instagram quick reply feature, you can create replies to your most frequently asked questions. This way you can speed up the shopping process for your customers and take their orders when you are busy. Here’s how to use this tool for your Instagram primary vs general messages:
- Log into your Instagram account and go to your profile.
- Tap the three-line icon at top of your screen and open “Settings.”
- Scroll down and tap on “Business.”
- Select “Saved Replies.”
- Tap the “+” icon at top of your screen to create a reply.
- In this box, write a shortcut and a message.
- Tap the checkmark button to save.
Once you finished adding your quick reply, all you have to do for using is type the shortcut you created. It will cause a blue quick reply button to appear in your message inbox. Tap the button and the message you wrote earlier will appear earlier.
Use Filters To Manage Your Inbox
One of the best features added for business accounts is filtering the inbox Instagram messages. With this new feature, you can organize your Instagram direct inbox and save time on replying to messages. Using this option, you can filter your inbox on Instagram based on three factors: Unanswered, Unread, and Flagged. (In the next parts, we will show you how to flag primary Instagram messages.) However, your general messages Instagram remain separated whether you use filtering options or not. Here is sort by default Instagram meaning and how to use this feature:
- Go to your Instagram DM inbox on an Instagram business account.
- Tap on the “Filter” button at the top of your screen.
- Choose the way you want your messages to be filtered and ordered.
By choosing “Unread,” you can only view the messages that are not opened on your inbox. And by choosing “Unanswered,” you can only view the messages that you’ve opened but didn’t reply to them.
Flag DMs
So, what does the orange flag mean on Instagram DMs? Another good way to filter and organize your DM folder on Instagram is by using the flagging function. With this feature, you can remind yourself that a message is important and needs your attention so you will get back to it later. In the last part, we showed you how to use the filtering option to sort messages by read and unread; But with this feature, you can sort all the important messages that you want to find easily or the ones that still waiting for a while. To flag a message, all you need to do is open the chat and tap on the flag option in the top-right corner.
Then, this chat will appear with a small orange tag in your inbox to make it easy to find.
Once you respond to your DM, you can remove the flag option simply by tapping the option in the upper-right corner of your screen. You can also hold on to the conversation from your inbox and choose “Unflag.”
Note: Similar to the general vs primary Instagram feature, the flagging tool is available for business accounts.
Use An Instagram DM Tool
Unlike primary features, DM tools are available for all types of Instagram accounts (professional, creator and personal), which can also offer more features to manage and organize your direct messages on Instagram.
AiGrow is an Instagram management and growth service with multiple features that allows users with professional and personal accounts grow their audience. With this desktop tool, I not only you can use all the pro tools that Instagram offers, but also it offers essential features to help you save tons of time. Here is what AiGrow’s DM tool offers:
Manual DM Feature: A dedicated Instagram account manager will set all the DMs for you manually so you won’t have to spend anytime on setting and learning how to send mass dm on Instagram.
Automated DMs: Automatically send DMs to targeted Instagram users. You can target users by “Current followers,” “New followers,” “Followers of an influencer,” and “Hashtag users.” All you need to do is write your message and the AI engine will change the format and send it to your targeted audience so it doesn’t look spammy.
Auto Reply: Similar to the quick reply feature on the Instagram app, you can automatically respond to anyone who sends you a DM with a preset message.
DM To Email: Recieve and respond to your Instagram DMs from your email inbox.
DM Inbox: View, search Instagram messages, filter, and answer to your DMs on your desktop.
How Does AiGrow Works?
Now that you know everything about AiGrow’s Instagram DM service, let’s show you how to start using it step by step. Follow these steps to access your primary vs general Instagram messages on DMpro:
- First, signup on AiGrow for free and log into your account.
- Click “Add Instagram Account” to connect your Instagram page to AiGrow. You can add multiple accounts here and manage them together.
- Choose “Access” to start using different features.
As you can see, this process takes less than a minute and it’s beginner friendly. Now you will be redirected to your dashboard.
In the DM tab, you can access different tools and features that this platform provides for you.
Another way to set your DMs on AiGrow is to book a meeting with your dedicated account manager and discuss your requirements to send mass DMs for you manually on a daily basis and report back to you.
Conclusion
Sorting and filtering your Instagram DM inbox is essential for professional users that use Instagram to grow their business and customers. This way, you can avoid missing messages from your audience and keep in touch with them better. That’s why Instagram launched the new primary vs general Instagram messages feature to help business accounts. In this article, we told you everything you need to know about primary vs general messages Instagram feature and how to manage your inbox like a pro.
Also, we introduced you to a better alternative for personal and business accounts to access, sort, and filter messages on desktop, AiGrow. You can signup for free now and start managing your inbox in less than a minute
FAQs:
Should I put general or primary on Instagram?
If you are using a professional account on Instagram, you can use the new Instagram sorting tool to categorize your messages in general and primary. In the primary tab, sort the messages that you need to find easily and that are more important.
What’s The Difference Between Primary And General Instagram DMS?]
The new updated and organized Instagram inbox has two different tabs; Primary and General messages. The primary tab belongs to messages that you like to see first. All messages will appear here unless you swipe them to the general tab.
In the general tab, you will view the messages that you like to get back to them later. You will not receive notifications for messages in this tab.
How Do You Organize Your DMS On Instagram?
If you are using a professional Instagram page, you can use the sorting and categorizing option that Instagram provides for you. But if you have a personal account, try using Instagram inbox management tools such as DMpro to organize your messages.
How To Go To The Top Of Instagram Messages?
There is no straight button to reach the top of your Instagram inbox list. You can scroll all the way up or simply go out of your inbox and open it again. But how to go to messages on Instagram? Follow these two simple steps:
- Log into your Instagram account and go to your feed page.
- Tap the paper airplane button on the top right corner of your screen to open your inbox Instagram.
- Use the Instagram direct message suggested list order to sort your DMs and access them easier.
