Most talk about Instagram DM automation is about one flow: "comment GUIDE and I'll send you the link". It works, and it has its own guide. But comments are only one way people reach you. They also write to you, reply to your stories, tag you in theirs, and tap a link on a flyer.
This post covers five flows for those moments. Each one has an example you can copy, the steps in Postfjord, and what to watch out for. At the end are the guardrails: how people stop the messages, and how a person on your team takes over.
Why the DMs are worth a flow
Meta said in May 2022 that one billion people message a business each week on WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram Direct. In October 2023, Mark Zuckerberg told investors that people and businesses interact more than 600 million times a day across Meta's apps. Both are Meta's own figures, checked on September 28, 2026.
For a US business, who is on Instagram matters as much as how many. Pew Research Center's 2025 survey found that half of US adults use Instagram, and 8 in 10 adults under 30.
If your customers are under 50, a good share of them will write to you on Instagram before they call. The five flows below answer them while you are busy.
One rule to know first: the person writes first
Meta lets a business send a DM only when the person started it: they wrote to you, commented, replied to a story, tagged you or opened a link to your chat. After their last message you have 24 hours to reply automatically. That is why you cannot set up "DM every new follower" in any honest tool, and why every flow below starts with something the person does.
Postfjord follows that window for every automated message. The Automation help page lists what happens when it closes.
Flow 1: Keyword reply
Starts when: someone writes a word to you in a DM, like "price", "hours" or "book".
This is the flow to build first. Most small accounts get the same three or four questions every week, and a keyword reply answers them at 11 PM with the right answer.
Example for a yoga studio in Austin:
Person: how much is a drop in class? Reply: Hi! A drop-in class is $25, and your first week is $40 for unlimited classes. Want the schedule? [Show me the schedule] Reply after the tap: Here it is: {link}
Set it up:
- Open Automation, press New automation and pick Keyword reply.
- Accounts: tick your Instagram account.
- Keywords: type
price, prices, cost, how much, drop inand press Enter after each. - Opening DM: write the question and the button text (up to 20 characters).
- The DM with your link: paste the link to your schedule and press Save automation.
Matching ignores case and punctuation, so "PRICE??" counts. If a word is common in normal talk, like "class", switch on Only when the whole message is the keyword, so "what time is class" does not start it.
Put a default reply behind your keyword replies for messages that match nothing. The keyword reply wins when it matches, and the default reply answers the rest.
Flow 2: Story replies
Starts when: someone replies to one of your Instagram stories.
A story that says "Reply LINK for the menu" is a comment-to-DM for stories. The difference: a story reply is already a DM, so the conversation is open from the first message.
Example for a bakery in Denver:
Story: "Pumpkin loaves are back Saturday. Reply 🎃 to get on the pre-order list." Person: 🎃 Reply (2 minutes later): You're on the list! Pre-order your loaf here before Friday at 6 PM: {link}
Set it up:
- New automation, then Story replies.
- Keywords: add
🎃. An emoji reaction to a story arrives as a message with that emoji, so an emoji keyword works. Leave keywords empty to answer every story reply. - Set Wait before answering to 1 or 2 minutes. A reply a minute later reads like a person.
- Write the DM, paste the link and save.
When no story automation matches, the reply is handled as a normal DM, so your keyword replies from flow 1 still answer it.
Flow 3: A thank you for story mentions
Starts when: someone tags your account in their own story.
A mention is free marketing from a real customer, and it is easy to miss one. This flow thanks every one of them, and can give them a reason to come back.
Example for a coffee shop:
Reply: Thanks for the shoutout! Show this message at the counter next time and your next drip coffee is on us.
Set it up:
- New automation, then Thanks for a mention.
- Accounts: tick the account.
- Thank-you message: write the text, add a button if you want one.
- Leave Only once per 24 hours per person on, so a person who posts five stories in one afternoon gets one thank you.
Keep the offer small and something you can honor at the counter. The inbox marks the message "Mentioned you in a story", with a link to the story when Meta sends one, so you can repost the good ones.
Flow 4: A follow gate
Starts when: any of the flows above, as an add-on before the link.
A follow gate asks the person to follow you before they get the freebie. Use it when the thing you send is worth a follow: a guide, a discount, a recipe card. Skip it for answers to plain questions. Nobody should have to follow you to learn your hours.
Example for a fitness coach:
Reply: The 4 week home workout plan is yours. One thing first: follow @coachmaya so you catch the weekly check-ins, then tap below. [I'm following] If they are not following yet: Looks like the follow didn't go through. Follow @coachmaya and tap again.
Set it up:
- On the step The DM with your link, open Add-ons.
- Turn on Ask them to follow you before they get the link.
- Edit the Message, the Button label and the Message when they are not following yet.
When the person taps, Postfjord asks Instagram whether they follow you. The "not following yet" message goes out at most twice, and on the third tap the link goes out anyway. Nobody gets stuck in a loop, and nobody gets nagged forever. On a Facebook Page the gate always lets people through, because Pages have no follow.
Flow 5: Ask for their email in the DM
Starts when: any of the flows above, as an add-on.
Followers belong to Instagram. An email address is a way to reach someone that no algorithm decides. The DM is a good moment to ask, because the person asked you for something a minute ago.
Example for a salon in Chicago:
Reply: Want our holiday booking dates before they go public? Reply with your email and we'll send them first. Person: jess.rivera [at] gmial.com Reply: Hmm, that doesn't look like a working email. Could you check it and send it again? Person: jess.rivera [at] gmail.com Reply: Got it, thanks Jess! You'll hear from us first.
Set it up:
- On The DM with your link, open Add-ons and turn on Ask for their email in the DM.
- Edit Ask for the email, Thank you message and Message when the answer is not an email.
Postfjord checks the address before it saves it. A typo in a common domain, like gmial.com, counts as not an email, so the person is asked again. A valid address is saved on the person's contact, where you can tag them, add them to a segment or export them. The email list guide covers what to do with the list once it grows.
Say what they get and how often. "Holiday dates first" is a promise people accept. "Join our newsletter" is one they skip.
Combine them
The flows work together. A realistic setup for one account:
- Three keyword replies: prices, hours, booking.
- A story reply automation for the weekly offer story.
- A mention thank you.
- A default reply for everything else, between 10 PM and 7 AM.
- A follow gate and an email question only on the one flow that gives away something worth it.
Under Advanced you can add waits, tags and conditions, for example "tag everyone who asked about prices" or "send the second message only to people without an email". And you can turn on a Claude step that answers follow-up questions from your brand profile. Claude never invents prices or dates, and when someone asks for a person, the thread gets Needs a human in the inbox.
The guardrails
Automation that nobody can stop is spam. These are the rules in Postfjord, all from the Automation help page:
- STOP works. A short message with STOP, unsubscribe or a similar word stops every automated message to that person for good. "Can I stop by at 5?" does not count. You can still reply yourself.
- A person takes over. When someone on your team replies in a thread, automation pauses there, 30 minutes by default. The owner can set it from off to 240 minutes in Chat settings. The thread shows Resume now if you want the flow to go on sooner.
- Five messages per run. One automation run never sends more than five messages.
- An hourly cap. Each plan has a cap on automated messages per hour: 60 on Free, 400 on Solo, 1,500 on Studio and 5,000 on Agency. Your own replies are never counted.
- You see why. When a flow would have answered and did not, the thread gets a grey line with the reason.
Test every flow from a second account before you promote it. Write the keyword, reply to the story, tag yourself in a story, and read what comes back.
The Free plan runs one automation, and every paid plan runs unlimited automations. See pricing and the automation feature page.
FAQ
Is Instagram DM automation allowed?
Yes, when it goes through Meta's official messaging API and only answers people who wrote, commented, replied or tagged you first. Tools that log in with your password and send DMs to strangers put the account at risk.
Can I automatically DM new followers on Instagram?
No. Meta lets a business message a person only after the person started the conversation. A follow alone does not open a chat. Put a "reply to this story" or "comment a word" call to action where new followers see it instead.
Can I automate Instagram DMs for free?
Instagram's own saved replies and FAQ are free, and Meta Business Suite has free inbox automations with keyword replies and an away message. The auto reply guide compares them. Postfjord's Free plan runs one automation.
What is the 24 hour rule for Instagram DMs?
After a person's last message, a business has 24 hours to send automated messages. When the window closes, the flow stops and waits until the person writes again. A wait step in an automation never reopens it.
How do I stop an automation from answering someone I am talking to?
Reply in the thread from the inbox. Automation pauses there for the time set in Chat settings, and Automation on in the thread header switches automations off for that one conversation. The person can also write STOP to stop all automated messages.