.png)
Instagram, with millions of active users daily, has become a powerhouse for businesses to connect with customers, generate leads, and drive sales. But the sheer volume of messages flooding in can make it nearly impossible to respond manually—no one can stay glued to their inbox 24/7! That’s where automated messages on Instagram come into play. With automation, businesses can effortlessly manage high message volumes, responding instantly and around the clock to keep customers engaged and satisfied.
In this blog, we’ll explore how businesses can harness the power of automation to maintain seamless, real-time interactions with their audience on Instagram, turning conversations into conversions!
💡In 2024, Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users, with 49.4% female users amd 50.6%.
💡Instagram is the most downloaded app in 2024, with 182.8 million downloads in the first quarter only.
What are automated Instagram messages?
Instagram allows you to send pre-written messages automatically to users based on certain actions. The automated messages can include replies, welcome messages, or a series of related questions. Additionally, advanced software like Trengo can also use chatbots to handle conversations.
The automated messages on Instagram allow you to interact with your followers immediately without needing manual work.
The role of auto-reply in customer service
The automated Instagram messages are part of an automatic messaging system that may reply to users' comments or questions right away. Ensuring that clients receive timely responses is essential for enhancing their overall experience and improving the perception of your company.
Nearly 90% of Instagram users are following a business on Instagram. Those who receive timely responses and feel acknowledged and appreciated are more likely to buy from your brand and turn into loyal customers.
Types of automated Instagram messages
Automated messages on Instagram can have the following five types:
- Thank you messages
- Welcome messages
- Acknowledge new messages
- Customer orders support
- Outreach to new accounts
Thank you messages
A thank you message can help your brand to get closer to your prospects. You can send such messages in the following situations:
- Receiving a positive message from a client
- You get an order via Instagram shoppable posts
- You get a new user
- Someone replies to your story
- Someone mentions you in their story
Remember that these messages should resonate with the tone of your brand. For example, if you are an energetic brand your message should also sound similar to it. Your thank you message cannot be boring and mundane like, “Thank you So much for your text, we’ll get back to you swiftly.”
Welcome messages for new followers
If you are on Instagram for business purposes, you cannot ignore a new follower. You can again automate Instagram messages to send welcome notes to the new prospect. Sending a welcome message can portray your positive image in front of your prospect.
Your welcome message can sound like, “Hey! Welcome aboard. We are happy to have you as a new follower.”
Acknowledge new messages
Maintaining constant communication with your audience and responding quickly may seem ideal, but in practice, it may be challenging.
You can acknowledge new messages and reassure your audience that they will receive a response shortly if you have an automatic messaging system that runs around the clock. This creates a positive first impression and is comforting.
For instance: ”We appreciate your message. Within the following few hours, we will be in touch with you. Warm regards, Trengo.”
Customer orders support
The best-case scenario for automated messages is for customer support. You can use the quick response to handle customer queries on the spot. It will help your customer get quick answers and also reduce your workload.
For instance, “Thank you for ordering xyz product. Your order is confirmed. Here are your delivery details.”
Outreach to new accounts
What about reaching out to new Instagram followers with messages? Sending "Welcome" messages to your new followers is a good place to start. You can even get creative by including a link to your website or a buy link with a discount.
Doing this will raise your conversion rate and boost sales.
For instance: “Apply your exclusive discount code XXXXX for a special discount at our website.”
How to set up automated Instagram messages using Trengo?
Instagram does not support automated messages by default. But you can still utilise automated replies using Trengo. Trengo is a platform that helps businesses improve customer experience and help them boost their credibility.
You can follow the given instructions to set up automated messages on Instagram.
- Go to your settings >automation >auto replies
- Click on the green + sign
- Fill in the message you want to send during opening hours
- Fill in the message you want to send outside of opening hours or holidays
- Decide on which days you want your auto-replies to be sent
- Hit the save button.
You can always edit your automated responses or change their settings later.
How to use Instagram automated messages?
Here are 10 ways you can get the best out of automated messages on Instagram:
1. Auto-reply to comments on feed posts
Automated responses can help you increase engagement on posts. You can use this feature to reply to your audience and see the engagement increase.
The best way to do this is to ask your audience to comment on a specific keyword. The keyword will trigger the automated response and they will get an instant reply. The quick response will also help you to increase post visibility and improve your overall engagement level.
2. Auto-reply to mentions on Instagram stories
Stories are an excellent place to start a direct message on Instagram. They have little trouble striking up a discussion.
When someone mentions you in their Instagram Story, you can configure your direct messages to be sent right away. As you have the tool of Instagram automated messages. Your reply can be as basic as saying "thank you," or you can take advantage of the situation and give the consumers a link that will send them to your website.
3. Move Instagram users from the comments section to your DMs
Some comments may be better handled by direct message on Instagram, particularly when discussing orders or other problems your users may encounter.
You may reply to specific comments with a straightforward "Thank you for your inquiry, we've sent you an Instagram DM to further discuss this" response, depending on the guidelines you set.
4. Offer customer support through DMs
You can utilise the feature of automation to quickly solve customer queries within DMs. You can also share with them different links that may help them solve their issue or lead them to a human agent.
5. Follow up on pending conversations with automated messages
Are there any pending conversations in your DM? If yes then you can send automated messages on Instagram as follows and carry the remaining conversation. Follow-ups are necessary for businesses as they can get you sales or more leads.
6. Acknowledge when a new Message has been received
It is not possible for you to check your DM 24/7. To show the users that you are there for them you can use automated messages to give instant replies and provide an estimated time frame about when they can expect a reply.
7. Strive for lead generation and lead qualification
You may also use Instagram direct messages to generate leads. For example, anyone who likes your post or story will receive a discount coupon in their DMs in exchange for their email addresses.
8. Improve content visibility in front of your current followers
Automated messages can also help you to improve content visibility. How? It's simple, you can send a link to your new posts directly in the DMs of your followers. You can even enhance this strategy and send the messages according to the different time zones. Hence, you will be able to get maximum engagement from around the globe.
9. Check-in with existing followers and customers
Automated messages can also help you in improving your personalisation strategy. You can use them to send follow-up messages or just simple greetings to your followers using their first names. This strategy can do great things for your brand if you know the art of communication.
10. Reach out to influencers for brand exposure
Another excellent method to engage and benefit from DM automation is to send messages to influencers on Instagram to request brand exposure.
In your message, be sure to explain why you reached out to them, why they would be the ideal representative of your brand, and what you hope to gain by collaborating with your company.
But ensure that the influencers your automated Instagram DMs are reaching are relevant to your brand and have an audience that will be interested in your product or services.
When to use auto-reply DM on Instagram?
Here are the best use cases of automated Instagram messaging:
1. As conversation starters
Customers are always looking for quick responses from businesses. However, it can get difficult for a business to keep up the pace manually. The solution here is to utilise the power of automated replies, especially for repeated queries.
For example, if your customers are asking for your location or contact information, your automated DMs bot can reply with relevant information. This quick response will help you improve your productivity and also enhance your customer support department.
2. Serving up personalised responses based on user behaviour
A personalised customer experience can help your business increase customer experience by 70%. So you should use the power of AI and automated replies to provide tailored experiences to each customer on Instagram. This approach will help you enjoy better engagement rates that will lead to more sales for your business.
3. As customer support enhancement
Speed is one of the key factors of successful customer support. As of today, at least 82% of users are more likely to stay with you if they get a quick response from your team. However, your yeam cannot chat with all the customers at once. So, to fill the gap you can start using automated responses. You can use automated responses to instantly answer FAQs, solve general queries, or inform consumers about your new products.
The advantages of managing customer service with Instagram DM integrated with Trengo
Trengo is one of the best tools when it comes to automated replies for social media. Here are some of the benefits that Trengo brings to the table for Instagram message automation:
Collaborate with your team
It was nearly impossible to monitor who was responding to what in the past when you and your team used Instagram directly to manage your messages and comments.
Trengo eliminates that problem. You may tag an Instagram direct message ticket with the proper tag, assign it to the appropriate person, and even have a conversation with your team members from within the ticket to address the issue.
Start a DM from a comment
A prospect wants to know more about your business in the comment section? Let’s not wait for them to reach out via inbox as you have the golden opportunity to start the conversation. Use Trengo’s automated replies to quickly respond to your customer’s questions and lead the conversation in the DM.
Search for conversations
A business on Instagram can receive countless messages. It is hard and frustrating to manage the crowded DM without letting important conversations and opportunities slip through the cracks.
With Trengo’s Instagram DM integration, you can quickly find a conversation just by typing the user name.
Automate repetitive queries
You can automatically respond to some of the questions if people keep asking the same ones in direct messages.
Price, product information, delivery date, influencer collaboration, and other frequently asked questions can all have a consistent response prepared and sent each time the same (or a similar) question is received.
Manage your Instagram business account with Trengo
Now that you’ve seen the power of Instagram automated messages, it’s time to take action! While Instagram doesn’t offer built-in message automation, the good news is, tools like Trengo make it easy to implement.
With Trengo, businesses can engage with customers 24/7, streamline communication, and drive more leads without lifting a finger.
Curious to see how it works? Check out some of our success stories or book a free demo to see how Trengo can transform your Instagram interactions.
