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Comments and DMs on Instagram come from people who are close to buying. Here is how to answer them quickly with comment-to-DM rules, gentle follow-ups and an AI agent.
Every comment asking "price?" and every DM asking about sizes comes from someone who is close to buying. If you want to turn Instagram DMs into sales, start by making sure those people get a quick, useful answer, even when you're busy or asleep. This is how we would set that up.
Why do Instagram DMs matter for sales?
Someone who messages you has usually already spotted a product they like. They want a price, a size, a delivery date or a link. If the reply arrives the next afternoon, plenty of them will have bought somewhere else or simply forgotten. Answering while they are still interested makes a real difference.
How to turn Instagram DMs into sales with comment-to-DM rules
A popular approach is asking followers to comment a keyword, like LINK, under a post. A comment rule then sends each of them a DM with the link. In SimplyBoost a rule can cover one post, a set of posts you pick, or all your posts including future ones, and you can exclude individual posts. The match is on the whole word and ignores capitals, so "Link" and "link" both count.
The DM can greet people by their username and carry one link button. You can also leave a short public reply under the comment, which shows everyone else scrolling past that you respond.
How do you follow up without being pushy?
Not everyone taps the link straight away. You can add up to six follow-up DMs, and they stop the moment the person writes back. They all go out within Instagram's 24-hour messaging window.
If growing your following matters too, you can switch on a follow request. We kept it gentle on purpose. It is only shown to people who don't follow you yet, at most once a day per person, and they still get the link if they skip it.
Answering the questions that land in your DMs
Keyword rules take care of your campaigns, but most of an Instagram inbox is ordinary questions. An AI agent that has learned from your website, product pages and FAQs can answer those in the DM. If you sell on Shopify, it can also show product cards in the conversation. When someone asks for a person, or the message is a complaint or about a refund, the chat is handed to your team.
Instagram plans start at €17 a month, with twice the messages ManyChat gives at the same price and unlimited contacts. You can see how it works on our Instagram automation page, or compare the plans on the pricing page.