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Instagram setup & comment automations

Professional account requirements, connecting your page, mandatory mobile message permissions, DMs vs. post comments, and building public or private comment campaigns.

Connect your Instagram Professional account to RioBlocks Concierge to automate direct message conversations, reply to followers' inquiries, and launch interactive comment-to-DM campaigns on your posts.

1. Prerequisites

  • An Instagram Business or Creator account (Personal accounts do not support Meta's Graph API or webhooks).
  • Your Instagram account should be linked to a Facebook Page managed by your Meta Business Suite.
  • Admin or Full Control access on the Facebook Page and Meta Business Suite.
  • Physical access to the Instagram mobile app on your smartphone to toggle messaging permissions.

2. Connect in Concierge Channels

  1. Navigate to Channels

    Inside the Concierge console, go to Assistant → Channels (or Studio → Channels). Locate the Instagram card.

  2. Click Connect with Instagram

    Click the primary connect button to launch Meta's official authorization popup. Log in with your Facebook credentials.

  3. Select your Instagram Business Account and Page

    Check the box for the Instagram Business account and associated Facebook Page you wish to link. Ensure you grant all requested permissions (messages, comments, and post insights).

  4. Confirm Connected Status

    Once the popup closes, the Instagram card will display a green Connected badge along with your Instagram handle (@yourhandle).

3. Mandatory mobile setting: Allow access to messages

  1. Open the Instagram App

    Open the Instagram app on your smartphone logged into the professional account.

  2. Go to Settings and Privacy

    Navigate to your profile tab, tap the hamburger menu (☰) in the top right corner, and select Settings and privacy.

  3. Navigate to Message Controls

    Tap Messages and story replies → Message controls (or Connected tools → Allow access to messages, depending on your app version).

  4. Toggle 'Allow access to messages' ON

    Enable the toggle for 'Allow access to messages' under Connected tools. This authorizes third-party platforms to receive inbound customer DMs.

4. DMs vs. Post Comments: How Concierge works

Understanding the difference between direct messages and comments is key to configuring your assistant:

  • Direct Messages (DMs): Work automatically. Any follower messaging your handle opens a conversation turn with your Concierge assistant. The assistant uses your approved knowledge base, follows your instructions, and qualifies leads.
  • Post Comments: Require an Automation workflow. Because public comments appear on public feeds rather than private inboxes, Concierge uses the Visual Workflow Studio (Automations) to trigger tailored responses when someone comments on your posts.

5. Comment Automation Templates

You do not need to build workflows from scratch. Concierge provides ready-to-publish starter templates in the Automations Studio for every common use case:

  1. Reply to post comments with AI (Public)

    Answers followers' questions directly in public comments on your post thread using your knowledge base. Great for general FAQs, customer engagement, and directing complex inquiries to DMs.

  2. Answer post inquiries in DM (Private + Public)

    When someone asks about pricing, how it works, or services in the comments, the assistant sends an AI-tailored private answer in their DMs and leaves a polite public note under the comment confirming it was sent.

  3. Keyword Campaigns: Send link via DM

    The classic marketing campaign: you invite followers to comment a specific keyword (e.g. 'WANT' or 'INFO') on a promotional post or reel, and Concierge immediately sends them the designated link in DM.

  4. Keyword Campaigns: Personalized DM with AI

    Similar to the keyword campaign, but the assistant personalizes the DM copy for each commenter while keeping your fixed link and fallback copy intact.

6. Testing tips & Meta policies

  • Always publish your automation: Draft automations never trigger on live posts. Verify the status is 'Publicado' (Published).
  • Test with a secondary personal account: Meta automatically suppresses webhooks and echoes for comments made by the page's own administrators or the page handle itself.
  • Meta 1-DM-per-person limit: Meta's Private Reply API allows businesses to send exactly one automated DM in response to a post comment, and only within 7 days of the comment date.
  • Re-engagement: Once the follower replies to your direct message, a normal 24-hour customer service window opens, allowing full two-way AI conversation.