Campaigns answer comments on your Instagram posts and Reels. You choose which comments count, what appears publicly under the post, and what the commenter receives privately. A simple example is “Comment GUIDE for the notes”: the commenter writes GUIDE, your public reply tells them to check their inbox, and your DM starts the conversation.
This walkthrough follows the Campaigns screen in InstaDM. Start with one post and one clear keyword, test with another Instagram account, then expand the campaign if it does what you expect. A campaign is different from an Automation: Campaigns start from comments; Automations start from an incoming DM, story interaction, starter question, chat menu or tracked link.
Before you create a campaign
- Sign in to InstaDM and connect an Instagram Business or Creator account if you have not done so. Use the Connect Instagram action and approve the requested permissions.
- Check the Instagram name in the dashboard menu. If you manage several accounts, switch to the account whose post you want to use.
- Open Campaigns from the menu, or go to instadm.aipatnam.com/campaigns. Press New Campaign. The form is called New Keyword Campaign.
The Free plan allows one active campaign. All posts and Reels, My next post, and other advanced options may ask for Basic or Advance. If you see a plan message while saving, use This post for your first campaign or review the plan shown in the app.
Step 1: choose which comments to watch
| Which posts? | What happens |
|---|---|
| This post | Pick one existing post or Reel. The campaign only checks comments there. |
| All posts and Reels | Use the same keyword on existing and future posts. A campaign made for one specific post takes priority on that post. |
| My next post | Wait for the next post you publish, then stay attached to that post. |
| When I go live | A beta option for comments during a Live broadcast, with its own delivery limits. |
For a first test, keep This post selected and choose a recent post from the Post picker. Scroll inside the picker to load older posts if you cannot see the one you want. Decide the scope before saving: the edit form locks Which posts? and the selected post, so changing them later means creating another campaign.
Step 2: choose a keyword and try a sample comment
In Keyword to watch, type a word people will naturally use, such as GUIDE. Separate alternatives with commas, for example “guide, notes”. Matching is not case-sensitive. You can add “-refund” to skip comments containing refund. An asterisk answers every comment, so use it only when you really want that behaviour.
Type a sample into Try a comment to see if it would trigger. Try both a match (“Please send the guide”) and a non-match (“Nice photo”). If you add an exclusion, test that too. This preview checks the keyword text; it does not send anything to Instagram.
Keep the trigger narrow at first. A word such as “nice” appears in ordinary conversation and can send unwanted DMs. A word tied to what the post promises is easier for both you and the commenter to understand.
Step 3: write the public reply and private DM
Write a short Comment reply, such as “Sent — please check your DMs or requests folder.” Then write the DM message: tell the person what they requested and what to do next. Both fields are required for a normal comment-to-DM campaign. The preview on the right of a wide screen, or below the form on a phone, shows the message flow before you save.
If you only want a public answer, select Only reply publicly — no DM. The form hides the DM fields. You can write several versions of a reply by placing --- on its own line between them. The same separator rotates wording in the normal public reply and DM fields.
The DM field shows a byte counter. Emoji and Indian-script letters can use more bytes than English letters, so shorten a message if the counter says it is too long. The form supports placeholders such as {{username}} and {{keyword}}. Read the preview with those placeholders in mind; a name or follower count may fall back when Instagram has not shared that detail.
Step 4: add a link or ask first
To deliver notes or a product page, paste its full https address into Notes / Files URL. A link written in the DM also works. InstaDM normally sends an initial text DM with a Send me the link button; the person taps it to receive the link. If Instagram refuses the button, the message can fall back to showing the link as text.
For a longer conversation, turn on Ask first, then send the link. You can choose the words the person replies with, change the follow-up text and button label, or ask for an email address or Indian mobile number where your plan supports it. The person must respond before the second message can be sent. Add follow-up DMs only when they fit that conversation.
Leave Track link clicks on if you want link opens reflected in analytics. InstaDM does not rewrite supported affiliate links. If you choose a store product, the form fills in a two-step flow and can send a product card after the person replies. Review every filled field before saving.
Step 5: save, test and read the results
- Press Create Campaign. Check that its card appears and that its active switch is on. The card shows the scope, keyword, reply text, sent count and any failures.
- Ask a friend or use another Instagram account to comment the keyword on the selected post. Your own comment is not a useful delivery test. Check the public reply and the other account’s DMs, including message requests.
- If you need to check existing comments now, press Run Now on that campaign. Run All Active checks all active campaigns. Read the result message and refresh the cards.
- Open Analytics → Automation for campaign results. A match, a sent DM and a reply from the person are different events; a match does not guarantee delivery.
Use the card switch to pause a campaign, and Edit to change its keyword or messages. Delete asks for confirmation and removes its send history, so pause first if you may want the record later. If a test fails, look at Setup Health above the campaign list and the failure count before changing the keyword.
Questions people ask
Why did my own test comment get no DM?
Test from a different Instagram account. InstaDM does not use your own comments as a normal customer delivery test.
Can I change the post after creating a campaign?
No. The edit form locks the post and scope. Create a new campaign for a different post, then pause or delete the old one as appropriate.
Why does the card show a match but no sent DM?
A match means a comment met the trigger. Delivery can still be skipped or fail because of permissions, limits, an older comment, a repeated recipient or another sending condition. Check Setup Health, the card counts and the result of Run Now.
Does Ask first send the product card immediately?
No. The first private reply is a text message. After the person responds, InstaDM can send the next message or product card.
Start with a recent post and one keyword you can test from another account.
Open Campaigns →Sources
Written by the aipatnam team from Meta's developer documentation and what we see building tools for Indian creators. Platform rules change; we review these guides regularly. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.