This is the most common DM Automation setup:
A user comments a keyword and receives something in DMs.
Example:
Caption: “Comment SUSHI and I’ll DM you the recipe.”
Comment: “SUSHI”
DM: “Want the recipe?” → user clicks “Yes” → recipe delivered
Step-by-step setup
Step 1: Create a DM Automation
Go to DM Automations and create a new automation.
Step 2: Choose the trigger
Select: Someone comments on your post
Step 3: Choose your targeting approach
You typically have two approaches:
Option A: “Post Caption contains” (recommended)
Use this when you want the automation to work across multiple posts.
Add a marker to captions (e.g., “Comment "SUSHI" for recipe”)
Set automation condition: Post caption contains <<Comment "SUSHI”>>
Why this is recommended:
You can reuse the same automation across multiple posts
It’s easier to manage than selecting individual posts
It’s more robust if posts get reused/boosted
Option B: Specific post selection
Use when you want only one exact post to trigger it.
Downside: if you run certain ad/boost setups, IDs can change and require maintenance.
Step 4: Set the comment keyword
Define the keyword the user must comment (case-insensitive).
Example: "SUSHI"
Step 5: Add a public comment reply (recommended)
First step:
Send comment reply
Example:
“Perfect - check your DMs 👀”
Add 3–5 variants to keep it organic
You can add the variable {{username}} to keep it natural and tag the user in the comment.
Step 6: Build the DM flow
Now add DM steps. A proven structure:
1. Ask a question (buttons)
“Want the recipe?”
Buttons: “Yes please” / “No thanks”
2. (Optional) Check if user follows you (IG-only)
If not following: ask them to follow and reply again
If following: continue
3. Send message or Send link
Either paste the recipe directly
Or send a tracked link to your recipe/freebee
4. (Optional) Time delay follow-up
Wait 2 days
“Did you try it yet?”
Why “Ask a question” is so powerful
If you send only one DM message, you might not be able to send follow-ups depending on user interaction and Meta rules. Button clicks are a clean way to get explicit interaction and safely continue a multi-step flow.