In this tutorial, we'll learn how to connect a promotion with Instagram Direct Messages, making this channel a direct entry point for participants. 

This allows users to access the promotion from a private conversation with your brand, in a natural, seamless, and intuitive way within the Instagram App itself.

This goes far beyond simply sharing the promotion link with your Instagram audience: users will be able to participate without needing to register, as they will be automatically identified in the promotion with their Instagram @username.

Additionally, you’ll be able to set up exclusive promotions for your followers, so that only users who follow your Instagram account can participate.

In the following video, we show what the user experience is like:

Main features

• Direct access from Instagram Direct Messages (DM).
• Automatic user identification via their @username.
• Participation without the need for manual registration.
• Optionally, a registration form can be enabled to collect the user's contact information.
• Compatible with all Easypromos mechanics: giveaways, wheels, games, surveys, etc.
• Possibility to create exclusive promotions for Instagram followers.
• Participation takes place entirely within the Instagram app.
• Participants will be identified in rankings or contests by their Instagram @username.

Ways to access DMs

Users can start the conversation and access the promotion through:

• A keyword in a comment on a post.
• A reply or mention in a Story.
• A keyword sent by DM.
• Access from the DM menu, via an Ice Breaker or a direct ig.me link.

Note: This feature is only available for promotions created with the platform’s White Label version.

These are the contents of the tutorial:

1. What the user participation process is like

2. How to connect a promotion with Instagram Messenger

   • Step 1. Enable Login with Instagram

   • Step 2. Connect the promotion with an Instagram automation

3. Recommendations on when to enable the registration system

4. View participating users

1. What the user participation process is like

The user experience follows this process:

1) Initial impact on Instagram

The users are reached by a brand publication (post, reel, Story, or ad), where the promotion is announced, and they are invited to participate by sending a keyword.

2) Sending the keyword

If they wish to participate, the users send the keyword as a comment on a post or reel, reply to a Story, or send a direct message (DM) to the brand’s account with the keyword.

3) Automatic activation of the private message with access to the promotion

This action triggers the automation configured by the brand. As a result, the users receive a private message (DM) with a personalized text, an optional image, and, most importantly, a button to access the promotion.

Optionally, you can make access exclusive for followers. If the users don't follow the account, they will receive a message inviting them to do so to unlock access to the promotion.

4) Access to the promotion within Instagram and user identification

By tapping the button, the promotion opens without leaving the Instagram app. Users are automatically identified with their @username, with no additional registration required.

5) Participation in the configured mechanic

The users will see the first screen according to the defined mechanic, for example:

• Giveaways
• Prize wheels, scratch & win
• Instant win prizes
• Interactive games
• Surveys, quizzes, and trivias
• Advent calendars
• Coupons or unique codes
• Photo, video, or text contests
• Or any of the more than 50 mechanics available in Easypromos

6) Optional data collection

Optionally, you can ask the users to fill in their contact information and accept legal consent.

This registration can take place before participating in the dynamic, or after, for example, to claim a prize.

7) Control the number of user participations

From the settings of the promotion, you can define how many times Instagram users can participate.

For example, you can set up a Survey with a single participation per user, or a Prize Wheel where users can participate by spinning the wheel and trying their luck once per day.

This way, you can adjust the participation limit according to your campaign’s dynamics and objectives.

The entire process is designed to ensure the experience is smooth, engaging, and 100% within the Instagram App, turning every interaction into an opportunity for users to engage with your brand instantly and without friction.

2. How to connect a promotion with Instagram Messenger

Below, we detail the steps you need to follow.

Step 1. Enable Login with Instagram Messenger in the promotion

The integration with Instagram Messenger is compatible with all Easypromos mechanics, whether it's a Prize Wheel, a game (Puzzle, Memory, etc.), a Quiz, etc.

Prerequisites to enable the Login with Instagram Messenger system:

1. The promotion must have "Identified Mode" enabled as the participation flow, meaning users must identify themselves before accessing the participation mechanic. For more details about the different participation flows and how they work within the promotion, check our specific tutorial on Participation flows in Easypromos.
2. The promotion must be created with the platform’s White Label version.

Once you’ve created the promotion in your Easypromos control panel, the first step is to enable Login with Instagram Messenger so users can participate directly from their Instagram account.

For participation to be automatic and for users to be identified by their @username, you must enable Login with Instagram.

To do this, go to Editor > Pages > Login and registration > Login and activate the "Instagram Messenger" option:

By default, enabling "Instagram Messenger" as a login system allows users to be automatically identified when they click the link sent by the automation, with no need for manual registration. Therefore, once identified in the promotion, Instagram users can access the promotion mechanic directly, without going through a registration form.

Even so, if you wish, you have the option to require the registration form step, so that after the Instagram users are identified, they are redirected to the promotion’s registration form, which they must fill out before proceeding to the participation mechanic. 

Note: This option is only useful if you need to collect user data and their consent after they win a prize, via the prize claim form. 

To require users to register, you must check the following box:

Note: Read Section 3: "Recommendations on When to Enable the Registration System", where we explain the different scenarios in which it makes sense to activate user registration on Instagram. This registration can be done either before or after the participation mechanic, or you can choose not to collect any data at all.

Step 2. Connect the promotion with an Instagram automation

For users to access the promotion from Instagram Messenger, you first need to create an automation that connects the user interaction to the participation action.

In Easypromos, you have the "Instagram Automations" tool, with which you can easily set up automations from comments and direct messages.

If you don’t have any automation created yet, follow the steps in this tutorial.

Once the automation is created, to connect it to the promotion, follow these steps:

1. From the "Login" section within the Editor of the promotion, click on "Go to Instagram messaging automations":

2. You’ll access the "Instagram Automations" tool. In the list, find the automation you created for the promotion:

3. Click on the "Step 2 - Messages" tab to connect the automation with the promotion:

• Set the "Button action" to "Connect Easypromos promotion".
• Next, select the promotion.

Next, activate the automation so that any user who sends the keyword will automatically receive the link and can participate in the promotion.

To do this, click the "Start" button:

Note: The promotion must also be activated for the Instagram automation to work properly.

As a final step, verify that the connection has been completed correctly by accessing the promotion’s Editor again. In the Login section, the connection status will be displayed, and the ID of the automation you’ve linked will appear:

3. Recommendations on when to enable the registration system

Basically, there are 3 options you should consider:

1. Enable the registration form before participation
2. Enable the registration form only after winning a prize
3. Do not enable the registration form

Below, we explain the use cases for each option:

1. When to enable the registration form before participation:

• When you want to collect contact information from ALL Instagram users participating in the promotion, and need them to accept the promotion's terms and conditions and privacy policy.
• Example 1: A prize giveaway where you want the contact details of all participants.
• Example 2: You want to give coupons or promotional codes to all users, but you need their contact information to feed your newsletter or CRM.
• How to configure it: For this option, you need to check the "Force registration form" box and customize the form under Editor > Login > "Registration" tab.

2. When to enable the registration form only after winning a prize:

• You only need the data of Instagram participants who win a prize. You can collect their information and obtain their legal consents related to prize delivery.
• This is recommended for luck-based engagement mechanics, such as instant-win prizes, or skill-based games where users must reach a minimum score to win a prize.
• Example 1: Instagram users access a prize wheel or scratch card, and if they win, they must fill out a registration form to claim the prize.
• Example 2: Instagram users play a game, and if they reach a minimum score, they win a prize. They must fill out a registration form to claim the prize.
• How to configure it: Enable the prize claim form under Editor > Prize Inventory > Claim Form. Do not enable the "Force registration form" option. See the prize claim system tutorial.

3. When not to enable any registration system:

• You are not interested in participant data and don’t need it for prize delivery. You just want to offer an interactive experience to your Instagram users to boost engagement.
• Example 1: Instagram users access a skill-based game like a puzzle or memory game featuring your brand elements, simply to play. You can boost engagement by publishing a leaderboard showing users’ @username rankings.
• Example 2: Conduct a personality test, a popular vote, or a survey where you are mainly interested in the results. You provide engagement for users and obtain valuable insights.
• How to configure it: Simply do not enable registration (do not check "Force registration form"), and do not enable the prize claim system either.

4. View participating users

Once the automation is active and users start interacting, you’ll be able to review participation information from two different places:

1. Statistics in the automation

Within the automation itself, you can check the statistics of users who have accessed the promotion via Instagram Messenger. This allows you to analyze the volume of interactions, the flow’s performance, and the campaign’s impact.

To do this, go to the Automations list and click the following icon:

When you click, a pop-up window will open with the details of the statistics you can obtain:

2. List of participants in the promotion

In the "Users" section of the promotion, you’ll find the complete list of participants, where each user will appear identified by their Instagram @username.

This way, you can track both from the automation and from the promotion itself, always having complete traceability of the users who have participated.