In this tutorial, we’ll discover how to connect a promotion with Instagram Direct Messages, enabling this channel as 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 and will be automatically identified 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 by:

• Keyword in a comment on a post.
• Reply or mention in a Story.
• 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 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 user is reached by a brand communication (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 user sends the keyword as a comment on a post or reel, by replying to a Story, or by sending a direct message (DM) to the brand’s account.

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 user receives a private message (DM) with a personalized text, an optional image, and most importantly: a button to access the promotion.

Optionally, exclusive access for followers can be set up. If the user does not follow the account, they will receive a message inviting them to do so in order 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.
The user is automatically identified with their @username, with no additional registration required.

5) Participation in the configured mechanic

The user 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, the user can be asked for their contact information and legal consent acceptance.

This registration can take place before participating or at the end, for example, to claim a prize.

7) Control of the number of user participations

From the promotion’s own settings, 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 with the option of once per day, meaning each user can spin the wheel and try their luck once a 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 immediately and easily.

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 of a promotion 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 have been 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 the promotion’s registration form.

Even so, if you wish, you have the option to require the registration form, so that once identified, Instagram users will be 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 the 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 participation, or you can choose not to collect any data at all.

Step 2. Connect the promotion with 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, which allows you to easily set up these automations for 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 promotion’s Editor, click on "Go to Instagram message automations":

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

3. Click on the "Messages" tab to connect the automation with the promotion you created:

• Set the "Button action" as "Connect Easypromos promotion".
• Next, select the promotion you just created.

Next, you must 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, simply 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 will let you 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 with 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.