A step-by-step walkthrough of connecting Instagram and shipping your first keyword-to-DM flow.
If you've never set up DM automation before, the whole idea can sound more complicated than it is. In practice, it's four steps: connect your account, pick a trigger, write a reply, and turn it on. Here's the actual walkthrough.
Folo connects through Instagram's official Graph API, using Meta's own OAuth login — the same "Continue with Instagram" flow you've used to log into other apps. No passwords are ever typed into Folo, and no browser extension or bot is involved. You'll need a Business or Creator account; if you're still on a personal account, Instagram's own settings let you switch in about two minutes.
A trigger is the thing someone does that starts the automation — commenting a keyword on a post or Reel, replying to a Story, or sending a DM containing a keyword. For a first automation, keyword-on-comment is the easiest to reason about: pick a word people are likely to type ("LINK", "GUIDE", "PRICE"), and Folo watches for it on the post you choose.
This is the DM Folo sends the moment someone comments your keyword. Keep it short and write it the way you'd actually type it to a follower — the goal is a fast, natural-feeling reply, not a form letter. This is also where you'd add a link, and where you can require an email address before the link is revealed if you're trying to build a list.
Save the automation and it goes live immediately. From here, every qualifying comment gets an instant reply, 24/7, whether you're online or not. You can pause, edit, or duplicate it at any time from your dashboard, and Folo's built-in analytics show you exactly how many comments turned into DM opens and link clicks.
Folo's free plan includes unlimited automations and a monthly credit allowance, so there's no cost to testing this on a real post. Automations also respect Instagram's own rate limits automatically — you don't need to think about sending limits, Folo handles the pacing.
That's genuinely the whole setup. Most people spend more time deciding on the keyword than actually building the automation.