The Instagram ads trigger is a feature that allows you to automatically start a conversation in Manychat when someone interacts with your Instagram ads. This trigger can be used to engage users who click on your ads enabling you to deliver personalized messages, gather leads, answer questions, and guide users to a sales funnel directly within Instagram.
This is particularly useful for businesses looking to optimize their ad spend by converting more ad interactions into meaningful conversations, nurturing relationships, and ultimately driving more conversions.
⚠️ Please note that this trigger is compatible only with Instagram ads created in the Ads Manager and is not available for use with boosted posts on Instagram.
How to set up Instagram Ads Trigger
Create an automation and set up the initial message inside your Manychat account
First, you need to create the initial message inside your automation in Manychat. This message is what customers will see first after clicking on an Instagram ad. It should contain a single block of text or media and include at least one regular or quick reply button:
Add the Instagram ads trigger to your automation
Once you have finalized the content of your automation flow, add the Instagram ads trigger by clicking the “+ New trigger” button, as illustrated in the screenshot below:
Select the trigger from the list, click “Save”, and then toggle the switch in the bottom left corner to activate it:
⚠️ Note: If you deactivate the trigger within the automation, it will no longer be available in the list of automations for selection in the Ads Manager. Additionally, if you attempt to choose this automation for an ad before activating the trigger, it will not appear in the list. Therefore, it is crucial to activate the Instagram ads trigger in Manychat before proceeding to set up your ad in Ads Manager.
Set up the ad in Meta Ads Manager
After completing the steps above, navigate to Meta Ads Manager to create your Instagram ad. Choose a call to action button that says Send Instagram message, which will initiate a conversation with the user in Instagram DMs:
⚠️ Please note that with the current objectives in Ads Manager, the Instagram ads trigger is only available for Traffic, Engagement, and Sales campaigns.
In the Message template section, select the Partner app option. Then, click the Select flow button to open the setup pop-up window:
In the following window, go to the Select message flow section to configure your settings.
From the dropdown list, choose Manychat as the Partner app. Next, select the specific automation in the Message flow section.
Once everything is configured, click Finish and proceed to publish your Instagram ad.
💡 We strongly recommend adding additional messages or actions to your flow, as demonstrated in our example, to keep the conversation going after the initial message.
Lastly, remember that Instagram users must click a button or type a response to your initial message to become a Manychat contact.
Limitations and troubleshooting
1. With the current objectives in Ads Manager, the Instagram ads trigger is only available for Traffic, Engagement, and Sales campaigns.
2. You should have at least one Quick reply button in the very first message to be able to activate the Instagram ads trigger within the automation. Otherwise, you will encounter the error message shown in the screenshot below.
3. Due to platform limitations, you cannot use variables (such as First Name, Gender, Bot and User fields, etc.) in the initial message. If any of these variables are included in your opt-in message, you will encounter the error shown in the screenshot below. To fix this, remove the variables from the first message in your automation.
4. If an automation is linked to an active ad, it cannot be modified. This means you cannot update or edit the automation, nor can you deactivate the Instagram ads trigger associated with it.
To make changes to the automation connected to your ad, you'll first need to turn off the ad in Ads Manager. After that, update the automation in Manychat, reactivate the Instagram ads trigger, and then turn the ad back on in Ads Manager.
If you are encountering any issues with the Instagram ads trigger, please contact our Support Team.