HeyOrca's Auto DMs help you make the most of your Instagram comments by turning them into meaningful, one-on-one conversations in your audience’s inbox! Whether you’re growing a newsletter, promoting a campaign, or building a private community, this feature allows you to instantly connect with engaged followers
What are Auto DMs?
Auto DMs are an automation tool that sends a direct message to users who comment on your Instagram posts or Reels! Instead of manually responding to every comment, you can pre-set a personalized message that gets delivered automatically. This allows you to follow up with leads, drive traffic to content, and build stronger relationships, all within HeyOrca
Video Tutorial [4 min]
Create an Auto DM for an Instagram Post
From the post creation modal, click the Auto DMs tab then click +Create Automation.
3. Name your automation then click Continue.
4. Set up your keywords
Any Words: Your Auto DM will be sent to anyone who comments on your post or,
Comments including/excluding these words to set specify keywords (example: "recipe" or "newsletter")
5. Build your automated message
Reply to comments in the post (optional): You can add a public reply to comments based on your keyword rules (toggle this off if you don't want to reply with a comment.)
Direct Message: Add the message you'd like to send as a DM
Link: Add the link that you want sent in the DM
Button Label: Add what you want the button to say that the link is connected to in the DM
6. Click Save. Your Auto DM should now be set-up and ready to go live.
Preview your automation
Once your automation has been created, a pop-up will appear, where you can preview how your automation will appear. Click on "Previous Automated Flow"
You can also preview your automation by clicking on the three dots, next to the automation
From the preview automation screen, you'll be able to view your post, an example of a keyword comment and your scheduled reply, and a preview of how the message will appear to the receiver:
Edit your automation
If you need to make any changes to an existing automation, click the menu and the Edit button. This will take you to the pop-up, where you can edit your automation name and messaging
Copying an automation
When an Instagram post with an automation has been copied, your automation will automatically copy to your new post, but will be disabled. You can enable the automation or make any changes under the Auto DMs tab:
Reuse Auto DM setups with the Content Library
🕑 TL;DR: While Auto DMs need to be configured per Instagram post, you can save time by creating reusable Auto DM templates in your Content Library and copying them onto your calendar when needed.
Auto DMs are attached to individual Instagram posts, which means they can’t currently be reused across multiple posts automatically.
As a workaround, you can create a draft post in your Content Library that already includes your Auto DM setup. When you’re ready to use it, simply copy the post to your calendar and update the post content as needed.
Create a reusable Auto DM template
Open the Content Library in your Workspace.
Create a new draft Instagram post.
Add your caption, media, and any placeholder content you’d like to reuse.
Open the Auto DMs tab.
Select Create Automation.
Configure your:
trigger keywords
comment reply
direct message
link and button label (optional)
Save the automation.
Leave the post in your Content Library as a reusable template.
Use the template on your calendar
Open your saved Content Library post.
Click Copy.
Choose the date and time you’d like to schedule the post.
Update the caption or media if needed.
Approve or schedule the post as normal.
Your Auto DM settings will carry over with the copied post, so you won’t need to rebuild the automation each time.
💡 Tip: Some teams create multiple Content Library templates for different campaigns, offers, or keyword triggers to speed up recurring workflows.
Publishing your automation
If your post is scheduled for direct publishing, your automation will go live when the post is publishes, and can be toggled on or off at any time!
If you need to publish your post manually and have scheduled it for notification publishing, you will need to Verify your post after publishing for your automation to sync with your published post.
Troubleshooting: Not seeing Auto DMs from HeyOrca?
If you’re not seeing your scheduled Auto DMs being sent from HeyOrca, it may mean that Instagram messaging access across apps hasn’t been enabled yet. This setting allows your messages to sync properly between Instagram and HeyOrca.
Here’s how to check and enable this setting:
First, switch into the Facebook Page connected to your Instagram account. You can do this by clicking your profile image in the top right corner of Facebook and selecting the Page from the dropdown.
Once you're acting as the Page, click the profile image again and navigate to Settings & Privacy > Settings.
In the left-hand menu, select Linked Accounts, then click on Instagram.
Look for the setting called “Allow access to Instagram messages in Inbox” and make sure it’s turned on.
Within the settings on Facebook, all the following permissions should also be enabled for HeyOrca:
Once both these settings are enabled, HeyOrca will have permission to send and sync messages.