Social
Turn Instagram comments into WhatsApp chats
When someone asks about price or details under your Instagram post, Tanvik sends them a private message with a link to chat with you on WhatsApp. It also adds a short "sent you a DM" reply under their comment. The chat then lands in your Inbox like any other.
How it works
01
Someone comments
For example "Price?" or "kitna" under one of your posts.
02
They get a public reply and a private message
Under the comment: "Just sent you a DM". In their messages: your reply with a link that opens WhatsApp, with a first message already typed in.
03
The chat continues on WhatsApp
Once they send the message, the conversation appears in your Inbox, and your team can answer there.
Prices and links stay out of public view. The public reply is only a nudge to check their messages.
Before you begin
- Your workspace needs the Social feature, included in the Pro plan.
- Connect your Instagram business account in Settings › Channels & WhatsApp, and connect your WhatsApp number there too. Follow Set up Instagram in Tanvik if you haven't yet. Without a WhatsApp number Tanvik says "Connect WhatsApp first" because it has nothing to link to.
- Connected Instagram a while ago? Reconnect it once from Channels so Tanvik can read and reply to comments.
Set it up
01
Open the tab
In the sidebar, go to Automate › AI Agent and click the Instagram & Facebook tab.
02
Click Set it up
On the card Turn comments into WhatsApp chats, click Set it up. A ready-made rule opens.
03
Check the rule
The rule is named Comment to WhatsApp. It works on Instagram comments only and fires on a Buying question. It replies with Both a public reply and a private DM. Change any wording you like. See the table below.
04
Choose which posts
Under Which posts, keep Every post, or pick Only these posts and tick the posts it should work on.
05
Create the rule
Click Create Rule. It is on straight away. The card now says On and counts how many people were sent to WhatsApp.
What each setting does
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Trigger type: Buying question | Fires when a comment looks like a question about buying: words such as price, cost, how much, details, interested, available, buy, order, book, offer, discount, location, quote, or the Hindi "kitna". Other comments are left alone. |
| Reply message | The private DM. The ready-made text is "Hi {name}! Thanks for asking 🙌 Tap the link to chat with us on WhatsApp — we'll share the price and all the details there." {name} becomes the person's Instagram name. |
| Add a WhatsApp chat link | Adds a link to the DM that opens a chat with your WhatsApp number. The link is never put in the public reply. |
| Their WhatsApp opens with | The first message in their WhatsApp chat. They can edit it before sending. The ready-made text is "Hi! I saw your post on Instagram and would like to know more." |
| When it's a comment, reply with | A private DM to the commenter, A public reply under the comment or Both. This rule uses Both. |
| Public reply under the comment | What everyone sees under the comment. The ready-made text is "Just sent you a DM 📩". Keep prices and links for the DM. If you leave it blank on a rule with a WhatsApp link, Tanvik uses "Just sent you a DM". |
| Which posts | Every post, or Only these posts. The list shows your latest Instagram posts with their pictures. It is switched off until your posts have synced. |
| Reply to the same person at most every | 15 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours or 24 hours. This rule uses 24 hours, so someone who comments five times gets one message. Tanvik also sends at most 60 comment replies an hour per workspace. |
| Priority | Higher numbers are checked first. The ready-made rule uses 50. |
Edit, pause and track
The card on the tab shows On or Paused and how many people were sent to WhatsApp so far. Click Edit to change the rule. In the rules list below, use the switch on the rule to pause or resume it, and the ✕ to delete it. Each rule shows how many replies it has sent.
People who ask about price or details in a comment also appear in Leads automatically, and you can see which post brought them under Social posts › Analytics. See Reply to Instagram and Messenger chats.
Test it. Ask a friend to comment "price?" under one of your posts from their own account. They should get the DM and the public reply.
Instagram's rules to know
- Instagram allows one private reply per comment, and only within 7 days of the comment. Older comments can't get a private message.
Common problems
"Connect WhatsApp first"
The rule has a WhatsApp link but your workspace has no WhatsApp number yet. Connect WhatsApp in Settings › Channels & WhatsApp, then save the rule.
"Pick at least one post, or choose Every post"
You chose Only these posts but didn't tick any. Tick a post or switch back to Every post.
"Only these posts" is greyed out
Your Instagram posts appear there once they have synced. Try again later.
Nobody gets a message
Check that the rule is switched on, that Instagram is connected with access to comments (reconnect it once from Channels), and that the comment looks like a buying question. A rule with a different priority may also match first, because higher priorities are checked first.
The same person got only one message.
That is the "at most every" limit. Raise or lower it in the rule.
I want to answer a comment myself.
Open Inbox › Social, click the Comments filter under More, pick the comment and choose Public reply or Private DM.
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