Before you start: You will need to be the admin of your Facebook Page and have an Instagram Business or Creator account connected to it. Personal Instagram accounts cannot be used with automation — make sure this is set up in Facebook before you begin.
Step 1: Connect Your Facebook Integration
The first thing you need to do is link your Facebook account to Alvéya. This is what gives the platform permission to send messages, read comments, and trigger automations on your behalf.
From the left-hand menu, go to Settings.
Scroll down to the Integrations section and select Facebook.
Click Connect and log in with the Facebook account that manages your Page.
When prompted, select the Facebook Page you want to connect. If you manage multiple Pages, make sure you choose the correct one.
💡 If you do not see your Page listed, make sure you are logged in to the correct Facebook account — the one where you hold admin access to the Page.
Step 2: Grant Full Messaging and Comment Permissions
This is the step most people rush through — and it is where automations break down. Facebook will present you with a list of permissions to grant Alvéya. You need to enable all of them, not just the ones that seem relevant.
Here is what each permission does and why it is required:
Manage and access Page conversations in Messenger: Allows Alvéya to send and receive DMs on your Facebook Page
Show a list of the Pages you manage: Lets Alvéya identify which Page to connect to
Manage your ads and their data: Required for some campaign-triggered automations
Access profile and posts on Instagram: Allows Alvéya to monitor Instagram posts for comment triggers
Read and reply to Instagram comments: Enables automated replies to post comments
Send messages to Instagram: Allows Alvéya to send DMs to users who trigger a workflow
⚠️ Do not skip or toggle off any of these permissions. If Alvéya does not have full access, your automations will either fail silently or only partially fire. If you are unsure whether you granted everything correctly, disconnect and reconnect your Facebook integration and go through the permissions screen again.
Connecting your Instagram account
During the Facebook connection process, you will also be prompted to connect your Instagram account. Because Instagram is owned by Meta, it connects through your Facebook Page.
When prompted, select your Instagram Business or Creator account from the list.
Ensure the Instagram account shown is connected to your Facebook Page. If it is not linked yet, you will need to do this in your Facebook Page settings first.
Grant all Instagram permissions when prompted — including the ability to read comments and send DMs.
💡 To check or update your Instagram-to-Facebook Page link: open Facebook, go to your Page settings, select Linked Accounts, and connect your Instagram from there. Come back to Alvéya once that is done.
Step 3: Find the Pre-Built Automation Template
Alvéya includes a ready-made workflow template for social media comment and DM automation — you do not need to build this from scratch. Here is how to access it:
From the left-hand menu, go to Automation and select Workflows.
Click on the Alvéya Workflow Templates Folder and then the Social Media Workflows Folder.
Duplicate the Instagram Comment Automation template and rename it so you can keep a clean copy.
Alternatively, choose "add new" and then search for "Social Media" or "Comment Automation" to find the pre-built template.
Give your new workflow a name that reflects what it is for — for example, "Instagram Freebie DM" or "Facebook Comment Reply".
💡 The template is pre-configured with the most common trigger and action structure. Your job is simply to customise the trigger keyword, the message content, and the post it applies to — not to rebuild the logic from scratch.
Step 4: Set Up Your Comment Triggers
With the template open, you will now customise it to match your specific campaign.
Configuring a comment trigger
Use this trigger when you want to automatically respond to people who comment on a specific post — for example, sending a resource via DM when someone comments a particular keyword.
Click on the trigger step in the workflow.
Search for "comment" and choose the platform you want (Instagram or Facebook).
If you want both Instagram and Facebook, add a second trigger next to the first one and both will act as a trigger.
Set the first filter up as "page is" and choose your account.
Set a second filter as either Contains phrase or Exact match.
In the Keyword field, enter the word or phrase that should activate the automation — for example, "FREE" or "SEND IT". Leave this blank if you want any comment to trigger it.
Best practice is to toggle on first level comments only.
⚠️ Be thoughtful about using "any comment" as your trigger on popular posts. If a post goes viral, every comment will activate the workflow. Using a specific keyword gives you more control and makes the automation feel more intentional to the recipient.
NOTE: as long as this workflow is published, anytime anyone comments that word on any post, it will trigger. If you want to allocate a specific post only, then add a "post is published" filter.
Writing your automated message
Once your trigger is configured, the next step in the template is the message action. Click on it to customise:
Keep the message short, warm, and action-oriented. The person just interacted with you publicly — your DM is continuing that conversation.
Include the link or resource you are delivering, if applicable.
Use personalisation tokens like {{contact.first_name}} to make the message feel direct.
If this is the start of a longer sequence, the template will have additional steps below — update each one with your own content.
Step 5: Test Your Automation
Before you go live, always test your automation so you know it is working correctly. There are two ways to do this:
Test using the Workflow Test button
Inside the workflow editor, click the Test Workflow button in the top right corner.
Select a test contact (use yourself or a test contact you have set up for this purpose).
Confirm the test trigger and watch the workflow run through each step.
Check the conversation inbox and the contact record to confirm the message was sent and the contact was updated correctly.
Test live from Instagram or Facebook
Make sure your workflow is set to Active.
Go to the post you connected and comment the trigger keyword from a personal or test account.
Within a minute or two, that account should receive an automated DM.
If no DM arrives, check the workflow history in Alvéya to see where it stopped — the error will usually point to a permissions issue or a disconnected integration.
⚠️ If your test DM does not arrive, the most common cause is a missing permission from Step 2. Go back to Settings > Facebook, disconnect the integration, and reconnect it — making sure every permission toggle is switched on this time.
Common Issues and Quick Fixes
Automation not triggering at all: Check that the workflow is set to Active and that the Facebook integration is still connected in Settings.
DM is being sent but not arriving: Facebook or Instagram may have restricted your account for sending too many DMs too quickly — add a delay step and reduce frequency.
Instagram account not appearing in settings: Confirm your Instagram account is linked to your Facebook Page in Meta Business Suite, then reconnect the integration in Alvéya.
Keyword trigger not firing: Make sure the keyword in the comment matches exactly what you entered in the trigger — it is not case-sensitive but must be an exact word match.
Workflow running multiple times per person: Check the "Times a contact can go through" setting in the trigger — set it to Once Per Post or Once to prevent repeats.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I send bulk DMs to past contacts via DM
Alvéya does not support native bulk Instagram Direct Messages (DMs). Instagram’s API strictly prohibits unsolicited mass outreach to protect users from spam.
However, you can build automated, inbound "bulk" DMs for large lists of users who interact with your content or message you first
Further help documents: