Adding and configuring the Instagram Direct channel


You can add your business Instagram account to Zendesk so incoming Instagram direct messages and story replies become tickets. Tickets are not created for comments or replies on posts, reels, or other Instagram content.


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Verified AI summary ◀▼
Add your Instagram Direct channel to manage direct messages and story interactions as tickets. Configure settings to control message responses, including auto-responders and a "Message Us" button for easy customer access. Note that replies must be made within the platform to sync with Instagram, and adhere to Instagram's response windows to ensure message delivery.






Location: Admin Center > Channels > Messaging and social >
Messaging




Customers without Zendesk Suite must have Support and Chat with the Social Messaging add-on to use this feature.

You can add your business Instagram account to Zendesk so incoming Instagram direct
messages and story replies become tickets. Tickets are not created for comments or
replies on posts, reels, or other Instagram content.
Your agents can see and respond to these tickets in Zendesk like any other ticket. Agents
must reply directly to the ticket in Support for replies to appear on both Zendesk and
Instagram. Agent replies made directly within Instagram are not added to the Support
ticket. See Receiving and sending messages in the Zendesk Agent
Workspace.
This article contains the following topics:

Adding the Instagram Direct
channel
Configuring the Instagram
Direct channel



Adding the Instagram Direct channel

The first step is to add Instagram Direct to your channels. Read on or
watch the video below to learn more about the setup process.


Instagram setup flow (1:29)
To add an Instagram Direct channel

In the Instagram app, go to Settings > Messages and story
replies > Message requests.
Under Connected Tools, toggle on Allow access to
messages.

Note: This step must be performed in the Instagram mobile app. It cannot be
performed via Instagram Web.


Open your Zendesk admin account.
In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
Click Add channel and select Instagram Direct from
the drop-down.

Click Continue with Instagram to open the Instagram set-up
flow. The set-up flow will ask you for the following information. Follow the
instructions in the flow to add this information.




Action
Description




Authenticate to your Facebook profile
This is the admin profile linked to your company's Facebook
Business Manager. You can Continue with the existing
profile or sign in to another account.


Provide permission to share your Instagram Account with
Zendesk.
Zendesk needs this permission to connect your Instagram
Professional Business Account to the Agent Workspace.


Provide permission to share your Facebook Page(s) with
Zendesk.
Zendesk needs this permission to connect your Instagram
Professional Business Account to the Agent Workspace. We
recommend that you select all pages.


Accept the selected permissions
These permissions are needed to send and receive messages
from Agent Workspace.





When you've finished the set-up flow, click Done.
Select the Instagram channel you wish to connect from the drop-down, then click
Next.
Assign a name to the new Instagram channel you are connecting, then click Add
channel. Note that agents need to add comments to an Instagram message from
within the Zendesk Agent Workspace.
Note: Replies made directly in Instagram will
not add a comment to the related ticket.


As with Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct allows a business only seven
days to respond to the end user before the messaging window closes. To prevent
messages from being sent but not delivered, the composer will be blocked after the
messaging window is closed. The only way to re-open is if the end user sends a new
message.
Additionally, Instagram requires that you respond to an end user’s initial
message within 24 hours, either by agent engagement, or with an automated message
using the auto-responder or chatbot.



Configuring the Instagram Direct channel



After you’ve added Instagram to your social messaging channels, you
can configure how it appears and functions.
To configure the Instagram Direct channel

In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
Click the Instagram channel you want to configure to open its
Edit page.
Update the information in the Basics, Auto-responder, and Message Us button
tabs, as described in the sections below.
Click Save after updating the information in each
tab.





The Basics tab

The Basics tab is populated with the channel and Instagram profile
names.
To edit the Basics tab


Click in each text box to edit these names.
Click Save when you’re done.


If multiple brands are attached to your Zendesk account, you’ll also
have a dropdown menu to select a brand to connect to the Instagram channel. You
can only attach one brand to the channel. If your account has only one brand,
this option does not appear under the Basics tab.



The Auto-responder tab



The auto-responder sends messages automatically to an end user
when you receive their messages. See Sending automatic responses to social
messages for more detailed information on using and
configuring the auto-responder.
If you choose to use the
auto-responder


Click Enable auto-responder, then enter a message for your
customers.
Click Save when you’re done.






The Message Us button tab

Adding a Message Us button to your website, mobile app, or help center
allows customers to discover and connect to your Instagram account, where they
can request and receive support via Instagram Direct.
If you choose to add a Message Us button, you’ll need to configure the
following elements, then add the HTML code snippet to each page on the website
or mobile app where it should be displayed.


Configurable options



As you make the selections below, a preview of the button
is updated on the right side of the channel page.


Color: Choose a gradient style for the button,
Dark gray or White.

Size: Select Compact or
Regular.


Corner radius: This number determines how
rounded the button’s corners are. Enter a number from 0
(right angle) to 20 (near quarter-round).


Label: Enter the text you want displayed on
the button.


Width: Enter the length you want your button
(up to 400 pixels).







Adding the Message Us button

After you’ve configured the options above, you can add the code
snippet to your website, mobile app, or help center.
To add the Message Us button to a website or mobile app

Copy the code snippet to your clipboard.
Paste the snippet into the HTML of every page that should
include the button before the closing tag.

To add the Message Us button to your help center

In Knowledge admin, click Customize design
( ) in the sidebar.
On the theme you want to edit, click Customize, then
click Edit Code.
In the Templates section, click the template you want
to modify, and add the snippet before the template’s closing tag.
Click Save.





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