Cheerful + Instagram integration

How the Instagram integration works

Instagram is two connections. Brand monitoring and the DM inbox use Meta’s official business login. Cold DM campaigns use a separate hosted Instagram login, because Meta’s API does not allow first messages to people who have not messaged you.

What can you do with Cheerful and Instagram?

6 ways influencer teams use this connection today. Each one is something the integration does now, not a roadmap item.

• Save Instagram story mentions before they expire

  Story mentions are captured when they happen, so a creator’s gifted-product story is on record after it expires in 24 hours.

  1. A creator’s story tags you
  2. Meta sends the mention event
  3. Cheerful keeps it after 24 hours

• Manage influencer Instagram DMs and email in one inbox

  A creator who answers on Instagram instead of email is not lost; the DM sits next to the email thread, with an optional AI draft per account.

• DM creators on Instagram when they list no email

  Cold DM campaigns send the first message and follow-ups inside your campaign’s send window, with a 30 to 120 second human-like pause and an hourly cap per account.

• Fall back to Instagram DM when an email bounces

  If a creator’s email turns out to be bad at send time, a campaign can fall back to Instagram DM instead of dropping them.

• Track every brand mention and photo tag on Instagram

  Posts, mentions, photo tags and comments on your account are captured, with separate switches for mentions, photo tags and story mentions.

• Keep cold Instagram DMs at a safe pace

  One hourly cap per account covers first DMs and follow-ups together, about one message an hour by default, so outreach moves at a person’s pace.

What the Instagram integration does

• Captures posts, mentions, photo tags, comments and story mentions of your account
• Separate on/off switches for mentions, photo tags and story mentions
• Reads and replies to DMs in the Cheerful inbox
• Optional AI reply drafts for DMs, per account
• Cold DM campaigns with follow-ups
• Hourly send cap per Instagram account, shared by first DMs and follow-ups
• DM fallback when a creator’s email is invalid

How to connect Instagram to Cheerful

Setup takes 3 steps. Instagram is built into Cheerful, so there is nothing extra to install on the Cheerful side.

1. 1

   For monitoring and the DM inbox: in Settings, connect Instagram with your Meta business login. The account must be a professional (business or creator) account.

2. 2

   For cold DMs: connect the account again through the hosted Instagram login in the same Integrations tab.

3. 3

   Choose which captures to switch on, and set the hourly cap and send window for DM campaigns.

What the Instagram integration does not do

Stated plainly, so you can plan around it before you connect.

Cheerful and Instagram: common questions

Does Cheerful integrate with Instagram?

Yes, natively, in two ways: Meta’s official business login for brand monitoring and the DM inbox, and a hosted login for cold DM campaigns to creators.

Can Cheerful send Instagram DMs to creators automatically?

Yes, through cold DM campaigns, with follow-ups, a human-like pause between sends and an hourly cap per account, default about one an hour.

Does Cheerful track Instagram stories?

Yes. Story mentions of your account are captured through Meta’s events when they happen, so they are kept after the story expires.

What kind of Instagram account do I need?

A professional account, business or creator. Monitoring and the DM inbox use Meta’s official business login, which does not work with personal accounts.

Why does Cheerful use two Instagram connections?

Meta’s API does not allow a first message to someone who has not messaged you. Monitoring and the DM inbox use Meta’s business login; cold DM campaigns use a separate hosted Instagram login.

Does Cheerful post to my Instagram feed?

No. Cheerful reads DMs and mentions and sends DMs, but it does not publish posts.

Is the Instagram integration free?

Connecting Instagram is part of Cheerful, which is free to start.

Often connected alongside Instagram

• GmailNative integration · EmailSend outreach and follow-ups from your own inbox, with reply drafts
• ShopifyNative integration · E-commercePlace $0 gifting orders and create a discount code for each creator
• SlackNative integration · Team chatReply alerts and one-tap gift approvals in your team’s channel
• Google SheetsNative integration · SpreadsheetsAn AI fills each creator’s row in your sheet from their email thread

See all integrations, or read which tools Cheerful integrates with for the native integrations and the ones that do not exist yet.