Why didn't my DM send?
What each status in Comment Tracking means, the common reasons a DM isn't sent, and how to send one by hand.
Every comment on an automated post gets a status. To see them, open Automation in the dashboard and click View on the automation.
What each status means
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| DM Sent | Instagram accepted the DM. |
| Pending | The comment matched a keyword and the DM is waiting its turn. It usually goes out within seconds. |
| Failed | Instagram refused the DM. Hover over the status to see the reason Instagram gave. |
| Not Sent | The comment came in after the automation started, but it didn't match a keyword, or Instagram never told us about it. |
| Before Automation | The comment was posted before you created the automation, so it was never automated. |
Common reasons a DM isn't sent
- The automation is paused. Check that it's active on the Automation page.
- The comment doesn't contain a keyword. Keywords match anywhere in the comment and ignore capital letters, but the spelling must match. Add the variations people actually write.
- It's a reply to another comment. Only top-level comments trigger automations.
- You tested from your own account. Instagram doesn't let an account DM itself. Test from a second account.
- Your Instagram connection expired. You'll see a red banner in the dashboard. Reconnect Instagram and new comments work again.
- Instagram refused the message (status Failed). For example, the person limits who can message them, or Instagram's messaging rules didn't allow it. Hover over the status to see the reason.
Send a DM by hand
In the tracking view, click Send DM next to the comment. You can do this when:
- the comment is less than 24 hours old,
- it matched one of your keywords, and
- Instagram gave us the commenter's details.
If the button is greyed out, hover over it to see which of these applies. Each comment gets at most one DM, so a comment marked DM Sent can't be sent again.