# Instagram story reply

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This feature is available for the **Advanced and Ultimate** plans
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### Overview

Reward customers with points when they reply to your Instagram Stories. Every reply is a direct, personal interaction with your brand — turning casual followers into engaged loyalty members.

* **Drive direct engagement** — story replies are one of the most personal interactions on Instagram
* **Build deeper relationships** — customers who reply are already invested; reward that investment
* **Increase story views** — when followers know they can earn points by replying, more will watch your stories
* **Collect real-time feedback** — use story polls and questions as entry points for earning rewards

#### When to use this

* Running Q\&A or question sticker stories → reward customers who respond
* Launching new products → ask for reactions and reward replies
* Gathering customer feedback → incentivize honest responses
* Boosting story engagement metrics → keep your account algorithmically active

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**Requirements:**

* Instagram **Business or Creator account** required
* Customers must **link their Instagram account** inside the widget to earn points
* Emoji-only reactions (e.g., ❤️, 😍) are **automatically filtered out** — only text replies earn points
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***

### Step 1: Connect Instagram

Before setting up the program, connect your Instagram account.

Go to **Integrations → Instagram** and follow the connection flow.

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If you've already connected Instagram for Comment or Story Mention programs, you don't need to connect again — the same integration is shared across all Instagram programs.
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***

### Step 2: Create the Story Reply program

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Go to **Reward programs → Earning programs → Add program → Social activity**

Select **Reply to Instagram Story** from the event dropdown.

#### Available settings

| Section                        | Options                                                                                                                                |
| ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Program info**               | Rule name, Description, Start/End date                                                                                                 |
| **Instagram Business Account** | Your Instagram Business Account URL — displayed on the widget so customers can find your profile                                       |
| **Reward method**              | All members / Member by tier, Points value                                                                                             |
| **Keyword filtering**          | Include keywords (only reward replies containing specific words), Exclude keywords (block replies containing certain words)            |
| **DM Notification**            | Toggle to send a Direct Message when points are awarded. Supports variables: `{points}`, `{customer_name}`, `{balance}`, `{store_url}` |
| **Anti-cheat**                 | Earning limit (once lifetime / X times per period / unlimited)                                                                         |

{% hint style="info" %}
**Keyword filtering tip:** Use include keywords to focus rewards on meaningful replies (e.g., specific product names or campaign hashtags). Use exclude keywords to filter out spam or irrelevant responses.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**Shopify Flow alternative:** Joy also supports a native Shopify Flow trigger — **"Customer replied to Instagram story"** — which fires whenever a qualifying reply is detected. You can use this to build custom automations (e.g., send a Klaviyo email, create a Slack notification) instead of or in addition to the built-in DM. Toggle **Use Shopify Flow** inside the program to switch to Flow-based messaging.
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***

### Customer experience

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Here's what your customers see and do:

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**Find the program**

Customer opens the **Loyalty Widget** or **Rewards Page** and sees the "Reply to Instagram Story" program under **Ways to Earn**.
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**Link their Instagram account**

Customer clicks the program and enters their **Instagram username** to connect their account. This is how Joy maps the reply back to the right customer.
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**Reply to one of your Instagram Stories**

Customer opens **Instagram on their mobile device**, finds one of your active stories, and sends a text reply. Emoji-only reactions do not qualify — the reply must contain text.
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**Points awarded automatically**

Joy detects the reply via Instagram's API and awards points to the customer's loyalty balance. If DM notification is enabled, the customer receives a direct message confirming their points.
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***

### FAQ

**Why can't I see "Reply to Instagram Story" in the event dropdown?**\
Select **Social activity** first when creating the program — the specific event options (including Story Reply) appear in the dropdown after that.

**Do emoji-only reactions earn points?**\
No. Emoji-only reactions (e.g., ❤️, 😍) are automatically filtered out. Only replies with actual text are eligible for points.

**Do points get awarded in real time?**\
Points are awarded once Joy detects the story reply via Instagram's API. Detection typically happens within minutes of the reply being sent.

**Can a customer earn points for replying to multiple different stories?**\
Yes — each qualifying reply can earn points. Configure the earning limit in **Anti-cheat** settings to control how often a single customer can earn (e.g., once per day, once per story).

**What if a customer updates their Instagram username?**\
Customers need to update their Instagram username in the loyalty widget. Points will be attributed to the account linked at the time of the reply.

**Can I see which customers replied?**\
Yes. Go to **Customers → Activities** and filter by this program to see customers who earned points from story replies, along with their linked Instagram username.

**Does this work with a personal Instagram account?**\
No. You must use an **Instagram Business or Creator account** to receive story reply notifications via the API.

**What's the difference between Story Reply, Story Mention, and Comment rewards?**

* **Comment rewards** — customer comments on one of your posts (public, visible to all)
* **Story Mention rewards** — customer tags your account in their own story (reaches their followers)
* **Story Reply rewards** — customer sends a direct reply to one of your stories (private, one-on-one)


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