# Set Up Story Reply

Viewers reply to your story with a keyword and the link lands in their DMs. You get their contact and can follow up.

{% dm-demo caption="A viewer replies EBOOK to your story, enters an email, gets the link, then gets an automatic follow-up. The email question is currently sent in Indonesian." %}
time: rara.learns replied to your story: “EBOOK”
bot: Silakan masukkan alamat email kamu untuk melanjutkan
quick: Batal
user: rara.learns@mail.test
bot: Hi! Here's the link to the Selling on Instagram ebook from the story 👇 [Click Here]
time: 1 hour later, the link hasn't been seen
bot: Rara, the ebook link is still up there 👆 The promo price is only valid today!
{% enddm-demo %}

#### Why story replies instead of a link sticker?

A link sticker on a story only takes people to another page, and you don't know who tapped it. With story replies, everyone who's interested comes into your DMs, so:

* **You get leads.** With [Ask for Contact](/instagram/comment-to-dm/ask-for-contact), their email or WhatsApp number is saved before the link is sent.
* **You can follow up.** With [Follow Up](/instagram/comment-to-dm/follow-up), people who haven't opened the link get an automatic reminder.

💡 So viewers know what to reply, write a call to action on the story, for example *"Reply to this story: EBOOK"*.

***

#### 1. Create a new automation

Open **Instagram Comment to DM**, click **New Automation**, then **Basic Automation**. Fill in the **Automation Name**, for example *Ebook story promo*.

#### 2. Choose the story

![Listening to All Stories or Specific Story](/assets/instagram/story-reply-01-target.png)

1. Under **Listening to**, choose one:
   * **All Stories**: applies to all your stories. Good when the keyword is always the same.
   * **Specific Story**: only for the story you choose. Good for a single-product promo.

#### 3. Set the trigger

![Choose the story, keyword, and reactions](/assets/instagram/story-reply-02-pilih.png)

1. If you chose **Specific Story**, click the story. Some story types, such as question boxes and reposts, can't be selected because of Instagram's limits.
2. Under **Message Trigger**, choose **A specific word or words** and enter the keyword, for example `EBOOK`. Choose **Any word** if every story reply should get a DM.
3. **Reactions** (optional): choose the quick story reactions that also trigger the DM, for example 🔥

💡 Turn on **React to Replies** so story replies get a ❤️ automatically.

#### 4. Write the message

Fill in the **Message** and the destination link in **Button 1**. It works the same as [steps 8–9 of Comment to DM](/instagram/comment-to-dm).

#### 5. Collect leads and follow up

Click **Show Additional Features**.

![Ask for Contact and Follow Up under Additional Features](/assets/instagram/story-reply-03-leads.png)

1. **Ask for Contact**: ask for an email or WhatsApp number before the link is sent. See [Ask for Contact](/instagram/comment-to-dm/ask-for-contact).
2. **Follow Up**: send an automatic reminder if the link hasn't been opened. See [Follow Up](/instagram/comment-to-dm/follow-up).

Both are **Pro** plan only. When you're done, click **Create Automation**.

✅ The automation appears in the **Story Automations** tab. Collected contacts are in the **Contacts** tab on the automation's detail page.