Instagram welcome message examples (and how auto-DMs to new followers work)

A good Instagram welcome message is two or three short lines: a thank-you or hello, one sentence on what you can help with, and a question or a choice of next steps. Below are examples for shops, service businesses, creators and coaches, plus what Instagram allows if you want to message new followers automatically.

First, so you don't sign up for the wrong tool: InstaReacher doesn't send automatic welcome DMs. It starts conversations with people who don't know you yet. For welcome messages you need Instagram's own settings or an auto-reply tool built on Meta's official API. The examples below work with either.

What a welcome message is on Instagram

It's the automatic first reply someone gets the first time they message your business account. It sets expectations, answers the obvious question and points them to the next step. It isn't a message sent to everyone who follows you. Instagram doesn't offer that, for good reason.

There are two ways to set one up:

• In Instagram's own settings. Professional accounts have had a welcome message option in their messaging settings, though it hasn't always shown up for everyone. In an r/Instagram thread asking where the welcome message option went (score 3, 2023), u/Responsible-Step-798 says it "should be nested between Frequently asked questions and Minimum Age", and several others say it wasn't there for them.
• With an auto-reply tool. Tools built on Meta's official API, of which ManyChat is the best known, can send a welcome reply with buttons and branch the conversation based on what someone taps.

Welcome message examples

Keep each one short enough to read in the notification. Only say who you are if your handle doesn't already make it clear. Give one or two clear next steps, and ask a question when you want a reply rather than a click. Swap the bracketed parts for your own details.

For a shop or product brand:

Hey, thanks for messaging [brand]! Are you looking for help with an order, or deciding what to buy? Reply 1 for an order, 2 for advice.

Hi! We usually reply within a few hours. In the meantime, what are you shopping for today?

For a service business or agency:

Thanks for reaching out to [business]. What are you hoping to get help with? A quick line is perfect and I'll take it from there.

Hi, [name] here from [business]. Are you asking about [main service] or something else?

For a coach or consultant:

Hey, glad you messaged! What's the one thing you'd most like to change about [topic] right now?

Thanks for reaching out. Are you here about the [program], or did you have a question about a post?

For a creator:

Hey! Thanks for the message. If it's about a collab, the best place is [email]. Otherwise, ask away and I'll reply when I can.

Hi, thanks for writing! I read every message, so give me a day or two.

For a local business:

Hi! You've reached [business] in [area]. Do you want to book, check prices or ask something else?

Thanks for messaging. We're open [hours]. What can we help with?

How to write your own

Lead with the reason they messaged, not your story. If most messages fall into two or three types, offer a choice. If every conversation is different, ask an open question. Give an honest reply time, and never include more than one link.

A few rules hold across every example above:

1. Keep it to two or three lines, because people read it in a notification.
2. Ask one question or offer one choice. Not both, and not five buttons.
3. Only give a reply time you can keep. Say "within a few hours" only if it's true.
4. Skip the hard sell. They came to you, so ask what they need before you pitch.

The free Instagram icebreaker generator is built for cold first lines, but you can also use it to draft a friendly opening question.

Common welcome message mistakes

Most welcome messages go wrong in one of three ways: they run too long, they pitch something nobody asked for, or they promise what the account can't deliver. A welcome that reads like an ad makes people think they're talking to a bot, which is the opposite of what it's for.

• If it needs scrolling, nobody will read it.
• A discount code sent before they've said anything answers a question they didn't ask.
• Use one link at most, and only when it's clearly what they came for, like a booking page.
• Promising "We reply instantly" and then going silent for two days does more harm than sending no welcome at all.
• Every automated flow needs a way out to a human.

Can you auto-DM new followers on Instagram?

Not through Instagram's official tools. Meta's API lets a business reply to people who message it or comment on its posts. It doesn't let you message someone because they followed you. Tools that send "welcome" DMs to new followers do it by logging in to your account, so each one goes out as a cold message request.

That matters for three reasons:

• The follower gets a message request, not a welcome. They didn't ask for it, and Instagram treats it like any other cold DM.
• The risk is the same as cold outreach. Automated messaging that logs in as you is against Instagram's terms, and Reddit links these tools to account restrictions.
• It often reads as spam. A new follower who gets an instant pitch can unfollow just as fast.

If you want new followers to start talking to you, put a comment-to-DM keyword on your posts instead. People who comment get your message because they asked for it, and it runs on Meta's official API. Our comment-to-DM page explains how it works.

Welcome messages with buttons

A welcome flow with buttons usually means an auto-reply tool, not one of Instagram's own settings. It's worth it when most people message about the same two or three things, since it saves you typing the same answer every day.

A buyer in r/InstagramMarketing asked for a tool that sends a welcome message with two buttons, each starting a different flow. They couldn't work out how to build it in ManyChat. The only reply was removed. If buttons matter to you, test the flow on the tool's free plan before you pay.

Keep button labels to two or three words, and always leave people a way to reach a person.

Welcome messages versus cold first messages

A welcome message answers someone who chose to contact you. A cold first message starts a conversation with someone who didn't, so the two need different copy. A welcome can be about you and what you offer. A cold message has to be about them, or it reads like spam.

If you're writing cold messages, skip the examples above and use our Instagram DM templates for cold outreach. They follow the rules cold requests need: one line about the person's own post, one question, no link.

Wondering whether you can send these to every new follower automatically? See auto DM new followers on Instagram: what Meta allows.