Instagram integration

Connect your studio's Instagram professional account to reply to Instagram direct messages from the Arketa Inbox, next to your texts, emails and in-app chats. Each conversation threads with the client it belongs to, so your whole team can answer DMs without sharing the Instagram login. The same connection also lets your Arketa site use photos from your Instagram account.

Before you connect

• You need an Instagram professional account (Business or Creator). Personal accounts can't be connected.
• You sign in with the Instagram account itself. Connecting through a Facebook login isn't supported, so have the Instagram username and password ready even if you usually manage the account from a Facebook Page or Meta Business Suite. A Facebook Page isn't required.
• Each Arketa account connects one Instagram account, and an Instagram account can be connected to one Arketa account. To switch accounts, disconnect the current one first.

Connect your account

What gets imported

After you connect, Arketa imports your recent conversations. Instagram shares only each conversation's most recent messages, so older history won't appear. From then on:

• New DMs arrive in the Inbox as clients send them.
• Replies you send from the Instagram app also show up in the thread, so nothing is missing from Arketa's view.
• A conversation from a client who has never messaged you before appears the next time the Inbox loads.

Reply from the Inbox

In the Inbox, choose the Instagram channel to see your DMs. Open a conversation and reply like any other thread:

• Text up to 1,000 characters per message, with emoji.
• Photos, up to 5 per message (JPEG, PNG or GIF, 8 MB each). Each photo is delivered to the client as its own message.
• Quick replies to insert a saved response. See Quick replies.
• Notes for your team. Notes stay in Arketa and are never sent to the client.

The thread header links to the client's Instagram profile.

The reply window

Instagram only allows a business to reply within 24 hours of the client's last message. When less than 12 hours remain, the composer shows a countdown. Once the window closes, the composer is disabled and shows when the client last messaged you. Reach them another way, or wait for them to message you again; their next message opens a new window.

You can't start a new Instagram conversation from Arketa. Clients always message first.

What you see in a thread

Arketa shows what the client sent, including photos, videos and voice notes, replies to your stories and mentions of your account, posts, reels and stories they share with you, reactions, and messages they edit or unsend. Edited messages are marked Edited, unsent messages show as unsent, and a Seen marker appears once the client has read your reply. Disappearing photos and videos show a placeholder, since Instagram doesn't share them.

Link a conversation to a client

Instagram DMs aren't tied to a client profile automatically. Arketa matches the Instagram username to the Instagram field on the client profile, so you can link a conversation two ways:

• Add the client's Instagram username to the Instagram field when creating or editing the client.
• Open the conversation, and in the side panel click Link to a client to pick the client.

Once linked, the thread shows the client's name and profile, and their Instagram DMs appear on the client's timeline. If the client changes their Instagram username, link the conversation again.

Disconnect or reconnect

To disconnect, go to Settings → Integrations → Instagram and click Disconnect. Check Delete Instagram conversations from the inbox to also remove the imported conversations and messages from Arketa; this can't be undone. Leave it unchecked to keep them for reference.

If the card shows that the connection was lost, click Reconnect and sign in again. DMs sent while the account is disconnected don't reach Arketa, so reconnect as soon as you can.

Frequently asked questions