You can fire a DM automation when someone opens a chat through a custom referral link that carries a ?ref= code. It's a clean way to track where leads come from and start the right conversation automatically.
This "referral link" trigger is for tracking your own ad and campaign links. It's separate from Inrō's referral program, which is how you earn commission for referring other businesses to Inrō.
How it works
When someone clicks a referral link like https://ig.me/m/yourusername?ref=summer_sale and messages you, Instagram passes the ref code through, and Inrō fires the scenario whose trigger matches that code.
In your scenario, select the Someone clicks a referral link trigger and enter the ref code you want to match.
⚠️ Referral link automations aren't supported on Instagram Web, only in the Instagram app. The contact also has to actually send a message for the referral to register.
Match multiple links with wildcard patterns
Use * as a wildcard in the ref code field to match many links with a single trigger.
For example, campaign_* matches campaign_summer, campaign_winter, campaign_influencer, and any other code that starts with campaign_. Matching ignores case.
This is handy when you run many campaigns and want one automation to handle all of them, or when your ref codes are generated dynamically.
When you use a wildcard pattern, the Copy link and Get QR code buttons are hidden, because a pattern doesn't map to a single URL.
Use cases
Influencer campaigns: give each creator a code like
collab_aliceorcollab_bob, then usecollab_*to run the same welcome flow for all of them.Seasonal promotions: use
promo_*across every seasonal campaign without making a new trigger each time.Link-in-bio tracking: assign a different code per platform and route them all into one automation.
🐾 Netsuke's Tips
The QR-code version of this trigger is a Pro feature, while a plain referral link works on any plan. If you only need link tracking, you don't need to upgrade for it.
Plan your codes with wildcards in mind. A consistent prefix like
promo_orcollab_lets one trigger cover a whole campaign family.The HTML Widget uses the same
?ref=mechanism under the hood, so it's a good companion when you want the link to live on your website. See The HTML Widget: Bring Website Visitors to Your Instagram.
What's next?
For every trigger type and how to combine them, see Triggers: The Complete Reference. To pair referral links with paid traffic, see Running Instagram Ads with DM CTAs.