Instagram is where people discover you. Your podcast, YouTube channel, private community, or newsletter is where you deepen the relationship. This playbook builds a DM flow that moves your most engaged Instagram followers onto your other platforms automatically.
What you'll build
A scenario that fires when someone comments or DMs a keyword, then sends a direct link to your other platform with a short follow-up for anyone who doesn't click. You can pair it with email collection to build a list you own.
Step 1: Set up the trigger
Go to Automation → Scenarios → Create new scenario. Add the Someone comments on your post trigger, pick any post or specific posts, and set the filter to comments with a keyword like "YOUTUBE", "PODCAST", or "COMMUNITY". Add a second trigger, Someone sends you a DM, with the same keyword, so you catch people who DM the word instead of commenting.
Step 2: Send a welcome message
Add a Send message action that connects to the destination and sets expectations:
YouTube: "Hey {{contact.first_name}}! Here's the full video I mentioned, about 12 minutes on that topic."
Community: "{{contact.first_name}}, I'd love to have you in the group. Here's how to join:"
One or two sentences, then the link.
Step 3: Send the conversion link
Add a Conversion link action with a title, short description, and a tappable button. Fill in the destination URL (YouTube, Spotify, Skool, Discord), a clear title, and a button label like "Watch now" or "Join the community". A thumbnail image makes the card more clickable. See Conversion Actions: Links, Payments, Bookings & Surveys.
Step 4: Follow up non-clickers
Use the conversion link's If the link hasn't been clicked after a set time branch to send one nudge after a day or two: "Hey {{contact.first_name}}, here's that link again in case you missed it." On the When the link is clicked branch, add a short message and an Add or remove folder action to file them in a platform folder like "YouTube subscribers".
Step 5: Optionally collect an email
If your podcast has a newsletter or your community needs a signup, add an Ask for information set to Email after the link. Keep it clearly optional and send the link first, so delivery never depends on the email. The full pattern is in Lead Generation with Freebies & Gated Content.
Platform-specific tips
YouTube: link to a specific video, not your channel homepage, and use the video thumbnail as the card image.
Podcast: link to the episode on the platform your audience prefers, or to your podcast website if you're not sure.
Private communities (Skool, Discord, WhatsApp, Circle): use a permanent invite link. Some platforms expire single-use links, which silently breaks an active scenario.
Referral and QR codes: for in-person events or printed materials, use the Someone clicks a referral link trigger, which gives you a copyable link and a QR code. Anyone who scans it and messages you enters the same scenario. See Trigger automations from referral links (with wildcard patterns).
Variations
Funnel to multiple platforms. After the main link, add an Ask a question ("Do you also listen to podcasts?") and route "Yes" to a second conversion link. One scenario, several destinations.
Campaign for a launch. When you open a new channel or community, run a DM campaign to your most engaged segment and route everyone into the same conversion link, so you control the timing instead of waiting for organic engagement.
Community as the freebie. If you have a free community tier, use the invite link as the lead magnet in a Lead Generation with Freebies & Gated Content flow.
Results to expect
Click-through depends on relevance and how warm the entry point is. Contacts who actively type a keyword click at 35 to 60 percent; contacts reached via a broad campaign click at 15 to 30 percent. The non-clicker follow-up typically recovers another 10 to 15 percent of the first group.
🐾 Netsuke's Tips
Build one scenario per platform. Separate flows are easier to maintain, give clean per-platform metrics, and let you update one without touching the others.
Track the click count on the conversion link in the insights view. That's a real growth metric, not just a DM open rate.
Refresh the link when the destination changes (a new episode, a rotated community invite). A broken link in an active scenario is a silent conversion killer.
Keep bots out with the comment trigger's Exclude hateful and negative comments toggle and a precise keyword, rather than a separate filter action.
What's next?
Build an email list alongside your platform growth with Lead Generation with Freebies & Gated Content, or reach contacts who clicked but didn't stick around with Re-engagement Campaigns for Cold Leads. For other external entry points, see Webhook Triggers: Fire Scenarios from External Apps.