Message actions are the steps that send something to your contact: a text, an image, a voice note, a file, or a message with tappable buttons. Most of them send and move on. The ones with buttons branch your flow based on what the contact taps.

You'll find these in the Messages and Most used sections of the step picker.

Send message

Sends a plain text DM. This is the most-used action in most scenarios.

Type your message, up to 1,000 characters including spaces and emojis. Use the Insert variable button to drop in contact data, trigger data, or a saved property. Useful variables for text messages:

{{contact.name}} is the contact's display name
{{contact.username}} is their Instagram handle
{{trigger.message}} is the DM that started the scenario
{{trigger.comment}} is the comment that fired the trigger

For the full list, see Variables & Personalisation Guide.

Like message

Adds a heart reaction (❤️) to the contact's last DM. No configuration needed, one click adds it to your flow.

It only works in DM conversations and can't react to comments. It's a small touch, but it signals you've seen their message before your automated reply lands.

Send a photo or video

Sends an image or video, either from your media library or from a direct URL (the URL field supports variables).

Photos can be up to 8MB (JPG, JPEG, PNG, or GIF). Videos can be up to 25MB (MP4, OGG, AVI, MOV, or WEBM).

Share a post or reel

Shares one of your own published posts or reels into the DM as a native Instagram post, not a link. Inrō pulls from your recent publications.

⚠️ You can only share content from your own feed; pasting a link doesn't work. Inside a campaign, some posts or reels may not send because of Instagram's limits.

Send audio message

Sends a pre-recorded voice message as a DM. Record one directly or upload an audio file. Audio feels more personal than text and works well for welcomes and introductions.

Audio files can be up to 25MB (AAC, M4A, WAV, or MP4).

Send file

Sends a downloadable file as a message with a button the contact taps to get it. Good for lead magnets, guides, price lists, and menus.

Configure three things: the file to send, the message text shown above the button (up to 1,000 characters), and an optional button label (up to 20 characters, defaults to "Download"). Both the message text and the file are required.

Send message with button

Sends a text message with one or more tappable buttons. Each button creates its own branch, so you can route contacts based on what they tap.

Configure the message text and your buttons. A button can either branch the flow (a tap sends the contact down that button's path) or open a URL. You can also attach an image, fetch one automatically from a link, and set an expiration so a follow-up fires if no button is tapped in time.

Use this when you want to give a simple choice without the keyword detection or save-to-property options that come with Ask a question. For that comparison, see Ask a Question & Wait for Reply.

Send an action card

Sends a carousel of rich cards, each with an image, title, description, and buttons. It's like Send message with button, but with multiple swipeable cards.

⚠️ This action is experimental and only visible to developer accounts, so most accounts won't see it in the step picker. Use Send message with button or a Conversion link for everyday card-style messages.

Ask for follow

Sends a message asking the contact to follow your account, with an "I have followed you" button, then checks whether they actually followed before continuing. In the step picker it sits under Contacts, but it's a message action at heart.

Configure your message, the button label, and a message to send if the follow isn't detected. It branches two ways:

When the contact clicks and follows you, Inrō verifies the follow and continues down this branch.
If they don't follow in time, the flow takes the expiration branch.

You can attach an image to the request. When you do, the message text is limited to 80 characters, so keep it short. See Add an Image to Your Ask for Follow Action.

Instagram messaging limits

These rules come from Instagram (Meta), not Inrō, and apply to every automated DM.

Character limit. Up to 1,000 characters per message, including spaces and emojis.
Rate limit. Up to 200 automated DMs per hour per account. If a scenario hits the ceiling, Inrō queues the rest and sends them when the hour resets. There's no ban risk, because it uses the official Instagram API.
24-hour messaging window. Automated messages can only reach contacts who interacted with you (a comment, DM, or story reply) in the last 24 hours. If a contact falls outside the window, Inrō sends a message request and retries, rather than failing silently.
Opted-out contacts. If a contact has opted out, message steps are skipped for them and the flow continues.

⚠️ Meta cut the automated-DM rate limit from 5,000 to 200 per hour in October 2024. If you run high-volume comment triggers on a viral post, expect Inrō to queue messages on your busiest days.

🐾 Netsuke's Tips

Put a Like message action before your first Send message in DM flows. It reacts to the trigger message and adds a moment of acknowledgement before your reply arrives.
Keep text short. DMs are conversational, and long blocks get scrolled past. If you have a lot to say, send a Conversion link instead.
Send file is underused. Gated content ("Comment GUIDE for our free PDF") converts well because the value is immediate.
Variables work in every field with the Insert variable button. Starting your first message with {{contact.name}} makes automated replies feel personal from the first word.