Story automations send a DM when someone reacts to or replies to your Instagram story. They're perfect for time-sensitive offers, exclusive content drops, and turning passive viewers into active conversations. Stories disappear in 24 hours, but the DM stays forever.
How Story Automations Work
- You post an Instagram story with a call-to-action (e.g., "React to this story to get the link")
- Someone reacts with an emoji or sends a reply to your story
- CreatorFlow detects the reaction or reply instantly
- CreatorFlow sends them a DM with your pre-written message
- The person gets your link, offer, or information in their inbox
Unlike Comment-to-DM, story automations don't use keywords. Any reaction or reply triggers the DM. This makes the call-to-action simpler: "React to get the link" instead of "Comment LINK to get the link."
Step-by-Step Setup
- Click New Automation in CreatorFlow
- Select Story Reply as the trigger type
- Write the DM message people will receive (include your link or offer)
- Add gates if needed (Follow Gate, Email Gate)
- Click Activate to turn it on
The automation applies to all stories you post while it's active. When you want to stop it, deactivate it from the dashboard.
Activate your story automation before posting the story. If you post the story first and activate the automation later, early reactions may be missed.
Best Use Cases for Story Automations
React for the Link
The most common use case. Post a story about a product, guide, or resource and tell people to react for the link. Everyone who reacts gets the link in their DMs instantly. This works better than the "link in bio" approach because it creates a direct conversation and the person doesn't have to navigate away from stories.
Flash Sales
Post a story announcing a limited-time discount. Tell people to react to get the discount code. The urgency of stories (24-hour expiration) combined with the automation creates a sense of exclusivity. Works well for digital products, courses, and coaching programs.
Content Delivery
Share a teaser of your content in a story and deliver the full version via DM. This works for PDFs, checklists, templates, and video links. The person reacts, and the full content arrives in their inbox within seconds.
Behind-the-Scenes
Share a behind-the-scenes snippet and offer exclusive content to people who engage. "React to see the full behind-the-scenes video" gives your most engaged followers something extra while identifying your superfans.
Things to Know
Story automations apply to all active stories. You can't target a single story. If the automation is on and you post 5 stories, reactions to any of them trigger the DM. Turn the automation off when you don't want it to fire.
One DM per person per automation. If someone reacts to 3 of your stories, they receive the DM only once. No spam.
Reactions and replies both trigger. Whether someone taps a heart emoji or types a reply, the automation fires. You can't separate these triggers.
Stories expire, DMs don't. Even after your story disappears in 24 hours, the DMs it generated stay in people's inboxes. The content keeps working after the story is gone.