Instagram’s API: benefits and how to set it up on Weni Platform

After the launch of Instagram’s API, this tool became even more potent to companies’ strategies. After all, it already is more than just a social network for sharing pictures and videos. 

Like WhatsApp API is already real, now Instagram’s API arrives as an important boost to sell and keep a customer service channel that already has 1.4 billion users. 

Therefore, it’s a way to grow your business and improve the relationship of the brand with the customers. That happens because your digital customer service gets even more centralized, scalable, and, most importantly, faster.

By adding Instagram’s integration into the Weni Platform, you create a new channel. This way, you can respond to clients who send messages on the network, directly from the platform. 

In this text, you’ll get to know more about Instagram’s API, how it works and what are its benefits. Learn how that’s a strategy that scales customer service and see how to create your channel on the Weni Platform. 

What’s Instagram’s API?

API means Application Programming Interface.

Although it may seem complicated at first, its use is quite simple. Through systems that integrate into this API — already used on WhatsApp — now it’s possible to ease communication and the sharing of content on Instagram. 

The update is an extension that enables the use of chatbots on the social network DM, optimizing message exchange with your customers.

In other words, Instagram’s API allows you to integrate the Weni Platform into your network. Hence, that’s a way of conducting customer service and having better management of the automated communication.

Who can use Instagram’s API?

The API for the integration of Instagram is designed for companies that have a business account on the network and that use a platform to escalate customer service — like Weni — or that want to interact with their followers in a closer and faster way.

How does the integration into Instagram’s API work? 

Instagram’s API allows the integration of the messages from the social network into systems, apps, and tools, making the workflow easier.

Its technology enables automation, integrating into CRMs and messenger software, having the possibility of agilely interacting with the public through Direct Message.

Thus, it’s possible to share clear answers through DM with the use of the API integrated into your chatbot 24/7. 

Besides that, Instagram’s business account reaches a better performance over time due to machine learning, saving the data from a chat, and evolving the dialogues with the user.

Also, interact on stories 

Instagram’s API makes even more. With this integration, you can not only automate contacts that get through DM but also the answers to your stories. 

Your company can, for example, post a story about “If you want to register, say ‘yes’” or “Send ‘apply’ to take part in the selection for this job.”

There are many possibilities to automate contact through your bot and have all the history on the Weni Platform. 

Which are the benefits of using Instagram’s API?

Besides generating more data for the company, your business escalates customer service and improves it on a highly used social network, counting more than 1 billion active users.

Thus, the user has a personalized experience with your brand while noticing they’re having good customer service. That reduces costs with operational personnel for customer service and with resources to revert possible churns on your services or products due to bad customer care.

Automation

Being present on Instagram is not enough. You need to add to the app, focusing on automation to not only be present but also be available.

Hence, with the automatic and humanized answers from the chatbot, the users immediately solve their frequent doubts about the product or service through DM.

Integrations into CRM

Now, it’s also possible to integrate Instagram’s API into the CRM used by your company. Therefore, messages from the app will be accessed through your software or Customer Relationship Management platform. 

This way, your team can apply strategies with data use and the whole history of chats from Instagram’s DM. That is, you can monitor the entire relationship with your client or lead in a centralized, scalable way.

More engagement with your public

Clients give positive feedback when they have a great experience with a smart bot through fluid dialogues. Thus, Instagram’s API is a powerful resource for having dynamism with the use of chatbots and thoroughly engaging the public.

Direct messages offer agility and a greater connection with your client, being the perfect solution, facing the daily demands of the company. Hence, the customer doesn’t need to wait to talk with a collaborator. 

READ MORE Smart Chatbot: the importance of humanizing your customer service

Why integrate into Instagram?

Do you still have doubts about the power of Instagram’s API on your strategies for the relationship with the public?

The social network has reached the figure of 1.4 billion users. That is, after the pandemic, the brand that hasn’t expanded its presence on this channel loses the impulse regarding its competitors which already use technological tools to optimize their contact with users.

This way, the impact of this novelty makes businesses that are clued in on this grow faster on the current competitive scene.

How to set up your Instagram account and create a Weni Platform account

Even before creating the new Weni Platform channel, you need to check if your Instagram account is set up as a business. Without that, it’s impossible to create a channel. 

So, the first steps are to be taken on your Instagram account. Follow up and see how: 

Step 1

To set up Instagram’s business account, you just need to follow these steps: 

1. Go to Settings find Account and click Switch to professional account.
2. Choose the category which best describes your company and select Business.
3. All set, your account is now professional!

Step 2: 

Now that your account is already a business one, you need to connect it to your Facebook profile on the Accounts Center. To do that, follow these steps: 

1. To access your profile, click or your profile picture, in the lower right corner.
2. Click in the upper right corner and for Settings.
3. Click the Accounts Center at the bottom and then choose Set up Accounts Center.

1. Click Add accounts and connect your Facebook profile or select the account you want to connect.
2. Click Yes, finish setup.
3. Select if you want to sync your profile picture. Then, click Continue.

In case you need to remove a Facebook account from the Accounts Center, you need: 

1. To access your profile, click or your profile picture, in the lower right corner.
2. Click in the upper right corner and for Settings.
3. Click the Accounts Center at the bottom and click your name in the upper part.
4. Click connect account and select Remove from Accounts Center.
5. Click Continue and Remove [Username].
6. After that, you can connect the account you want.

Step 3

Now, you can add or change the Facebook page connected to your Instagram business account. You can do that like this:

1. Access your profile.
2. Select Edit profile. 
3. Under Profile information, select Page.
4. Choose the page you want to connect to or select Create Facebook Page.

Step 4

When everything’s ready on your new Facebook page, and the new settings, you need to allow access to the messages from Instagram. This is necessary so that the management of Instagram’s messages is possible on the Weni Platform. 

The setting of this permission is done like this: 

1. To access your profile, click or your profile picture, in the lower right corner.
2. Click in the upper right corner and for Settings.
3. Click Privacy. On Interactions, click Messages.
4. In Connected Tools, enable Allow access to messages

Creating an Instagram channel on the Weni Platform. 

After setting it all up on Instagram and Facebook’s Accounts Central, you can already create your new channel on the Weni platform. 

To do that, follow the steps: 

1. Access your account on our platform and click the name of your organization — it’s in the upper right. 
2. Go to Add Channel and choose from the list of available channels. Click Instagram.

1. Click Add an Instagram Business Account

1. A new page will open. On it, log in to your Facebook (use the same Facebook profile that you’ve synced to your Instagram account).
2. After logging in to Facebook, you’ll see all Instagram accounts that are synced to your account. Select the one you want to permit to manage in our platform — the one you’ve set up as a business account in the previous steps.
3. Click Continue.
4. Now, you’ll see the pages of your Facebook account, select the one you’ve synced to your Instagram account and click Continue.
5. Confirm that you want to continue and agree to the required permissions so that our platform can manage your account by clicking on Finish.
6. After that, the Facebook page will close and, on your screen, will appear the pages you’ve selected in the previous steps.
7. Click the page you’ve synced to the Instagram account in the previous section.
8. That’s it, your channel has been created! 

Now that your account is synced, all permissions are set up, and your new channel has been created, you can fully enjoy the potential of Instagram’s API and the Weni Platform.

If you still don’t know Weni, subscribe to our platform for free and start creating your customer service flows. If you are already a customer and have any doubts about how to set up your channel, contact us through our support, ok?