Feature Availability

Vtiger Editions: one Pilot | One Growth | One Professional | One Enterprise | One AI

Introduction

Vtiger CRM’s Social module lets you connect and manage your Instagram Business account directly from the CRM. With this integration, you can post content, reply to comments, track conversations, and link Instagram activity to CRM records like Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases.

This helps your team stay engaged with your audience, streamline social media workflows, and improve marketing and customer service, all from one place. 

Features

The following are the key features of integrating your Instagram account with Vtiger CRM:

• Create and publish posts
• Comment on posts and reply to comments
• Create a dedicated comment stream for tracking discussions
• Schedule posts for future publishing
• Delete unwanted comments or replies
• Link CRM records (Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases) to posts
• Use the Search Stream to find content using hashtags and keywords

Note: While the Social module is accessible to all users, only Admin users can configure its settings.

Requirements

You will need the following to integrate Instagram with Vtiger CRM:

• Have an Instagram business account. 
• Have a Facebook business account.
• Have a Facebook business Page.

Benefits of Instagram Integration with Vtiger CRM

• Centralized Management: Post, comment, reply, and interact with your audience directly from the CRM.
• Improved Customer Engagement: Track and respond to customer interactions in real time.
• CRM Record Linking: Associate Instagram posts and comments with Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases.
• Scheduled Posting: Plan and automate your Instagram content with post scheduling.
• Advanced Search: Use hashtags and keywords to search and monitor relevant content streams.
• Enhanced Marketing: Gain insights and control over your brand’s social presence, boosting marketing efficiency.

Key Terminology 

Integrating Instagram with Vtiger

Vtiger CRM’s Social module allows you to connect only Instagram Professional accounts. 

Follow these steps to integrate Instagram with Vtiger:

1. Switch to a Professional Instagram Account
2. Create or Use a Facebook Business Page
3. Link Your Instagram Account to Your Facebook Page
4. Log in to Your Instagram Account from the Social Module in Vtiger

Now we will learn about each in detail. 

Switch to a Professional Instagram Account:

Follow these steps to switch from a Personal to a Professional Instagram account:

1. Log in to Instagram account.
2.  Click on the Profile. 
3. Click Menu in the top right corner of your profile. The Settings and Activity page opens. 
4. Go to For Professionals > Account Type and Tools. The Account Type page opens. 
5. Click Switch to professional account.
6. Select Business.
7. Click Next.
8. Select a Category for your business.
9. Click Done. 

To learn how to set up a Business account, click here.

To learn how to set up a Creator Account, click here. 

Create or Use a Facebook Business Page

Follow these steps to create or use a Facebook Business page:

1. Log in to Facebook.
2. Create a new Facebook Page or select an existing one.
3. Ensure the Page is Active.

To learn how to create a new Facebook page, click here. 

Link Your Instagram Account to Your Facebook Page

Follow these steps to link your Instagram account to your Facebook page:

1. Log in to Facebook.
2. Click your profile photo in the top right.
3. Click See all profiles, select the Page you want to switch into.
4. Click your Page's profile picture in the top right of Facebook.
5. Click Settings & privacy > Settings. The Settings & Privacy page opens. 
6. Go to Permissions.
7. Click Linked accounts.
8. Click Instagram.
9. Click Connect account, then follow the steps to connect your Facebook Page and Instagram account.

To learn how to add your Instagram account to Facebook, click here.

Log in to Your Instagram Account from the Social Module in Vtiger

Note: Log in with the Facebook account linked to your Instagram Business account and Facebook Page.

Follow these steps to log in to your Instagram account on Vtiger Social:

1. Log in to Vtiger CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing > Campaigns > Social. The Social page opens. 
4. Select Manage accounts. A Social Settings page opens
5. Click Add Account. The Add Social accounts window opens.
6. Select Instagram. You will be directed to the Facebook login screen.
7. Enter your Facebook login details and click Log In.
8. You will be directed to Choose the Pages that you want Vtiger to access the screen where all your Facebook business Pages will be displayed. 
9. Select Opt in to all current and future pages.
10. Click Continue. The Choose the Instagram accounts that you want Vtiger to access window opens.
11. Select Opt in to all current and future Instagram accounts.
12. Click Continue. The What is Vtiger allowed to do? Page opens, where you can configure all the settings for your Instagram account on the Social module.
13. Click Save. An account added successfully message will be displayed.

You will be redirected to the Social module where your connected Instagram account is now visible. You are now ready to use Instagram from Vtiger CRM

Using Instagram in Vtiger CRM

The following sections will be available after adding the Instagram account in Vtiger:

1. My Posts
2. Scheduled

Let us understand each section in detail.

My Posts

My Posts section is where you can post and view your posts that will be available publicly on Instagram. In this section, you can perform the following:

• Compose a post.
• Comment on a post.
• Actions such as creating a Comment Stream, adding and selecting Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases, and Viewing the same from a Post.
• Reply to a comment.
• Delete a comment.
• Actions such as viewing, adding, and selecting Contacts, Leads, Deals and Cases from a comment. 

Let us look into each of these functionalities.

Composing a Post

Follow these steps to compose a Post:

1. Log in to CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing > Campaigns.
4. Click Social. The Social module page opens.
5. Click Posts > Instagram on the left-hand side.
6. Click the Compose Post icon. The New Post window opens.
7. Enter or select the following information to compose a Post:
   1. Post to - Select your Instagram account.
   2. Message - Enter the content you want to Post.
   3. Upload media - Upload media files if any (image, video). You can drag and drop your files from your system here or click Browse to upload files from your system.
   4. You can preview your Post on the right panel of the New Post window. 
8. Click Post.

With this, you have successfully posted on Instagram and your posts will be displayed under My Posts in the Instagram page of the Social module.

Commenting on a Post

The reply comment option allows you to respond or add your comments to a post.

Follow these steps to comment on a post:

1. Log in to CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing > Campaigns.
4. Click Social. The Social module page opens.
5. Click Posts > Instagram on the left-hand side.
6. Choose the post you want to comment on.
7. Click the Comment icon at the bottom of the post. 
8. You will be directed to the comment box as shown above. Type your comment in the comment box.
9. Click Post.

With this, you have successfully commented on a post on Instagram. Your comment on the post will be displayed under My Posts > Commented Post. To view your comment, click View all comments as shown above. Reclicking the same will hide the comments.

Note: You will not be able to Like a post on your Instagram page from the Social module

Actions on a Post 

Actions for an Instagram post allow you to select and add a contact, lead, deal, or case record to a Post.

Using Actions, you can perform the following:

• Create a Comment Stream
• Add a Contact
• Select a Contact
• Add a Lead
• Select a Lead
• Add a Deal
• Add a Case
• View Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases already added

Creating a Comment Stream

Creating a Comment Stream allows you to view a specific Post and the comments and replies to it individually on a separate section called Comments. If you comment stream a Post it will be streamed on the Comments window.

Follow these steps to create a comment stream: 

1. Choose your desired Post to create a comment stream.
2. Click Actions.
3. Click + Create comment stream.
4. The specific post will immediately be displayed in the Comments window created as shown above.

Note:

• Separate comment windows are created every time you create a comment stream for a post. 
• Under Comments, all the functionalities for a comment streamed post remain the same as the functionalities for a post under My Posts.

Replying to a Comment

The Reply option under every comment allows you to reply to a specific comment.

Follow these steps to reply to a comment:

1. Log in to CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing > Campaigns.
4. Click Social. The Social module page opens.
5. Click Posts > Instagram on the left-hand side.
6. In the My Posts window, choose the comment you want to reply to.
7. Click the Reply icon at the bottom of the comment. 
8. You will be directed to the reply box. Type your reply.
9. Click Post.

With this, you have successfully replied to a comment on Instagram.

Your reply to the comment will be displayed right below the comment for that post.  

Also visible is the  reply count, Replies. To view who has replied to your post or comment, click Replies. Reclicking the same will hide the replies.

Actions on a Comment

Actions for a Comment or Reply to an Instagram post allow you to select and add a Contact, Lead, Deal, or Case from the post.. 

Using Actions, you can:

• Add a Contact
• Link a Contact
• Add a Lead
• Link a Lead
• Add a Deal
• Add a Case
• View Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases already added
• Delete a Comment or Reply

Adding a Contact

Allows you to add new contacts who commented on or replied to your posts.

Follow these steps to add a contact: 

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Add Contacts.
3. Click New Contact. The Add Contact window opens.
4. Enter or select the following details to add a Contact:
   1. The user’s name is taken as the last name for the contact record by default.
   2. The user’s comment or reply is, by default, taken as the Description for the Contact record.
   3. Enter the mandatory fields for the Contact record.
5. Click Save. 

With this, you have successfully added a new Contact, which will be saved in the contacts module.

Linking a Contact

If existing CRM users have posted on Instagram, you can link these posts to their Contact record. 

Adding these links to a Contact record saves customer interactions and helps in knowing more about them. 

Follow these steps to select and link a Contact: 

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Select Contact. You will be directed to the Select Contact window.
3. The User (Contact) who commented or replied is displayed if they are already available in the CRM as a contact. 
4. Select the respective Contact record.

With this, you have successfully linked an existing CRM Contact record with Instagram.

Adding a Lead

Allows you to add Users who commented or replied to your posts as new Leads in the CRM.

Follow these steps to add a lead:  

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Add Lead. The Add Lead window opens.
3. Enter or select the following details in the Add Lead Window:
   1. The Instagram handle of the user by default is added as the Last Name.
   2. Enter the mandatory fields for the Lead record. 
4. Click Save.

With this, you have successfully added a Lead, which will be saved in the Leads module.

Linking a Lead 

If existing CRM users have posted on Instagram, you can link these posts to their contact record. 

Adding these links to a lead record saves customer interactions and helps in knowing more about them. 

Follow these steps to select and link a lead:

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Select Lead. The Select Lead window opens.
3. The user (Lead) who commented or replied will be displayed if already available on your CRM contacts.
4. Select the respective Lead record. 

With this, you have successfully linked an existing CRM Lead record with Instagram.

Adding a Deal

Allows you to add new Deals commented or replied to on your posts that you think are good enough business deals to pursue.

Follow these steps to add a Deal:

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Add Deal. The Add Deal window opens.
3. Enter or select the following details in the Add Deal Window:
   1. The user who commented or replied the Deal is by default taken as the Deal Name for the Deal record.
   2. The user’s comment or reply (Deal) is by default taken as Executive Summary for the deal record.
   3. Enter the mandatory fields for the Deal record. 
4. Click Save. 

With this, you have successfully added a deal and created its deal record, which will be saved in the deals module.

Adding a Case

You can create a Case when a user complains about an issue or raises a question on your posts.

Follow these steps to add a Case:

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Add Case. The Add Case window opens.
3. Enter or select the following details in the Add Case Window:
   1. The user’s comment or reply (Case) is by default taken as Summary and Case Title for the case record.
   2. Enter the mandatory fields for the Case record. 
   3. Click Save. 
4. Clicking Send Email you can email the Case details.

With this, you have successfully added a Case, which will be saved in the Cases module.

Viewing Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases      

Once you add or link (by using Select) Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases from a comment or reply to an Instagram post, you can view them by clicking Actions. From the Actions pop-up you can: 

• View Contact - If you want to view the contact added.
• View Lead - If you want to view the lead added.
• View Deal - If you want to view the deal added.
• View Case - If you want to view the case added.

With this, you will be directed to their respective records in the related modules.  

For a quicker search, enter the keyword as Instagram in the source field.

Deleting a Comment or Reply

Allows you to delete a comment or reply on your posts or comments

1. Click Actions.
2. Click the Delete icon. The Are you sure you want to delete?  Popup window opens.
3. Click Ok. 

With this, you have successfully deleted a comment or reply.

Note: The Reply symbol lets you reply to the comment whose functionality is just as the Reply option illustrated in the ‘Replying to a Comment’ section.

Scheduled

 The scheduled section is where you can compose your posts and post them at a later time.

You can perform the following:

• Scheduling a Post
• Rescheduling a Post 
• Deleting a Scheduled Post 

Scheduling a Post

The scheduled section is where you can compose your posts and post them at a later time.

Follow these steps to schedule a Post:

1. Log in to CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing > Campaigns.
4. Click Social. The Social module page opens.
5. Click Posts > Instagram on the left-hand side.
6. Click the Compose Post icon. The New Post window opens. 
7. Enter or select the following details:
   1. Post to - Select your Instagram account.
   2. Message - Enter the post content you want to post.
   3. Upload media - Upload your images, audio or video files to be posted. You can drop your files here or click Browse to upload files from your system.
   4. Preview your post on the right-hand side of the New Post window.
   5. Click the Schedule Post.
   6. Click the Calendar icon.
   7. Select the required month and date.
   8. Click the time icon to set the required time slot. The delete icon helps you clear the selection.
8. Click Schedule Post.

Your post scheduled for the specific date and time will be displayed under the scheduled section and posted then.

With this, you have successfully scheduled a Post.

Rescheduling a Post

Rescheduling allows you to reschedule an already scheduled post.

1. Click the Actions on the top right corner of the post.
2. Click Reschedule. The Reschedule window opens. 
3. Click the Calendar icon.
4. Select the required month and date. 
5. Click the time icon to set the required time slot. The delete icon helps you clear the selection.
6. Click Save.

Your scheduled Post rescheduled for the specific date and time will be displayed under Scheduled and posted then.

Deleting a scheduled Post

Allows you to delete a scheduled post.

Follow these steps to delete a Post:

1. Click Actions on the top right corner of the scheduled post.
2. Click the Delete icon. The Are you sure you want to delete? popup opens. 
3. Click Ok.

With this, you have successfully deleted a scheduled post.

Search Streams

Search stream allows you to look for Instagram posts with specific hashtags. Once you enter a hashtag and SearchStream, all Instagram posts with the specific hashtag will be displayed.

Follow the steps to do a Search Stream:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. The Social module opens.
6. Look for Search Stream on the left-hand side of the screen.
7. Click the plus mark beside Search Streams. The Add Search Stream window opens.
8. In the Name field, enter a name for your search stream.
9. In the Select Accounts field, select your desired account. You will be directed to the Add Search Stream window as shown.
10. Enter your desired hashtags to retrieve all the posts available on Instagram having the same as shown below.
11. Click Add Stream.
12. All the posts as per the set search stream conditions will be displayed.
13. The performed Search Stream will also be saved under Search Streams with the same name.

Note: Let’s you look for only 30 hashtags within a week's time and display the count and hashtags already looked for. The repeated hashtags are not considered.

Adding Channels

Under Search Streams, Vtiger offers a very beneficial Add Channel provision.

Add Channel allows you to simultaneously search streams on two social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram, helping you avoid dual keyword input and save time.

Follow these steps to add a Channel:

1. Under Search Streams, hover over the saved desired search stream.
2. Click Add Channel. The Add Channel window opens.
3. Select your Instagram account.
4. Click Add Channel.
5. All the Instagram and Twitter posts available with the same hashtag will be simultaneously displayed.

With this, you have successfully added a Channel.

Managing your Account from Social Settings

You can manage your social accounts from the Social Settings window.

You can perform the following :

1. Add, disconnect, or remove your account.
2. Set up automation for actions like creating leads.

Let us understand each section in detail.

Adding an Account

Follow these steps to add an Instagram account to the Social module:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing > Campaigns.
4. Select Social. The Social module opens.
5. Click Manage Accounts on the bottom left corner of the screen. You will be directed to the Social Settings window.
6. Click +Add Account.
7. Select Instagram.
8. You will be directed to your Facebook login screen. Enter your login credentials.
9. You will be directed to your Instagram account. Select your Instagram account.

With this, you have successfully added an Instagram account to the Social module.

Note:

• You can add multiple Instagram accounts.
• You can switch to different Instagram accounts on My Posts and Scheduled by clicking the dropdown next to the titles and selecting the Instagram account as shown below.

Disconnecting an Account

Disconnect helps you disable your Instagram account from the Social module. When you disconnect your account, only the sync stops between Instagram and CRM. Old posts and data will still be visible.

Follow these steps to disconnect an Instagram account from the Social module:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. The Social module opens.
6. Click Manage Accounts on the bottom left corner of the screen. You will be directed to the Social Settings window.
7. Click the Actions icon on the account you want to disconnect.
8. Click Disconnect.
9. Click OK. 

With this, you have successfully disconnected an Instagram account from the Social module.

 Removing an Account

Removing deletes your Instagram account from the Social module. When you remove an account, it will no longer be visible in the Social module.

Follow these steps to remove an Instagram account from the Social module:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. The Social module opens.
6. Click Manage Accounts on the bottom left corner of the screen. You will be directed to the Social Settings window.
7. Click the Actions icon on the account you want to remove.
8. Click Remove.
9. Click OK. 

With this, you have successfully removed an Instagram account from the Social module.

Note: Deleting a post from Instagram will not be reflected on the Vtiger CRM Social Instagram page.

Automation 

With automation rules, you can automatically create Contact, Lead, and Case records in the CRM. You can trigger the creation of records when a user leaves a comment on your Instagram page.

For instance, if you receive a comment that says, How do I buy this product?, you can assume this to be a lead for your business and create a Lead record for the user.

Additionally, you can specify tags or keywords that must be present in the comment or reply. For instance, if the tag wants to subscribe, a user posts a comment that matches the tag. You can assume them to be a lead and trigger the creation of a lead record. 

Follow these steps to add a rule: 

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing > Campaigns.
4. Select Social. The Social module opens.
5. Click Manage Accounts on the bottom left corner of the screen. You will be directed to the Social Settings window.
6. Click Instagram under automation on the left-hand side.
7. Click on +Add Rule.
8. Enter or select the following details:
   1. Name - Provide a title for the rule.
   2. Select trigger - Choose when the record must be created (on receiving a comment).
   3. Contains Keywords - Enter the keywords that must be present in the comment. 
   4. Choose action - Choose which record to create. 
9. Click Save.

With this, you have successfully set the Automation settings for your Instagram account.