Introduction

You can integrate your Instagram account with Vtiger CRM with the Social module.

The Social module is the social media management module built within the CRM. You can simultaneously integrate and manage your social media platforms from the Social module, such as Facebook, Google, Instagram, and Twitter.

The Social module gives you a dashboard from where you can post, comment, reply, etc., just as you would from a social media platform. 

Vtiger Social for Instagram

Integrate your official Instagram account with Vtiger CRM and manage various activities such as the following directly from the Social module screen in the CRM:

• Post
• Comment on a Post
• Reply to a comment
• Create a comment stream
• Schedule a Post
• Delete a Comment or Reply
• Select and add Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases to your Posts.
• Look up information using the Search Stream using specific hashtags and keywords.

Vtiger Social helps you monitor and control your Instagram page, significantly enhancing product marketing and customer interaction. 

Feature Availability

Click here for the availability of the Instagram feature for different editions of Vtiger CRM.

In this article, you will learn how to:

• Compose posts
• Comment and reply to posts on your Instagram page.
• Schedule and reschedule posts on your Instagram page.
• Create a comment stream. 
• Search the Instagram Stream with specific hashtags.
• Search the Instagram Stream simultaneously on two platforms such as Instagram and Twitter.
• Add new contacts, leads, deals, and cases from your CRM Instagram page.

Key Terminology 

Prerequisites For Using Instagram on Social

Let us learn the prerequisites to set up and use an Instagram account from the Social module.

For you to integrate your Instagram account with Vtiger CRM, you need to:

• Have a professional:
  • Instagram account
  • Facebook account
  • Facebook Page
• Link your Facebook Page to your Instagram account on Facebook (mandatory).

Switching to a Professional Instagram account

Vtiger CRM Social module’s Instagram page lets you add only professional Instagram accounts. Learn to switch to a professional account if you have a personal account.
Follow these steps to switch to your professional Instagram account:

1. Log in to your Instagram account.
2. Click your Profile icon.

3. Click Edit Profile.

4. Click Switch to Professional account on the left-hand side of the screen. You will be directed to your professional account setup.

5. Once you have switched to your professional account, log in to Vtiger CRM > Social module > Instagram.

6. Click Manage Accounts. A Social Settings window opens.

7. Click +Add Account. An Add Social account with icons will be displayed.

8. Select Instagram. A Facebook login page appears.

9. Login with your Facebook credentials.

10. Add your Professional Instagram account.

Linking your Instagram account to your Facebook account on the Facebook page

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

1. Login to your Facebook account.

2. Select the Profile icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

3. Select your Facebook Page.

4. Click Settings on the right-hand side. A page window opens.

5. Select Linked accounts.

6. Click Instagram.

7. Click the Connect Account button.

8. Click Continue. You will be directed to the Instagram login screen. 

9. Enter your Instagram account login details and click Log In. 
   1. You will be directed back to the Facebook screen - ‘Connected Instagram account’.

With this, you have linked your Facebook Page to your Instagram account.

Linking your  Facebook account to your Instagram account

Linking your Facebook account to your Instagram account on Instagram is mandatory.
Follow these steps to link your Facebook account to your Instagram account on Instagram:

1. Log in to your Instagram account.

2. Click the More icon.

3. Click Settings.

4. Click the Accounts Center.

5. Click Add accounts. A Select the account you want to add window opens.

 

 

6. Select Add Facebook account. You will be directed to the Facebook login screen. Enter your Facebook account login details and click Log In.

7. Click Continue.

8. Click Add.

With this, you have now linked your Facebook account to your Instagram account.

Setting up your Instagram account in the Social module

Let us learn how to set up your Instagram account on the Vtiger CRM Social module. To log in to your Instagram account on the Vtiger CRM Social module, your Instagram account should be connected to your Facebook Page.
Follow these steps to log in to your Instagram account on Vtiger Social:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.

3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.

6. Select Manage accounts. A Social Settings page opens.

7. Click Add Account. An Add Social accounts window opens.

8. Select Instagram. You will be directed to the Facebook login screen.
9. Enter your Facebook login details and click Log In.

10. 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. 
11. Select Opt in to all current and future pages.
12. Click Continue. You will be directed to Choose the Instagram accounts that you want Vtiger to access the screen.

 

13. Select Opt in to all current and future Instagram accounts.
14. Click Continue. You will be directed to the ‘What is Vtiger allowed to do?’ screen, where you can configure all the settings for your Instagram account on the Social module.

15. Click Save. An account added successfully message will be displayed.

You will be directed to the Social module displaying your added Instagram account.

With this, you have successfully logged in to your Instagram account on the Vtiger CRM Social module.

You’re now ready to use Instagram from Vtiger CRM.

Understanding the Instagram page on Social 

Your Vtiger Social Instagram page consists of two sections, namely:

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:

1. Compose a post.
2. Comment on a post.
3. Actions such as creating a Comment Stream, adding and selecting Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases, and Viewing the same from a Post.
4. Reply to a comment.
5. Delete a comment.
6. 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

Lets you compose and publish a post.
Follow these steps to compose a post:

1. Log in to the CRM.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.

6. Click Instagram under Posts on the left-hand side.
7. Click the Compose Post icon. You will be directed to the New Post window.  

8. Enter the following information:
   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, audio, video). You can drag and drop your files from your system here or click Browse to upload files from your system. Note: Instagram supports one video or one photo, not both.
   4. You can preview your Post on the right panel of the New Post window.
   5. Click Post.
9. You can preview your post on the right panel of the New Post window. 
10. Click Post.

Your posts will be displayed under My Posts on the Instagram page of the Social module.

Commenting on a Post

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

Follow these steps to comment on a post:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.
6. On the left-hand side, click Instagram under Posts.
7. Choose the post you want to comment on.
8. Click the Comment icon at the bottom of the post. You will be directed to the comment box.
9. Type your comment in the comment box.
10. Click Post.

To view your comment, click View all comments as shown above. Reclicking the same will hide the comments.

Actions (For a Post)

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

Using Actions, you can:

1. Create a Comment Stream
2. Add a Contact
3. Select a Contact
4. Add a Lead
5. Select a Lead
6. Add a Deal
7. Add a Case
8. 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. The specific post will immediately be displayed in the Comments window created, as shown above.
   1. Note:
      1. Separate Comments windows are created every time you create a comment stream for a post. 
      2. 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 your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.
6. On the left-hand side, under Posts, click Instagram.
7. In the My Posts window, choose the comment you want to reply to.
8. Click the Reply icon at the bottom of the comment. 
9. You will be directed to the reply box. Type your reply.
10. Click Post.

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 (For a Comment)

Actions (three dots) for a Comment or Reply to an Instagram post allow you to select and add a contact, lead, deal, or case from an Instagram post. 

Using Actions, you can:

1. Add a Contact
2. Select a Contact
3. Add a Lead
4. Select a Lead
5. Add a Deal
6. Add a Case
7. View Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases already added
8. Delete a Comment or Reply
9. Reply

Adding a Contact

Lets you add new contacts who commented or replied to your Posts.

Follow these steps to add a contact: 

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Add Contacts.
3. Click New Contact. You will be directed to the Add Contact window.
4. Enter or select the following information in the Add Contact window:
   1. The user’s name, by default, is taken as the Last Name for the contact record.
   2. The user’s comment or reply is, by default, taken as the Description for the contact record.
   3. Enter the other new Contact’s details for the Contact record, such as:
      1. First Name
      2. Last Name 
      3. Email
      4. Organization Name
      5. Phone
      6. Assigned To
      7. Contact Type
      8. Contact Image
      9. Description
   4. Note: The ‘Add Contact’ window fields are customizable and hence may vary.
5. Click Save. 

The new contact record is saved in the Contacts module.

Selecting a Contact

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

Lets you 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. You will be directed to the Add Lead window.
3. Enter or select the following in the Add Lead Window:
   1. The Instagram handle of the user by default is added as the Last Name.
   2. Enter the other new Lead’s details for the Lead record:
      1. Lead Name
      2. Organization Name
      3. Location
      4. Lead Type
      5. Assigned To
      6. Parent Lead
      7. Lead Share
      8. Contact Number
      9. Email
   3. Note: The ‘Add Lead’ window fields are customizable and hence may vary.
   4. Click Save.

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

Selecting (linking) a Lead 

If existing CRM users have posted on Instagram, you can link these posts to their contact records. Adding these links to a lead record saves customer interactions and helps us know more about them. 

Follow these steps to select and link a lead:

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Select Lead. You will be directed to the Select Lead window.
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

Lets you add new deals a viewer commented on or replied to on your posts that you think are good enough business deals to pursue.

Follow these steps to add a deal:

4. Click Actions.
5. Click Add Deal. You will be directed to the Add Deal window.
6. In the Add Deal Window:
   1. The user who commented or replied to 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 an Executive Summary for the deal record.
   3. Enter the other new Deal’s details for the Deal record:
      1. Deal Name
      2. Organization Name
      3. Sales Stage
      4. Contact Name
      5. Pipeline
      6. Revenue
      7. Assigned To
      8. Location
      9. Estimate
   4. Note: The ‘Add Deal’ window fields are customizable and hence may vary.
7. Click Save. 

The record you have created 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. You will be directed to the Add Case window.
3. 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 other new Case’s details for the Case record, such as:
      1. Case Title
      2. Status
      3. Priority
      4. Contact Name
      5. Assigned To
      6. Group
      7. Channel
      8. Email
      9. SLA Name
      10. Summary
      11. Note: The ‘Add Case’ window fields are customizable and hence may vary.
4. Click Save. 
5. Clicking Send Email lets you email the case details.

The case record created is 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: 

1. View Contact - If you want to view the contact added.
2. View Lead - If you want to view the lead added.
3. View Deal - If you want to view the deal added.
4. 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 Instagram in the source field.

Deleting a Comment or Reply

Follow these steps to delete a comment or reply to your posts or comments.

1. Click Actions.
2. Click the Delete icon.
3. You will be directed to the ‘Are you sure you want to delete? ‘ popup.
4. 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.

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

Scheduling a Post

Lets you compose a post and post it at a later time.

Follow these steps to schedule a Post:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.
6. On the left-hand side, under Posts, click Instagram.
7. Click the Compose Post icon. You will be directed to the New Post window.
8. Enter the following information:

9. You can always view the preview of your post on the right-hand side of the New Post window.
10. Click the Schedule Post.
11. Click the Calendar icon.
12. Select the required month and date.
13. Click the time icon to set the required time slot. The delete icon helps you clear the selection.
14. Once the date and time are set, click Schedule Post.

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

Rescheduling a Post

Rescheduling allows you to reschedule an already-scheduled post.

1. Click the Actions (three dots) on the top right corner of the post.
2. Click Reschedule. You will be directed to the Reschedule window
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. Once the date and time are set, click Save.

Your scheduled Post rescheduled for the specific date and time will be displayed under Scheduled and posted then. With this, you have successfully rescheduled a post.

Deleting a Scheduled Post

Lets you delete a scheduled post.

1. Click Actions on the top right corner of the scheduled post.
2. Click the Delete icon.
3. You will be directed to the  ‘Are you sure you want to delete?' popup.
4. 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. You will be directed to the Social module.
6. Look for Search Stream on the left-hand side of the screen.
7. Click the + plus mark beside Search Streams. You will be directed to the Add Search Stream window.
8. Enter the following information in the below fields:
   1. Name - Enter a name for your search stream.
   2. Select Accounts - Select your desired account. You will be directed to the Add Search Stream window as shown.
   3. Hash keyword - Enter your desired hashtags to retrieve all the related posts available on Instagram.
9. Click Add Stream.

All the posts, as per the set search stream conditions, will be displayed. The performed Search Stream will also be saved under Search Streams with the same name.

Hovering or clicking the dropdown next to a browsed search stream title, you can view the following details about it:

1. Name - The name
2. Type - Search
3. Contains - Hash keyword

Note: You can view up to 30 hashtags in a week and display the count and hashtags already looked for. Repeated hashtags are not considered.

Simultaneously Adding Channels

Under Search Streams, Vtiger offers a very beneficial Add Channel provision. Add Channel allows you to simultaneously search stream on two social media platforms, Twitter and Instagram, helping you avoid dual keyword input and save time. 
Follow these to add a Channel: 

1. Under Search Streams hover the mouse on the saved desired search stream.
2. Click Add Channel. You will be directed to the Add Channel window.
3. Select your Instagram account.
4. Click Add Channel.

Managing your Account from Social Settings

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

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

Let’s look at each of them.

Adding an Account

Lets you add an Instagram 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.
4. Look for Campaigns..
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.
6. Click Manage Accounts on the bottom left corner of the screen. You will be directed to the Social Settings window.
7. Click +Add Account.
8. Select Instagram.
9. You will be directed to your Facebook login screen. Enter your login credentials.
10. 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. You will land on the Social module.
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. You will land on the Social module.
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.

How?

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, the tag is “want to subscribe”, and 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.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.
6. Click Manage Accounts on the bottom left corner of the screen. You will be directed to the Social Settings window.
7. Click Instagram under automation on the left-hand side.
8. Click on +Add Rule.
9. Enter or select the following information:
   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. 
10. Click Save.

Social Inbox

The Social Inbox displays all your recent activities performed on social media platforms available on the Social module, such as your Facebook, Google, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.