Instagram welcome messages: 12 examples and how to set them up

The first time someone messages your business is the moment they are most likely to buy, book or ask for help. It is also the moment you are least likely to be looking at your phone. A welcome message makes sure that first contact gets an answer, and sets up how the rest of the conversation goes.

Below: how to add a welcome message, how it works alongside a default reply, and 12 examples you can copy, grouped by type of business.

How to add a welcome message on Instagram

There are two routes: Meta's own tools, or an automation tool connected to your account. Either way you need a professional (business or creator) account. This comparison explains the difference if you are not sure which you have.

Meta's built-in options. Meta has offered an automatic first reply for Instagram in Meta Business Suite (look under the inbox automations, often called an instant reply), and the Instagram app has offered frequently asked questions that people can tap before they write. Meta renames and moves these settings fairly often, so menu names in your app may differ. They are fine for a single fixed greeting.

Chat33's Welcome New Contacts. If you want the welcome to offer choices, tag people or lead into other automations, use a flow:

1. In Flows, build the welcome message (details further down).
2. In Channels, open your Instagram channel and switch on Welcome New Contacts.
3. Pick the flow and save.

It runs once per person, the first time they send you a DM. One thing to know before you write it: neither route can message someone just because they followed you. Instagram does not let apps know about new followers, so the welcome reaches people when they write to you first.

Two different tools for the first message

Chat33 has two settings on each Instagram channel that deal with "nobody has answered yet". They sound similar, but they fire at different times.

"New contact" means someone Chat33 has never seen on that channel. If you imported your message history when connecting, the people in it already exist as contacts, so the welcome flow is for genuinely new conversations.

How they combine

The welcome flow runs alongside everything else. That is useful, and it needs a little planning:

• A new person writes "price?" They get your welcome flow and your price flow.
• A new person writes "hello" and you have no matching keyword. They get your welcome flow only. The default reply is skipped when the welcome flow has just run.
• Someone you already know writes "hello". They get the default reply, unless they already got it in the last 24 hours.
• Someone taps a button or quick reply that matches no keyword. Nothing extra is sent: taps never get the default reply.

Even so, write the two to work together, because the same person will usually see both over a few days. A welcome flow that says "Hi, welcome!" and a default reply that also says "Hi, thanks for your message!" reads like two people who did not talk to each other.

A clean split:

• Welcome flow: who you are and what you can help with, as quick replies.
• Default reply: short and practical, for example "A person will reply within a few hours. Tap a button above or reply PRICE, SHIPPING or BOOK."

What a good welcome message does

1. Answers the unasked question: is anyone there? Say when a human replies.
2. Offers the three most common paths as buttons or quick replies, so the person can get an answer without typing.
3. Sounds like your brand, not like a form.
4. Stays short. One screen on a phone, no scrolling.

It should not open with a discount code, a newsletter signup or a survey. The person came with a question. Help them ask it.

12 Instagram welcome message examples

Each one is short enough for a phone screen and ends with two or three options the person can tap. Copy them, then change the details to fit your business.

Online store

1. General store

Hey {{name}}, thanks for stopping by! What can we help with?

Quick replies: Prices · Shipping · Order status

2. Fashion or sizing-heavy store

Hi {{name}}! Looking for the right size or checking on an order? Pick one below and we'll take it from there.

Quick replies: Size help · Returns · Where's my order

Creator

3. Creator with a free resource

Hi {{name}}! I read every message, usually within a day. While you wait, most people are looking for one of these:

Quick replies: Free guide · My gear · Collabs

4. Creator who gets brand inquiries

Thanks for the message! If it's about working together, tap Collabs and I'll reply with my media kit. Everything else, I answer personally.

Quick replies: Collabs · Just saying hi

Coach or course creator

5. Coach

Hi {{name}}, glad you reached out. Are you here for one of these?

Quick replies: Coaching · Free call · Free guide

6. Course or waitlist

Hey {{name}}! The next round opens soon. Want the details, or a spot on the waitlist?

Quick replies: Course details · Join waitlist · Ask a question

Local business

7. Salon or studio

Welcome! We're open Mon to Sat, 9 to 18. Book online in a minute, or ask us anything.

Buttons: Book a visit · Prices · Directions

8. Restaurant or café

Hi {{name}}! Thanks for writing. Here's what most people ask us about:

Buttons: See the menu · Reserve a table · Opening hours

9. Home or local service

Thanks for reaching out! Tell us what you need and your area, and we'll get back to you with a quote today.

Quick replies: Get a quote · Services · Talk to us

Agency or B2B

10. Agency

Thanks for reaching out. Tell us a bit about the project and we'll get back to you today.

Quick replies: New project · Existing client · Careers

11. Software or B2B product

Hi {{name}}, thanks for the message. Looking to try it, see pricing or get help with your account?

Quick replies: Book a demo · Pricing · Support

Any business

12. Minimal

Hi {{name}}, thanks for the message. A real person will reply soon.

{{name}} fills in the person's name when Instagram provides one, and "there" when it does not, so "Hi there" still reads naturally.

Building the welcome flow

1. In Flows, create a flow called "Welcome".
2. Add a Quick Replies node with your greeting and two or three options.
3. For each option, connect what should happen next: a message, a link button, or a Tag User node so you can find these contacts later.
4. In Channels, open your Instagram channel, switch on Welcome New Contacts and pick the "Welcome" flow.
5. Test it by messaging your account from a second Instagram account that has never written to it before.

The quick replies are what make this work. Most people will tap rather than type, and a tapped option is an answer your flows understand exactly.

Writing the default reply

The default reply is a single text message. It goes out at most once per person every 24 hours, and returning customers see it as well as new ones, so:

• keep it to one or two sentences
• list the keywords your automations understand (choosing them). Keywords match whole words, in any case, so PRICE in a message like "what's the price?" works, but a keyword SALE will not match "sales".
• say when a human will look at the conversation
• avoid "Welcome!", since returning customers see it too

Thanks! A person will reply within a few hours. For instant answers, reply PRICE, SHIPPING or BOOK.

How to set up auto reply on Instagram covers default replies alongside keyword answers and comment replies.

After the welcome

The welcome message is the start, not the whole job. Check the inbox daily for the conversations the automation handed over, and every few weeks look at which quick reply people tap most. That is usually the next flow worth building.

Instagram automation in Chat33

Welcome flows, default replies and keyword triggers on the official Instagram API, with a shared inbox for your team.