How to Set Up ManyChat and DM Tracker (Step-by-Step)

Quick answer: You set up ManyChat and DM Tracker separately, then run them side by side on the same Instagram account. ManyChat gets its own signup and Instagram connection for comment and keyword triggers. DM Tracker connects straight to Instagram through Meta’s official Instagram API in about 5 minutes. There is no connector step between the two tools.

What You Will Build in This Guide

By the end of this guide you will have a complete Instagram DM sales system running:

• ManyChat flows that deliver your lead magnet the second someone comments on your post
• DM Tracker CRM that tracks every conversation and surfaces follow-ups automatically
• Your first campaign live and pulling leads into both

Two signups, two Instagram connections, zero integration work between them. Total setup time: 15-30 minutes, no coding.

Before You Start: What You Need

Make sure you have these before starting:

1. Instagram Business or Creator Account

Both tools require an Instagram Business or Creator account. Personal accounts are not supported. Meta’s Instagram Platform documentation limits messaging access to professional accounts, which is why every tool on the platform asks for the same thing.

To check your account type:

• Go to Instagram Settings → Account
• Look for “Switch to Professional Account” or “Account Type”
• If you see “Personal Account”, switch to Business or Creator

Switching is free and takes 2 minutes.

2. Optional: A Facebook Page Linked to Instagram (Some ManyChat Features)

ManyChat connects to your Instagram account directly, so the basics in this guide (keyword and comment triggers) need no Facebook page at all. Some ManyChat features, most notably Follow to DM, only work when your Instagram account is linked to a Facebook page. If you want those later, link it under Instagram Settings → Account → Linked Accounts → Facebook. No page yet? Create one; it can stay unpublished.

3. ManyChat Account (Free or Paid)

Go to manychat.com and create an account. The free plan works fine to start. You can upgrade to Pro ($15/month) later when you hit 1,000 contacts or need advanced triggers.

4. DM Tracker Account

Go to app.dmtracker.ai/signup and create an account with your email or your Google login. You get a 14-day free trial. Nothing else to buy, no API keys to paste, no middle tool in the chain.

Once you have all four, you are ready to start. The two setups below are independent, so the order does not matter.

Part 1: Setting Up ManyChat (10-15 Minutes)

Let’s connect ManyChat to your Instagram account and build your first flow.

Step 1: Connect Instagram to ManyChat

1. Log into ManyChat
2. Click “Connect Instagram” or go to Settings → Instagram
3. Click “Connect Account”
4. Log in and follow ManyChat’s connect flow for Instagram
5. Authorize ManyChat to access your Instagram DMs
6. Select the Instagram account you want to connect
7. Done. ManyChat is now connected to your Instagram inbox.

ManyChat can now read and send Instagram DMs on your behalf. That sending capability is ManyChat’s job and belongs to ManyChat alone.

Step 2: Create Your First Automation (Keyword Trigger)

Now let’s build a simple flow. When someone comments “GUIDE” on your post, ManyChat sends them a DM with your free resource.

1. In ManyChat, go to Automation → New Flow
2. Choose Instagram as the platform
3. Click Create Flow
4. Name your flow: “Lead Magnet - Free Guide”
5. Choose trigger type: Keywords
6. Set the keyword: “GUIDE” (or whatever word you want people to comment)
7. Choose where it applies: All Posts (or attach it to a specific post later)

If you want the other big trigger type, Follow to DM setup in ManyChat walks through the version that fires when someone hits follow.

Step 3: Build the Flow (Lead Magnet First, Outreach After)

Now you will build what actually gets sent when someone comments “GUIDE”. Two rules shape this flow. First, Instagram’s 24-hour messaging window: an automation can only message someone within 24 hours of their last interaction, so a “wait a day, then pitch” sequence silently never sends to anyone who went quiet. Second, the automated part stays light. One good conversation opener beats a three-message pitch sequence every time.

Message 1 (instant): deliver the lead magnet behind a button

1. Add a Text block:

   Thanks for your interest in [name of lead magnet]! Tap the button below and I'll send it right over.

2. Add a button: “Send me the link”
3. The button tap is your next trigger. On tap, ManyChat sends the delivery message:

   Here it is: [link to Google Drive, Dropbox, or landing page]
   
   Have fun with it, and let me know how you like it!

No qualifying question, no pitch. They asked for the lead magnet, so give them the lead magnet. The button tap also counts as an interaction, which keeps the 24-hour window fresh for the next message.

Message 2 (Delay block, 5-10 minutes): the outreach opener

This is the one message built to get a typed reply, so no buttons here. Keep it easy to answer and sell nothing:

Hey, how are you liking [lead magnet] so far?

Curious: are you here for the free content, or actually working on [outcome] right now?

That is the whole automated flow. One delivery, one opener. Everything after the reply is a human conversation, which is exactly the part DM Tracker exists to track. You can also record the opener as a voice message inside your flow; what matters is that it invites an answer instead of pitching a call.

A/B test the opener from day one. Put two variants behind ManyChat’s split step (the Randomizer), label each variant’s contacts in DM Tracker (@OpenerA, @OpenerB), and compare reply rates in the statistics dashboard. Keep the winner, write a new challenger, repeat. Reply rate on this one message is the number that compounds the whole system.

Step 4: Test Your Automation

Click Test this flow in the top right. ManyChat sends the flow to your own Instagram account. Read every message, tap the button, click every link, and fix anything that looks off before you go live.

Step 5: Publish Your Automation

Once it works, click Publish. Your flow is now live. Anyone who comments “GUIDE” on your Instagram posts gets the lead magnet and, a few minutes later, your opener.

Part 2: Setting Up DM Tracker (5 Minutes)

DM Tracker does not plug into ManyChat. It connects to the same Instagram account, on its own, through Meta’s official Instagram API. That means you can do this half before, after, or instead of the ManyChat half.

Step 1: Create a DM Tracker Account

Go to app.dmtracker.ai/signup, sign up with your email or your Google account, and start the 14-day free trial. You land in the dashboard.

Step 2: Connect Instagram to DM Tracker

1. From the dashboard, start the Instagram connection
2. Instagram’s own approval screen opens
3. Choose the Business or Creator account you sell from and approve access
4. You land back in DM Tracker, connected

That approval takes about 2 minutes, and the whole DM Tracker setup runs about 5 minutes. There is no ManyChat authorization step, no API key, and nothing extra to buy. If your workspace connected through ManyChat back when that was the only route, it keeps working, and you can move it to the direct connection under Settings > Connections.

Step 3: Verify the Connection

Open the Conversations tab, send yourself a test DM from a second account, and watch it appear within a minute or two.

One thing to plan for, and it applies to every tool on the platform: Instagram does not let any tool import old conversations, so tracking starts at the moment you connect. Your first week is your real baseline. Connect before you launch a campaign, not after.

Step 4: Customize Your Follow-Up Stages (Optional)

DM Tracker has default follow-up timing:

• 1st Follow-Up: 1 day after last message
• 2nd Follow-Up: 3 days after 1st follow-up
• 3rd Follow-Up: 7 days after 2nd follow-up
• 4th Follow-Up: 30 days after 3rd follow-up

You can customize this to match your sales process.

1. Go to Settings → Follow-Up Configuration
2. Adjust the timing for each stage
3. Click Save

DM Tracker will use your custom timing going forward. The follow-up tool for Instagram DMs breakdown goes deeper on cadence design if you want to tune this properly.

Step 5: Invite Team Members (Optional)

If you have setters, closers, or VAs working in Instagram DMs, invite them under Settings → Team. Enter their email, pick a role (Admin, Member, Viewer), and send. They get a link to join your workspace. Each user is $39 per month.

Part 3: How Conversations Flow (Understanding the System)

Both tools are live now. Here is how they work together in a real sale, without ever talking to each other.

1. Lead comments on your post

You post a transformation reel with the CTA: “Comment GUIDE for my free 7-day fat loss plan.” The lead comments “GUIDE”.

2. ManyChat runs the flow

ManyChat catches the comment and runs what you built: the “Send me the link” button, the guide delivered with no pitch attached, then the 5-10 minute delay and the single typed-reply opener. That is where the automation stops.

3. DM Tracker picks up the conversation

DM Tracker syncs your Instagram DMs directly, so the conversation ManyChat just started appears in the Conversations tab on its own. No handoff, no export, no button to press.

4. The lead asks a real question

“Does this work if I am vegetarian?” ManyChat has no answer for that, so you reply yourself in Instagram. DM Tracker logs your reply and keeps the contact live on the follow-up board.

5. The lead books a call

You offer a call and send your Calendly link. They book Thursday at 3pm. In DM Tracker you drag the contact along the pipeline: First DM Sent to In Conversation to Meeting Offered to Meeting Booked.

6. The call happens and stalls

Thursday at 3pm the lead says, “Let me talk to my partner.” You move them into the 1st Follow-Up stage. DM Tracker surfaces them the moment they go overdue instead of letting them rot in the inbox.

7. You follow up and close

You send the follow-up DM. The lead replies, “We are in.” You send the payment link and drag the card to Closed, the last stage in the pipeline. The statistics dashboard updates with the close.

Every step is tracked. No leads fall through the cracks.

Part 4: Your First Instagram Post (Putting It All Together)

Both tools are set up. Let’s run your first campaign.

Step 1: Post Content With a Keyword CTA

Publish something worth commenting on (a transformation reel, a client case study, a step-by-step carousel) and end the caption with the ask:

Want my free [name of lead magnet]?

Comment GUIDE below and I'll send it to your DMs 👇

Use your ManyChat keyword, “GUIDE” in this example. Every matching comment now triggers the sequence.

Step 2: Answer Replies in Instagram

When leads reply with real questions, you answer them yourself in Instagram. DM Tracker never sends a message for you; it tracks what you and ManyChat already sent.

Step 3: Manage Follow-Ups in DM Tracker

Open DM Tracker daily and work the follow-up board. See who needs a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd follow-up, send those messages in Instagram, and DM Tracker marks the stage complete.

Step 4: Track Performance

At the end of the week, go to DM Tracker’s Statistics tab. See:

• How many DMs your team sent
• How many replies came back
• Your reply rate (the DM Tracker average across 2.1M+ tracked leads is 37%)
• Which contacts sit in each follow-up stage

Use this data to sharpen your messaging and your follow-up timing. The Instagram DM sales funnel guide covers what to fix when a specific stage leaks.

Common Setup Issues and How to Fix Them

Issue 1: ManyChat Says “Cannot Connect to Instagram”

Cause: Your Instagram account is not a Business or Creator account. The basic ManyChat connection needs nothing more than that; a Facebook page only matters for specific features like Follow to DM.

Fix: Switch the account to Business or Creator under Instagram Settings → Account, then try ManyChat again. Planning to use Follow to DM later? Link a Facebook page under Linked Accounts → Facebook.

Issue 2: ManyChat Automation Is Not Triggering

Cause: The keyword does not match, or the flow is not published.

Fix:

1. Go to ManyChat → Automation → Your Flow
2. Check that the keyword is correct (case does not matter, but spelling does)
3. Make sure the flow is Published (button in top right)
4. Test the flow by commenting the keyword yourself

Issue 3: DM Tracker Shows No Conversations

Cause: Instagram is not connected yet, or nothing new has come in since you connected. Remember that history does not import.

Fix: Confirm the account shows as connected, rerun the connection and approve on Instagram’s screen if it does not, then send yourself a test DM from a second account. It should land within 1-2 minutes.

Issue 4: Follow-Up Board Is Empty

Cause: No conversation has hit a follow-up stage yet.

Fix: Wait 24 hours after your first conversations start (the default 1st follow-up timing), check your rules under Settings → Follow-Up Configuration, and drag a test contact into a stage to see how the board behaves.

Issue 5: DM Tracker Stopped Syncing New Conversations

Cause: The Instagram connection expired or was disconnected, often after a password or account-type change.

Fix: Open Settings > Connections in DM Tracker, reconnect the Instagram account, and approve access again. Syncing resumes immediately.

Best Practices for Your ManyChat + DM Tracker Setup

1. Keep ManyChat Sequences Short

Do not send 10 automated messages. Two or three is the sweet spot. After that, let the conversation go human. ManyChat warms the lead up, you close the deal.

2. Test Every Flow Before Publishing

Broken links, typos, or confusing sequences destroy trust. Test your ManyChat flows before going live. Send the sequence to yourself and check every link.

3. Check DM Tracker Daily

Open DM Tracker every morning. Work the follow-up board top to bottom: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th. Consistency is the whole game. Teams that work the board close roughly 3x more than teams tracking DMs in their head.

4. Check Your Numbers Weekly

Every Friday, open DM Tracker’s Statistics tab. Reply rate, follow-up success, on-time versus late. If your reply rate is under 37%, the opener is the problem. If follow-up success is the weak number, the cadence is.

5. Tag Contacts in DM Tracker

Use tags to sort the pipeline: “Booked Call”, “Objection - Price”, “Payment Plan”, “Hot Lead”, “Referral”. Filter by tag when you want to run a specific play. The appointment setter CRM guide shows how teams structure tags across a full setter roster.

What to Do After Setup

Your system is live. Here is what to focus on next.

Week 1: Test and Refine

Run your first campaign, then refine the ManyChat flow based on what people actually ask you in the DMs.

Week 2: A/B Test Your Opener

Add a second opener variant behind ManyChat’s Randomizer, label each variant’s contacts in DM Tracker, and compare reply rates in the statistics dashboard. Double down on the winner, then write a new challenger against it.

Week 3: Add More Triggers

Build more ManyChat flows for different lead magnets and offers. More triggers, more ways for a lead to raise a hand.

Week 4: Scale Volume

Once the system converts, post 5-7 times per week with ManyChat CTAs. More posts, more comments, more conversations to close.

Get Started Today

You now have everything you need to set up ManyChat and DM Tracker. Two independent setups, roughly 20-30 minutes total, no integration work in between.

What you get:

• Automated lead magnet delivery (ManyChat)
• CRM tracking of every conversation (DM Tracker)
• Follow-up reminders so no lead goes cold
• Reply rate, follow-up success, and team stats to measure performance

Cost: $54/month for the pair (ManyChat Pro $15 + DM Tracker $39 per user), or $39 per user for DM Tracker on its own, since it does not need ManyChat to connect.

One $2,000 sale pays for 3 years of the stack. 1,000+ high-ticket sales teams already run their DMs this way.

Related guides:

• Best Instagram Sales Stack 2026
• ManyChat CRM: The Missing Layer
• ManyChat Instagram DM Automation Guide
• DM Tracker Integrations