# Instagram Giveaway Automation: Comment to Enter

> Automate Instagram giveaway entries: every comment gets a DM confirming the entry, Reachlee can check the follow, and entrants land in one folder.

Use case · Giveaway entries

# Comment to enter.   
Every entry confirmed by DM.

Run your giveaway's entries through a flow: a reply under each comment, a DM confirming the entry, a follow check if your rules ask for one, and every entrant filed into one folder. You still pick the winner; Reachlee handles the hundreds of entries in between.

Updated October 2026 · Human-verified

[Start free ](/app/?src=seo&page=use-cases%2Finstagram-giveaway-automation)

Built on Meta's official API · Instagram and Facebook Pages · Free to start

1A giveaway entry flow answers every comment on the giveaway post: a public reply under the comment and a private DM confirming the entry, so nobody has to ask whether they're in.

2Reachlee can ask for a follow and check it (Pro, Instagram), ask for an email, and file each entrant into a folder you can filter later and export on paid plans.

3It doesn't pick the winner, check likes or tags, or DM every entrant after the giveaway ends. It runs the entries, inside Meta's messaging rules.

## The short answer

To automate Instagram giveaway entries, put a comment automation on the giveaway post. Every comment gets a public reply and a private DM confirming the entry, with a button that continues the flow. Reachlee can then check the follow (Pro), ask for an email and add the person to a Giveaway entrants folder. Picking the winner from that list stays with you.

## What an entry flow does, and what it leaves to you

A giveaway post is the busiest your comments will ever be, and most of the work it creates doesn't need you: telling people they're entered, repeating the rules, answering 'did my entry count?'. An entry flow handles that part. Each comment on the post starts it: Reachlee posts a short public reply under the comment, so everyone scrolling sees entries being handled, and sends the person a private DM that confirms the entry and says what happens next. A button in that DM, Confirm my entry for example, opens the conversation, which is what lets the rest of the flow continue: a follow check if your rules require following, an email question if you want to stay in touch afterwards, and an Add to folder step that puts everyone who completed the entry into one folder. What the flow deliberately doesn't do is decide anything that's yours to decide. Reachlee doesn't pick a winner and doesn't count tagged friends, and it can't see likes, because Instagram's API doesn't tell apps who liked a post. It also can't message every entrant when the giveaway closes a week later; the FAQ explains why, and what to do instead. The flow is built on Reachlee's [visual flow builder](/use-cases/instagram-flow-builder/), so you can shape it to your rules.

* Trigger: any comment on the giveaway post, or only comments containing your keyword (ENTER, for example), with words to exclude.
* Entry: a public reply under the comment and a private DM with a button that confirms the entry.
* Rules and list: an optional follow check (Pro, Instagram) and email question, then the entrant is added to your folder.

How it works

## Set up the entry flow before the post goes out

01

### Start the automation

In Automations, click New automation. If your rules include following you, start from the Follow first, then the freebie template; otherwise choose Start from scratch with a comment trigger. Pick the giveaway post and choose any comment or a keyword such as ENTER.

02

### Write the entry messages

Switch on the public reply under the comment. Make the first DM the confirmation, with a continue button. After the tap, add Ask for a follow if following is a rule, Ask for an email or phone if you want a way to reach entrants later, then Add to folder: Giveaway entrants, and a closing message with the draw date. In the follow template, people who don't follow still get the freebie; for a giveaway, point that branch at a message that explains the rule.

03

### Preview, test, go live

Walk both paths of the follow check in Preview, send a test to your second account, then click Set live. If the post collected comments before the flow was live, Retrigger (Pro) runs it on the last 7 days of them, so early entrants get the same confirmation.

04

### Close it and draw

When the giveaway ends, pause the automation so late comments aren't confirmed as entries. Open Contacts, filter by the Giveaway entrants folder, and draw the winner your way; on paid plans you can export the list as a CSV first.

What's inside

## Built for the busiest comment section you'll have

01

### A reply under every comment

The comment trigger can post a public reply under each entry, rotating between a few short lines like Sent you a DM and Check your DMs, so the thread shows entries being handled instead of hundreds of unanswered comments.

02

### Confirmation in the DM

Each entrant gets a private reply that confirms the entry and says when the draw is. Meta allows one private reply per comment, within 7 days of it, and Reachlee sends it for you seconds after the comment arrives.

03

### Follow rule, checked (Pro)

Ask for a follow lets people who already follow you straight through. Everyone else gets a Follow button that opens your profile and an I'm following button; when they tap it or reply, Reachlee checks whether they really followed before filing them as an entrant. Instagram only.

04

### One entrant, one DM

People comment many times on giveaways. Reachlee skips repeat triggers from the same person on the same post within 24 hours, so ten comments in an afternoon mean one confirmation, and the entrants folder lists each person once.

05

### An entrants list you can use

Everyone who completes the entry lands in the folder you chose. Filter Contacts by it to see the full list with any emails you collected, save it as a segment, or export it as a CSV on paid plans when it's time to draw.

06

### Early comments caught up

If entries started before the automation was live, [Retrigger](/use-cases/retrigger-old-posts/) (Pro) runs it over the post's existing comments from the last 7 days, skipping anyone already answered and pacing the sends while live comments go first.

## Running entries by hand vs with an entry flow

|                       | By hand                          | Entry flow in Reachlee                                 |
| --------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| Confirming each entry | Reply to each comment yourself   | A public reply and a confirmation DM for every comment |
| Follow rule           | Open each profile and check      | Ask for a follow checks it (Pro, Instagram)            |
| Repeat comments       | Easy to answer twice, or miss    | One DM per person per post within 24 hours             |
| Entrant list          | Scroll the comments when it ends | A folder in Contacts; CSV export on paid plans         |
| Comments before setup | Answered late or never           | Retrigger, last 7 days (Pro)                           |
| Picking the winner    | Yours                            | Still yours                                            |

Real scenarios

## Giveaways it fits

### A product giveaway on a launch reel

Before

You ask people to comment and follow to win. Hundreds comment, many ask whether their entry counted, and you spend the evening replying by hand while the post's momentum fades.

With Reachlee

Every comment gets a reply and a DM confirming the entry. People who don't follow yet get a follow button and are checked before they're filed as entrants. Your evening goes to the next post.

### A local business that wants to stay in touch

Before

A café gives away a month of coffee. Entries are comments, and when it ends there's no way to reach the people who entered with the next offer.

With Reachlee

The entry flow asks for an email after the confirmation, so entrants who want updates leave an address. When the giveaway ends, the folder doubles as the list for the café's next promotion.

### Entries that started before the automation

Before

You posted the giveaway at 8am and set up the automation at noon. Four hours of entrants never got a confirmation, and some of them are asking in the comments.

With Reachlee

Retrigger runs the automation on the morning's comments, skipping anyone already confirmed and pacing the sends in the background, while new comments keep getting answered first.

Pricing

## Small giveaways run on Free. Most need Pro.

Free covers a giveaway on one specific post of one Instagram account: public replies, the confirmation DM, an email question and an entrants folder, within 1,000 DMs a month. Each entry uses a few messages, so a large giveaway can reach that limit. Pro ($9/mo) is what most giveaways run on: the follow check, unlimited DMs, Retrigger for comments made before the flow was live, the same flow on several posts, Facebook Pages, and CSV export of the entrant list.

[Start free ](/app/?src=seo&page=use-cases%2Finstagram-giveaway-automation)

FAQ

## Giveaway automation, answered

Can Reachlee pick the winner?

No. Reachlee runs the entries and keeps the list; choosing the winner stays with you. When the giveaway closes, open Contacts and filter by your entrants folder to see everyone who completed the entry. On paid plans you can export the list as a CSV and draw from it however your rules say. Keeping the draw outside the automation also makes it easy to explain how the winner was chosen if anyone asks.

Will someone who comments ten times get ten DMs?

No. Meta allows one private reply per comment, and Reachlee skips repeat triggers from the same person on the same post within 24 hours, so a burst of comments from one person means one confirmation. In the folder each person appears once, however many times they commented. If your rules give extra entries for extra comments, count those yourself on the post; the automation treats a person as one entrant.

Can it check that entrants follow me?

Yes, on Pro, for Instagram. The Ask for a follow step lets people who already follow you straight through. Everyone else gets your message with a Follow button that opens your profile and an I'm following button; when they tap it or reply, Reachlee checks whether they really followed and sends them down Follows you or Didn't follow. Facebook gives apps no way to check a Page follow, so on a Page that step lets everyone through.

Can it check likes, shares or tagged friends?

No. Instagram's API doesn't tell apps who liked or shared a post, so a rule like 'like this post' can't be checked automatically, by Reachlee or any tool on the official API. Tags are part of the comment text, but Reachlee doesn't count or verify them. If your rules include likes, shares or tags, check them for the person you draw before you announce the winner.

Can I DM all the entrants when the giveaway ends?

Not all of them, and no compliant tool can. Meta only lets a business message someone within 24 hours of that person's last message, and most entrants last messaged you days earlier. Announce the winner in a post or story and ask them to DM you. If you want to reach entrants, a [DM campaign](/use-cases/instagram-dm-campaigns/) to the entrants folder sends right away to people who messaged you in the last 24 hours and, with Keep it open on Pro, to everyone else the moment they next message you, for up to 30 days.

What about comments made before I set it up?

Use Retrigger. On Pro, Retrigger runs a live comment automation over the comments a post already has, as long as they're from the last 7 days, which is Meta's limit for private replies. It skips anyone already replied to and paces the sends, so early entrants get the same confirmation as everyone else without your account sending a burst.

Will a big giveaway get my account flagged?

The flow only sends what Meta's official API allows: one private reply per comment, and the rest only after the person taps. Reachlee paces sends and pauses an account automatically when Meta signals a rate limit, then picks up again. It never sends cold DMs or messages people who didn't comment. On Free the thing to watch is volume: each entry is a few messages, so a big giveaway can use up the 1,000 DMs a month, while Pro has no DM cap.

Does it work for Facebook Page giveaways?

Yes, on Pro. A comment on a Page post starts the same entry flow in Messenger, with the public reply under the comment, the confirmation, the email question and the entrants folder. The follow check is the one difference: Facebook doesn't let apps verify Page follows, so on a Page that step lets everyone through.

Keep exploring

## Related use cases

[Growth Gate: follow to unlockAsk non-followers to follow before they get your link.](/use-cases/growth-gate-follow-to-unlock/)[DM past commenters (Retrigger)Confirm entries that came in before the automation was live.](/use-cases/retrigger-old-posts/)[Comment-to-DM automationThe core pattern: auto-DM everyone who comments your keyword.](/use-cases/comment-to-dm/)[Visual flow builderBuild the entry flow your rules need, step by step.](/use-cases/instagram-flow-builder/)[DM quiz funnelOne question in the DM, a different link for each answer.](/use-cases/instagram-quiz-funnel/)[DM campaignsMessage the contacts in a folder, inside the 24-hour rule.](/use-cases/instagram-dm-campaigns/)

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Source: https://www.reachlee.co/use-cases/instagram-giveaway-automation