1. Introduction
    1. Prerequisites
    2. Channels
  2. Integration
    1. SDKs
    2. API endpoints
    3. Authentication
    4. Encryption
    5. Receiving messages
  3. Shared Features
    1. Sending messages
    2. Batching
    3. Channel fallback
    4. Validity period
    5. Rich content
    6. Responses & Errors
  4. SMS
    1. Unicode
    2. Multipart
  5. WhatsApp
    1. Encryption
    2. Sending messages
    3. Text message
    4. URL previews
    5. Template message
    6. Media message
    7. Location message
    8. Contact message
    9. Interactive message
    10. Product message
  6. Twitter
    1. Fact sheet
    2. Onboarding
    3. Business rules
    4. Considerations
    5. Sending messages
    6. Receiving messages
    7. Examples
  7. Facebook Messenger
    1. Fact sheet
    2. Onboarding
    3. Business rules
    4. Considerations
    5. Sending messages
    6. Receiving messages
    7. Examples
  8. Instagram Messaging
    1. Fact sheet
    2. Prerequisites
    3. Onboarding
    4. Business rules
    5. Considerations
    6. Sending messages
    7. Handover protocol
    8. Receiving messages
    9. Examples
  9. Google Business Messages
    1. Fact sheet
    2. Onboarding
    3. Business rules
    4. Considerations
    5. Sending messages
    6. Receiving messages
    7. Examples
  10. Apple Messages for Business
    1. Sending messages
    2. Text message
    3. URL previews
    4. Media message
    5. Suggestions
  11. RCS
    1. Text messages
    2. Media Message
    3. Reply and Open link message
    4. Location message
    5. Dial message
    6. Agenda message
    7. Media with buttons message
    8. Carousel message
  12. Viber
  13. Push
    1. Fact sheet
    2. Notifire
    3. Onboarding
    4. Integration
    5. Business rules
    6. Considerations
    7. Migrating from Hybrid Push
    8. Sending messages
    9. Receiving messages
    10. Examples
  14. Telegram
    1. Fact sheet
    2. Onboarding
    3. Business rules
    4. Consideration
    5. Prerequisites
    6. Sending messages
    7. Receiving messages
    8. Examples
  15. Status Reports
  16. Errors
  17. SMPP
  18. XML
  19. Http Get-requests
  20. Glossary
  21. Conversion API

Instagram Messaging

Our business messaging API supports sending and receiving messages on Instagram Messaging.

Being able to send Instagram messages requires requesting access via the Channels portal. Without onboarding with Instagram via the portal, you can not make use of this part of the API.

Fact sheet

Feature Support Remarks
delivery notification yes Occurs when your message is delivered to the Instagram platform. Delivery notifications are sent to the status report webhooks.
text messages yes The maximum length of a Instagram message is 1.000 characters and it must be UTF-8 encoded.
media yes Media name attribute should end in the proper file extension. Only one media file is allowed per message; when sending multiple files, each file will be sent in its own Instagram message. When the linked media doesn't exist/can't be found, the message will not be sent at all. The provided text message is sent in a separate Instagram message.
media: images yes Maximum file size for an uploaded image is 8 MB. All common MIME types supported. For example: image/jpeg, image/png, image/x-icon, image/bmp.
media: gif no Will only display the first frame of the GIF.
media: audio no
media: video coming soon Only supported by sharing a Instagram post containing a video.
reply suggestions yes Maximum label length: 20 characters.
rich card yes Support for generic template.
rich carousel yes Support for generic template. Maximum of 10 templates supported.
message tags Yes Allows messaging outside the standard messaging window of 24 hours.
handover protocol yes Allows handover to the Instagram Inbox for live agents.

Prerequisites

To be able to onboard, you need to set-up the following:

Link your Instagram account to CM.com

Onboarding is done via our Channels portal. On our portal, you will be presented with a Facebook login pop up where you need to login with your Facebook account that is linked to your Instagram Business account.

In this pop up you will need to authorize our Facebook app, called CM.com Business Messaging to send and receive Instagram messages on behalf of your Instagram account.

This app requires the following permissions to work correctly:

  • "Access profile and posts from the Instagram account connected to your Page"
  • "Manage and access Page conversations in Messenger"
  • "Show a list of the Pages you manage"
  • "Manage and access messages for the Instagram account connected to your Page"
  • "Manage accounts, settings and webhooks for a Page"

If you choose to de-select these permissions in the Facebook pop up, we will not be able to complete the onboarding. It is allowed to have multiple Instagram accounts under one CM.com account.

Business rules

Sending Instagram messages using the CM.com Business Messaging API also requires you to adhere to the Instagram Policy & Guidelines.

Please note that you must comply to Instagram's Technical Requirements. Specifically for incoming messages:

  • When you make use of media messages, ensure you only store the privacy aware CDN URL in your system and use this link to render the media made accessible. See also Media Message.
  • Ensure you process Story Reply messages. A Story Reply message is send to you when a user replies to your Instagram Story. See also Story Reply.
  • Ensure you process Message Delete events. Message Delete events occur when a message in Instagram is deleted by a user. See also Message Delete.
  • Ensure you process Instagram Story Mention events. Story Mention events occur when a user mentions your business in their Story. See also Story Mention.
  • Ensure your messaging experience has an escalation path to a human agent. If you have a custom inbox solution, you can handle the escalation yourself. If not, you can use the Handover to Instagram Inbox. See also Instagram Handover Protocol.

Considerations

Note that in case of Instagram, the Instagram account that is used for sending messages is also still available in the regular Instagram app, from the Instagram website and from other 3rd party Instagram apps. Our API only has permissions to send messages on behalf of the Instagram account, it's not exclusively in control of that Instagram account.

This means that it will be possible to send messages using Instagram as well as using our API, and that might lead to situations where the API will relay replies to messages you sent via the Instagram app or website.

In those cases it will seem like messages are missing from a conversation when you use both ways of communicating with your end-users.

Our recommendation is to use the API exclusively for these Instagram accounts, and not switch between the Instagram app or website and the API, because the API won't "know" about the messages you sent using the app or website, but it will receive the replies to those messages.

The only way to have a Instagram conversation with end-users is when the end-user starts the conversation by sending you an initial message.

Instagram has rate limits in place; the per day rate limit is equal to 200 * the number of people the customer can message via Instagram.

If you choose to revoke any of the permissions given during the onboarding process on Facebooks side, we might no longer be able to deliver messages.

Sending messages

Unlike other channels, Instagram Messaging does not use telephone numbers as identifiers for sender (from) and recipient (to.number), instead it uses a so called "Instagram Scoped User ID (IGSID)" for the recipient and a "Instagram Account ID" for the sender. A person is assigned a unique IGSID for each Instagram Business account they start a conversation with.

Your Instagram Account ID is visible in the CM.com platform under channels...Instagram.

Display order

If you send a message including both an image and some text, Instagram will display these as separate messages; typically the text will be the first message.

See the Instagram message with text and image example.

Quick reply

Quick replies provide a way to present a set of buttons in-conversation for users to reply with. A maximum of 13 quick replies are supported and each quick reply allows up to 20 characters before being truncated. Quick replies only support plain text. Note: quick replies are only visible in the Instagram app, not via web browser.

The following restrictions apply for a quick reply:

Field Required Remarks
label Yes Maximum length is 20 characters.
postbackdata Yes Maximum length is 1000 characters.

More info can be found in the rich content description.

Handover protocol

For Instagram Messaging, experiences must have an escalation path that allows end-users to speak to a human agent instead of a bot. If you have a custom inbox solution, you can handle the human agent escalation by yourself by switching between a bot and live agents in your inbox solution.

If you don't have a custom inbox solution, we provide support to escalate to the Instagram inbox of your Instagram account instead by following the steps below.

Configure your Facebook page

In order to allow CM.com to perform a handover to your Instagram inbox, you need to update the settings of your Facebook page that is linked with your Instagram account after you have successfully onboarded in the CM.com platform.

In your Facebook page settings, go to Advanced messaging and browse to Handover protocol.

Click on the Configure button and select CM.com Business Messaging as the primary receiver for the handover protocol.

Handover to Instagram inbox

To provide the end-user to speak with a human agent via the Instagram inbox, you must send a quick reply with HUMAN_AGENT as postback data. If the end-user then selects this quick reply, the handover event will be triggered by CM.com, changing the conversation from the app to the message inbox in Instagram.

After the handover event has been triggered, CM.com has no control of the conversation for 24 hours. During this timeframe, a human agent has to escalate the conversation with the end-user via your Instagram account. These messages will not be tracked by CM.com during the 24 hour timeframe until it has expired.

If your human agent is done with the conversation or want CM.com to take control again, sending a message via the Business Messaging API will cancel the handover protocol. This will make CM.com take control again of the conversation with the end-user.

Rich card

Rich cards, called Generic Templates in Instagram Messenger, offer a way for you to offer a richer in-conversation experience than standard text messages by integrating buttons, images and more alongside text in a single message. Rich cards can be used for many purposes, such as displaying product information or asking the message recipient to choose from a pre-determined set of options.

Note: this is supported only for the Instagram App.

Note: when using a carousel (2 to 10 generic templates), put the cards containing a media image and at least a button first and/or second, as the behavior and sizing of the rest of the cards is affected by them.

A simple structured message that must include a title and must include at least one of the following: a subtitle, an image and/or up to three buttons.

This template will be used if fields are given that are not covered by other Instagram templates.

The following restrictions apply for a generic template:

Field Support Required Remarks
cards Yes Yes (If header not defined) Maximum 10 allowed per message. At least one property must be set in addition to header.
header Yes Yes (If cards not defined) Displayed as the title. Maximum length is 80 characters.
defaultAction Yes No Make the template behave as if it is an open url button when a user taps it.
text Yes No Displayed as the subtitle. Maximum length is 80 characters.
mediaUri Yes No The URL of the image to display.
suggestions Yes No Maximum of 3 buttons per card.

Input matrix

You can use the following matrix to check what type of message will be send with the included inputs.

Text Default Action Media Suggestions Header Output
x x x x x Not supported
x x x x Generic template with just a title
x x x Generic template with a title and a subtitle
x x Generic template with a title, a subtitle and a media image.
x x Generic template with a title, a subtitle and up to 3 buttons.
x x x Generic template with a title and a media image.
x x Generic template with a title, a media image and up to 3 buttons.
x x x Generic template with a title and up to 3 buttons.
x Generic template with a title, a subtitle, a media image and up to 3 buttons.
x x Generic template with a title, a subtitle and a default action.
x x x Generic template with a title and a default action.
x x Generic template with a title, a media image and a default action.
x x Generic template with a title, a default action and up to 3 buttons.
Generic template with a title, a subtitle, a default action, a media image and up to 3 buttons.

Receiving messages / Inbound flow

Since Instagram Messaging is used for 2-way communication (chat) it is important to also implement an Inbound flow. You can find more information about how to do this using our API documentation of the Inbound webhook. Note that for Instagram you need to set up your webhook API in the Channels app, not in the Gateway app.

Examples

An explanation on how to send rich content messages in general can be found in the rich content description.

Direct message with plain text content

The example below will send a simple text-only Instagram message.

{
    "messages": {
        "authentication": {
            "producttoken": "Your product token"
        },
        "msg": [
            {
                "from": "Your Instagram account ID",
                "to": [
                    {
                        "number": "Recipients IGSID"
                    }
                ],
                "allowedChannels": ["Instagram"],
                "body": {
                    "type": "auto",
                    "content": "CM.com - Be part of it."
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}

Direct message with text and image

In the example below we send a simple rich content message that contains both text and an image that Instagram will display as two separate messages.

{
    "messages": {
        "authentication": {
            "producttoken": "Your product token"
        },
        "msg": [
            {
                "from": "Your Instagram account ID",
                "to": [
                    {
                        "number": "Recipients IGSID"
                    }
                ],
                "allowedChannels": ["Instagram"],
                "body": {
                    "type": "auto",
                    "content": "Fallback Text"
                },
                "richContent": {
                    "conversation": [
                        {
                            "text": "CM.com - Be part of it.",
                            "media": {
                                "mediaName": "cm-tablet.jpg",
                                "mediaUri": "https://www.cm.com/cdn/web/blog/featured/cm-tablet.jpg",
                                "mimeType": "image/jpeg"
                            }
                        }
                    ]
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}

Direct message with quick reply suggestions

In the example below we send a rich content message that contains a text and some reply suggestions.

{
    "messages": {
        "authentication": {
            "producttoken": "Your product token"
        },
        "msg": [
            {
                "from": "Your Instagram account ID",
                "to": [
                    {
                        "number": "Recipients IGSID"
                    }
                ],
                "body": {
                    "content": ""
                },
                "allowedChannels": ["Instagram"],
                "richContent": {
                    "conversation": [
                        {
                            "text": "Hi, what can I do for you?",
                            "suggestions": [
                                {
                                    "action": "Reply",
                                    "label": "Call me",
                                    "postbackdata": "CALL"
                                },
                                {
                                    "action": "Reply",
                                    "label": "Email me",
                                    "postbackdata": "EMAIL"
                                },
                                {
                                    "action": "Reply",
                                    "label": "Send me an sms",
                                    "postbackdata": "SMS"
                                }
                            ]
                        }
                    ]
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}

Direct message with quick reply suggestion for handover protocol

In the example below we send a rich content message that contains a text and some reply suggestions. One of the suggestions with postback data HUMAN_AGENT will trigger the handover protocol.

{
    "messages": {
        "authentication": {
            "producttoken": "Your product token"
        },
        "msg": [
            {
                "from": "Your Instagram account ID",
                "to": [
                    {
                        "number": "Recipients IGSID"
                    }
                ],
                "body": {
                    "content": ""
                },
                "allowedChannels": ["Instagram"],
                "richContent": {
                    "conversation": [
                        {
                            "text": "Hi, what can I do for you?",
                            "suggestions": [
                                {
                                    "action": "Reply",
                                    "label": "Ask a question",
                                    "postbackdata": "QUESTION"
                                },
                                {
                                    "action": "Reply",
                                    "label": "Talk to live agent",
                                    "postbackdata": "HUMAN_AGENT"
                                }
                            ]
                        }
                    ]
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}

A single Rich Card with a title, a subtitle, a default action, a media image and two suggestions.

In the example below we send a rich content message that contains a rich card. The rich card is composed of a title, a subtitle, a default action, a media image and two suggestions. One of the suggestions will open an external url, while the other suggestion will start a handover protocol based upon it's postback data HUMAN_AGENT.

{
    "messages": {
        "authentication": {
            "producttoken": "Your product token"
        },
        "msg": [
            {
                "from": "Your Instagram account ID",
                "to": [
                    {
                        "number": "Recipients IGSID"
                    }
                ],
                "body": {
                    "content": ""
                },
                "allowedChannels": ["Instagram"],
                "richContent": {
                    "conversation": [
                        {
                            "header": "We are CM.com!",
                            "text": "Visit our website or start a chat with one of our employee's!",
                            "defaultAction": {
                                "action": "OpenUrl",
                                "url": "https://cm.com"
                            },
                            "media": {
                                "mediaUri": "https://www.cm.com/cdn/web/blog/featured/cm-tablet.jpg"
                            },
                            "suggestions": [
                                {
                                    "action": "OpenUrl",
                                    "label": "Visit our website!",
                                    "url": "https://cm.com"
                                },
                                {
                                    "action": "Reply",
                                    "label": "I want to chat!",
                                    "postbackdata": "HUMAN_AGENT"
                                }
                            ]
                        }
                    ]
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}

A carousel of Rich Cards with different compositions of a title, a subtitle, a default action, a media image and multiple suggestions.

In the example below we send a rich content message that contains a carousel of rich cards. The rich cards have multiple different compositions in which they are shown to the end user.

Three possible different compositions are:

  1. A title, a subtitle, a media image and two suggestions.
  2. A title, a default action and a media image.
  3. A title, a subtitle and three suggestions.

It's possible to mix different elements with each other.

{
    "messages": {
        "authentication": {
            "producttoken": "Your product token"
        },
        "msg": [
            {
                "from": "Your Instagram account ID",
                "to": [
                    {
                        "number": "Recipients IGSID"
                    }
                ],
                "body": {
                    "content": ""
                },
                "allowedChannels": ["Instagram"],
                "richContent": {
                    "conversation": [
                        {
                            "carousel": {
                                "cards": [
                                    {
                                        "header": "We are CM.com!",
                                        "text": "Visit our website or start a chat with one of our employee's!",
                                        "media": {
                                            "mediaUri": "https://www.cm.com/cdn/web/blog/featured/cm-tablet.jpg"
                                        },
                                        "suggestions": [
                                            {
                                                "action": "OpenUrl",
                                                "label": "Visit our website!",
                                                "url": "https://cm.com"
                                            },
                                            {
                                                "action": "Reply",
                                                "label": "I want to chat!",
                                                "postbackdata": "HUMAN_AGENT"
                                            }
                                        ]
                                    },
                                    {
                                        "header": "Our logo!",
                                        "defaultAction": {
                                            "action": "OpenUrl",
                                            "url": "https://cm.com"
                                        },
                                        "media": {
                                            "mediaUri": "https://www.cm.com/cdn/web/blog/featured/cm-tablet.jpg"
                                        }
                                    },
                                    {
                                        "header": "Conversational Channels",
                                        "text": "Here's a selection of some of the channels we support!",
                                        "suggestions": [
                                            {
                                                "action": "OpenUrl",
                                                "label": "WhatsApp!",
                                                "url": "https://www.cm.com/whatsapp/"
                                            },
                                            {
                                                "action": "OpenUrl",
                                                "label": "Instagram Messaging!",
                                                "url": "https://www.cm.com/instagram-messaging"
                                            },
                                            {
                                                "action": "OpenUrl",
                                                "label": "RCS!",
                                                "url": "https://www.cm.com/rcs/"
                                            }  
                                        ]
                                    }
                                ]
                            }                                                      
                        }
                    ]
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}