Run a Survey on Instagram with comments and DMs

ChattyFlow team · Updated

A ChattyFlow survey is one question with up to 3 option words. People vote by commenting an option under your post or Reel, or by replying to your story with it; ChattyFlow counts each vote, replies publicly, and can send each voter a DM for the option they chose.

Why comment surveys beat link-in-bio forms

Right where people are

Voting happens in the comments, or in a reply to your story. No link to click, no form to fill in.

Clean counts per option

Each option word counts under its own label, with followers and non-followers shown separately.

A DM for each choice

Send each voter a DM for the option they picked, such as the matching product link, or a short flow in Advanced mode.

Step-by-step: launch your first Instagram survey

  1. Open Survey in your dashboard, create a survey and give it a name, for example "Summer colours".
  2. Pick the post, Reel or story where people will vote, or publish a new one from the same screen.
  3. Add up to 3 option words, each with the label its votes count under, for example PINK for Pink and BLUE for Blue.
  4. Write the public replies ChattyFlow posts under each vote.
  5. Choose what voters receive by DM: in Simple mode, a message with a link button for each option; in Advanced mode, a short flow for each option. People who don't follow you are first asked to follow, and their vote is confirmed once they do.
  6. Publish, then ask people in your caption or story to comment their choice. Results appear per option in the survey and on your dashboard.

Tips for more votes

  • Say exactly what to comment: "Comment PINK or BLUE to vote".
  • Pick option words that are short and easy to tell apart, so every vote is matched.
  • Use the DM for each option to thank the voter, for example with the link to the colour they chose.
  • Ask one question per post. For follow-up questions, use Conditional Logic in DMs.

Frequently asked questions

How do I run a survey on Instagram with ChattyFlow?

Create a survey, pick a post, Reel or story, add up to 3 option words and activate it. People vote by commenting an option word, or by replying to the story with it, and each vote is counted under its label.

How many questions and options can a survey have?

One question, asked by your post, and up to 3 option words to answer it.

Do voters get a DM?

They can. People who don't follow you get a DM asking them to follow first. Followers can get a DM for the option they chose: a message with a link button in Simple mode, or a short flow in Advanced mode.

Can I see and export the results?

You can see them: each survey shows the votes per option, split between followers and non-followers, and your dashboard charts up to 3 active surveys. There is no CSV export.

Does it work on Stories too?

Yes. People reply to your story with an option word, and the reply counts as their vote.

Is this allowed by Instagram?

Yes. Surveys run on Meta's official Instagram API. A DM to a voter answers their own comment or story reply: Meta allows one private reply per comment, within 7 days of it, and further messages within 24 hours of the person's last message.

Ready to launch your first Instagram survey?

Free on every plan. Build it, publish it and watch the votes come in.

Create a survey