Monitoring Instagram Mentions Using the Instagram API

One of question we continue to see on a daily basis is whether Stori can monitor account mentions. 

Whether it's simply pulling media into your moderation queue when someone mentions you on Instagram or other CRM/messaging related use-cases, brands are eager to find a platform that allows them to better manage notifications. 

This need is so strong that they're usually convinced it's out there and will often share stories with us about how they've seen demos of other platforms that are able to do this.

Setting The Record Straight

As of May 2017, there is no 3rd party support (no official API support) for listening to notifications using the Instagram API, which most notably includes listening for mentions. This applies equally to all platform developers, large and small. The only true way to access your notifications is via Instagram's native app or the desktop experience at Instagram.com.

Half Measures & Headlines

What motivates us more than anything is transparency. Our entire platform is built around this central theme and we work tirelessly to dismantle hearsay, conjecture around social media marketing.

Remember the episode around Instagram schedulers? There was a lot of frustration when people looked past the headlines and realized that "scheduling" actually meant a push notification to your phone where you'd have to type in the caption and manually post.

In the case of account mentions, the workaround that's been adopted for years by platform developers involves monitoring specific posts for comments or mentions.

Generally, these "sampling" techniques are limited to the brands' own content but can be extended to include multiple accounts or branded hashtags. While this is supported on a variety of platforms today, it's important to realize that it does not include scenarios where a user you're not already monitoring mentions your account (and doesn't include a branded hashtag that you're monitoring).

In short, the feature isn't what you think it is.

Stori's Support

We provide support for messaging users who've mentioned you on Instagram and potentially obtaining rights to their media but this is a manual step that requires the brand to act on each mention individually. 

What we are working that is within the Instagram guidelines, is the ability to bookmark a user/influencer you want to monitor your brand account mentions. 

Awareness of the mention happens outside of Stori and we do not provide any support for listening for mentions or analytics relating to mentions. We enjoy a great relationship with the Instagram partner engineering team and will always remain focused on complimentary use-cases that are in line with their roadmap.