Getting Started with Inbox & Review Automations

Vista Social Automations allow you to respond instantly to customers across every social and review network. Whether you are capturing leads via Instagram keywords or managing your reputation by auto-replying to Google Reviews, these workflows ensure no message goes unanswered.

🕹️ Interactive guide

Check out the interactive demo below for steps, or scroll down for our written guide.

Step 1: Choose your business goal

Before building, decide on your automation's primary "Job":

A. Social Customer Service (Efficiency)

• Goal: Answer FAQs (shipping, hours, pricing) instantly.
• Recommended Trigger: "New Direct Message" or "New Comment."
• Pro Tip: Use AI Intent to detect "Where is my order?" without needing exact keywords.

B. Reputation Management (Reviews)

• Goal: Thank 5-star reviewers or acknowledge feedback on Google, Yelp, and Trustpilot.
• Recommended Trigger: "New Review."
• Pro Tip: Use AI Response so every response feels unique and human.

C. Lead Generation (Growth)

• Goal: Send a link/coupon when someone comments a specific keyword.
• Recommended Trigger: "Comment on Post/Reel" with Keyword trigger.

Step 2: Define your trigger logic

Choose how Vista Social identifies an incoming engagement:

• Keyword Match: Best for specific campaigns (e.g., "Comment 'SALE' for a link").
• AI Intent: Automatically detects the context of a message (e.g., identifies a "Billing Question" or a "Product Inquiry") even if the user doesn't use specific keywords.
• Ratings: Runs the automation if a review arrives within the star rating your specify.

You can decide exactly when your automation should be "awake" and working.

• Every Day: Keep the automation running 24/7 so no message is ever missed.

• Specific Days & Times: Choose certain days of the week or specific hours.

• Why use this? Many teams use this for "After Hours" support. You can set an automation to only reply at night or on weekends when your human team is asleep.

Step 3: Choose your action (Static vs. Dynamic AI)

When a trigger is met, you can choose how the system responds:

Option A: Dynamic AI reply (The "Prompt" engine) 🚀

Instead of writing a fixed response, give the AI a Custom Prompt (e.g., "You are a helpful support agent for a luxury hotel. Answer the guest warmly and invite them to DM us for booking help.").

• Why use this? Every reply will be unique, organic, and contextually relevant to what the user actually said.
• Avoids "Bot Shadowbans": Social platforms often flag accounts that send the exact same text 100 times. Dynamic AI replies solve this.

Option B: Static reply (Variations)

Manually write 10+  versions of a reply. Vista Social will rotate these to keep things fresh.

Step 4: Configuring your automation settings

Managing your actions

Once you have added actions to your automation, you can easily change them. Look for the three dots (⋮) or the icons next to each action to:

• ⬆⬇ Rearrange: If you have an "Action Chain," you can click and drag them to change the order. (For example: Make sure the Comment happens before the DM and Email alert).

• 📋 Duplicate: Want to use the same reply but change one small detail? Click duplicate to copy an action instantly.

• X Delete: If you don't need an action anymore, click the X icon to remove it from the chain.

Automation schedule & sequences

Finally, configure your settings to control how automated inbox message sequences are delivered to users and prevent duplicate or overlapping automations.

• Schedule
  Defines when the DM automation is allowed to trigger. This includes active dates, time windows, and any timing rules(as shown below) that determine when automations will run.
  

• Sequence
  Organizes and prioritizes your automations into a defined order. Lower numbers run first.

• Exclusive
  Prevents a user from being enrolled in multiple DM automation sequences at the same time. When enabled, the user must complete or exit the current automation before another exclusive automation can begin.

• Once per User
  Ensures each user can only enter the DM automation sequence one time. After the automation completes for a user, it will not re-trigger for that same user, even if the automation remains active.
  

   

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I hand off to a human?

A: Yes. Use the "Assign task" action, which allows you to escalate the conversation to a human team member.

Q: Which networks support DM automation?

A: Check out our guide on Inbox Automation Triggers & Actions by Network here.

Do you support Google Business reviews? 

A: Yes! You can now trigger automated replies based on star ratings or keywords in reviews.

Q: How do I prevent my automations from sounding like a bot?

A: Use our Dynamic AI Reply feature. By providing a "Custom Prompt," the AI generates a fresh, human-like response for every interaction based on your specific brand voice.

Q: Does Vista Social support AI for Review Management?

A: Yes. You can use AI Intent to categorize reviews and AI Prompted Replies to respond to feedback on Google, Yelp, and more.

Q: Can I test my own automations? 

A: Yes, but you will have to use another profile for testing, as the automation does not fire for your own profile.

Need further help?

If you have any questions or need additional help, feel free to contact our awesome support team. We are here to assist you! 💙

Related Reading:

Inbox Automation Triggers & Actions by Network

Data Collection with DM Automations

Instagram Automations: How to Send More Than One Message

Inbox message options

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