DM templates · Instagram
Thank people who mention you in their Story
When someone mentions you in their Story, the mention arrives in your DMs, and an automated reply can go out for 24 hours after it. Thank them for the specific thing they shared, and ask before using their photo anywhere beyond a reshare. These 13 messages cover customers, fans, partners and complaints, and the mentions you only spot after the Story has gone.
Updated 6 October 2026 · 13 templates
13 messages to copy
Tap a card to copy the message. Swap anything in braces, like {name}, for your own words before you send it.
Customer unboxing their order
We packed that one by hand, so seeing you open it in your Story was the best part of our day. Thank you, {name}! Tell us how you get on with it.
Mention something from their Story, like the colour they chose or where they opened it. One detail shows a person actually watched.
Customer using it weeks later
Still using it after all this time? That's the best review we could ask for. Thanks for the tag, {name}, and for showing it in real life.
A mention weeks after delivery shows the product holding up in daily life, which new shoppers rarely get to see. These are the ones to reshare first.
Letting them know you reshared it
We loved this so much it's now in our Story too. Thank you for tagging us, {name}!
Reshare from the mention in your DMs while their Story is still live. If the option isn't there, they've probably turned off reshares for accounts they mention, so leave it.
Asking to use the photo elsewhere
Your photo is lovely. Would you be happy for us to use it on our website and in a feed post, credited to your account? A simple yes or no here is perfect, and no hard feelings either way.
A reshare stays inside Instagram's own feature; your website, feed or ads are a new use. Get a yes in writing that names where it'll appear, and keep it.
Surprise thank-you code
To say thanks for the mention, here's 10% off your next order with the code THANKYOU10. Use it any time this month: {link}
Keep it a surprise, not a deal you advertise in advance, so the tags people post stay genuine recommendations.
Asking for a review after a glowing mention
Thank you for the kind words in your Story! If you have a minute, would you write the same thing as a review? It really helps people who are deciding: {link}
Ask once, within the 24 hours after their mention, and only when the Story was clearly happy. A Story is gone in a day; a review stays.
A mention with a question in it
Saw your Story asking whether we deliver to Ireland, so here's the answer straight from us: yes, it takes {time}, and the delivery costs are on this page: {link}
When someone tags you to ask a question in public, answer quickly in DMs. Their followers may be wondering the same, and a fast answer is easy for them to pass on.
A mention that's a complaint
I'm sorry, {name}. That isn't how it should have gone, and I'd like to put it right. Could you tell me a bit more here, with your order number if it's about an order?
Not every mention is praise. Reply fast, privately and without arguing, and don't reshare it. A calm fix sometimes earns a second, happier Story.
Thanking a fellow business
Thank you for the shout-out! It was a joy working with your team on this. We've shared it on our side as well, and we'd love to do it again.
With venues, suppliers and collaborators, thanks in private and in public go together: reshare their Story, or tag them back in one of your own.
Included in a list of favourite shops
We just spotted ourselves in your list of favourite small shops. Thank you! Recommendations like yours are how a lot of people find us, and we don't take them for granted.
These Stories tag several accounts at once. A short, personal thanks is enough; skip the discount code, which can read like payment for the mention.
A fan recommending your account
You recommended my account in your Story? That's so kind, thank you. What made you share it? It helps me know what to make more of.
Their answer is free research: it tells you which posts bring new people to your account.
Spotted after the Story expired
We only just saw your mention and the Story has gone, but thank you so much for thinking of us! If you still have the photo, we'd love to see it.
Mentions arrive while you're offline, and a Story disappears after 24 hours unless they keep it in a Highlight. A late thank-you is still a thank-you.
Automatic thanks that suits Story replies too
Aw, thank you! This is an automatic reply, but every mention and Story reply is read by a real person on our team. Have a lovely day.
In DMFast one Story auto-reply answers mentions and replies to your own Stories alike. “Thanks for the tag” would puzzle someone who only sent 😂, so this wording fits both.
Set it up in DMFast
Thank everyone who mentions you, automatically
Mentioned you in their story
Thanks a million for the Story love! This is an automatic message, and a real person on our team sees every one. There's a small thank-you for you in the card below.A thank-you from usOpen your thank-youA mention lands in your DMs as a message from them, so the card can follow at once, with no YES step. DMFast answers it with a Story auto-reply that has no word, once a day per person. That auto-reply also answers replies to your own Stories, so the wording thanks people for “Story love”, which fits a tag and a 😂 alike.
Pick Story replies
Connect your Instagram account and add an auto-reply for Stories. It answers mentions too.
Leave the word empty
With no word set, everyone who mentions you in their Story gets the message, once a day per person.
Paste the message
Add the message shown here and the link card that goes with it.
Free plan, no card. Instagram professional accounts and Facebook Pages.
Rules to know
- A Story mention is delivered to your DMs as a message from the person who mentioned you, and Meta treats it as the start of a conversation you can reply to.
- Automated replies to a mention must go within 24 hours of it. If they write back, each new message from them restarts the 24 hours.
- A mention from someone who doesn't follow you, and hasn't messaged you before, opens in your Requests folder, so check there as well as the main inbox.
- Meta's API only lets you message people who started a conversation. Mentions, DMs, Story replies and comments count; views, likes and follows don't.
- An automatic thank-you has to make clear it's automated, under Meta's policy for automated chats.
Sources
Reply, reshare or repost: what a mention allows
| What you want | How | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Say thank you | Reply to the mention in your DMs, by hand or automatically | Automatic replies within 24 hours of the mention |
| Show it to your followers | Add it to your own Story from the mention, in the Instagram app | Their Story still live, and reshares allowed by the person who posted it |
| Keep it on your profile | Add your reshare to a Highlight | Nothing more: Highlights hold your own past Stories |
| Use it on your feed, website or in an ad | Ask them to send the original photo or video | Their clear permission for that use, and a credit |
Private accounts that mention you decide whether you can reshare, and anyone can switch off reshares for the accounts they mention. If the option is missing, ask the person rather than reposting a screenshot.
Writing a thank-you that sounds like you
- Name the thing in their Story: the colour, the dish, the view. One detail is the difference between thanks and a form letter.
- Lead with thanks, not a sale. A code can come later in the chat, or not at all.
- Keep it short enough to read in the notification without opening the chat.
- Ask one easy question if you'd like a conversation, such as how they're finding it or what made them share.
- If it's automatic, say so, and keep it general. An automation can't see what they posted, so it shouldn't pretend to.
- Use their name only in messages you send by hand. Automatic replies go out word for word, braces and all.
Mentions that never reach your DMs
Only Story mentions arrive as messages. A tag in a feed photo or Reel, or an @mention in a caption or comment, shows up in your notifications instead, so no DM tool can thank people for those automatically. Answer them with a comment, or message the person yourself.
Timing matters too. A Story lasts 24 hours unless its owner adds it to a Highlight, so a mention you open late may no longer show the Story. Your thanks still works; the reshare doesn't.
Turning mentions into proof, with permission
A Highlight of reshared mentions, named something like Customers or Your photos, shows new visitors real people using what you sell. It fills itself as long as you keep resharing.
For anything beyond Instagram's own reshare, such as a feed post, your website, packaging or an ad, ask first and keep the answer. A screenshot of their yes in DMs, naming where the photo will appear, is a simple record. Credit their account wherever you use it.
Tip: Don't edit someone's photo beyond a crop without asking, and take it down if they change their mind. Their goodwill is the whole reason the photo is worth using.
What to measure
Count mentions each week and note what prompted them: a delivery, an event, a collaboration, a recommendation. If mentions climb after you start resharing, people have noticed that you do. If you send a thank-you code, give it its own tracked link, so you can see how many of the people who mentioned you come back to buy.
Questions people ask
How do I see who mentioned me in their Story?
Story mentions arrive in your Instagram DMs as messages saying the person mentioned you, and Instagram sends a notification as well. If they don't follow you, look in your message requests. Opening the mention there is also how you reply and reshare.
Can I reshare a Story I'm mentioned in?
Usually, yes: open the mention in your DMs while their Story is live and add it to your own Story from there. The option goes once their Story expires, and it won't appear if they've switched off reshares for accounts they mention, which private accounts get to decide too.
Is it okay to repost a customer's Story photo on my feed?
Only with their permission. A reshare from the mention stays within Instagram's own feature, but a feed post, your website or an ad is a new use of their photo. Ask in the DM, say where it will appear, credit their account and keep their yes.
Can DMFast thank people who mention me automatically?
Yes, on Instagram. Add a Story auto-reply and leave its word empty: everyone who mentions you gets the message, once a day per person. The same auto-reply answers replies to your Stories, so write a thank-you that suits both.
Should I reward every mention with a discount?
That's your call, but a surprise thank-you keeps mentions genuine. Advertise a code for every tag and people's Stories start to read like ads, and you end up paying for mentions you'd have had anyway.
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