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Instagram auto-replies for home contractors and builders

Instagram DM automation lets a home contractor answer quote requests, “do you cover my area?” and “when can you start?” while the crew is on site. People comment or message a word such as QUOTE or KITCHEN, and the form, the guide or your next start dates reach them without anyone climbing down a ladder to type.

Updated 6 October 2026

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Comment words for home contractors and builders

Ask people to comment one word in your caption or video. Each word sends something different.

QUOTE: Your quote request form, which asks for photos, rough measurements, the postcode or zip code and when the homeowner would like the work done.
KITCHEN: A kitchen remodel guide: the order of works, how long each stage takes and how to cook while the old kitchen is out.
BATHROOM: What a bathroom refit involves, from the strip-out to waterproofing and tiling, and the choices the homeowner must make before day one.
ROOF: A guide to checking a roof from the ground after a storm: slipped tiles or missing shingles, blocked gutters and stains on upstairs ceilings.
CHECKLIST: The questions to ask any contractor before signing: licences, insurance, references, a written contract and payments tied to finished stages.
DATES: Your next free start dates, including any gap left by a postponed job, for people who reply to the availability Story.
PHOTOS: Which photos make a remote quote accurate: a wide shot of each wall, close-ups of any damage, and the boiler or fuse box if the job touches them.
PUNCHLIST: A final-walkthrough list, called a snagging list in the UK, for checking finished work before the last payment.

4 set-ups to try

Each one shows the conversation it creates. After a comment, the first DM is plain text, as Meta requires, and the link follows once they answer.

Quote form for “how much would it be?” messages
QUOTEThanks for getting in touch. What's the job, and roughly where is the property? The form below takes a few minutes: add photos, rough measurements and your postcode or zip code, and we'll come back to you with next steps.Request a quoteStart the form
List QUOTES, ESTIMATE, PRICE and the phrase HOW MUCH as extra words on this reply, because QUOTE on its own won't match “quotes”. A form puts the photos, the address and the timeframe in one place, instead of in a thread you scroll through on a roof.
Kitchen guide from a reveal Reel
Someone comments on your post
KITCHEN
Public reply under their comment
Sent, have a look in your messages
First DM (plain text)
Thanks for watching the reveal. Are you planning a kitchen of your own? Reply here and I'll send our guide to the order of works, how long each stage takes and how to manage without a kitchen for a few weeks.Yes pleaseKitchen remodel: what to expectRead the guide
Reveal Reels reach people months before their own project, and many live outside your area. The guide helps them wherever they are, and its last page links to your quote form for the ones nearby. Ask for an email first if you want to tell them when next season's dates open.
Filling the gap left by a postponed job
Replied to your story
DATESThanks for replying. A project has moved, so we can start a new job on the 14th for about three weeks. Is yours inside or outside, and roughly how big? The open dates and the quote form are below.Open start datesSee the dates
Gaps appear when a client delays or materials arrive late, and an idle crew still has to be paid. A Story reaches people who already know your work, and the card follows at once, since the person messaged you first. Change the message as soon as the gap is filled, so nobody is offered a week that's gone.
Hiring checklist from a carousel, with email capture
Someone comments on your post
CHECKLIST
Public reply under their comment
In your DMs now, worth reading before you sign anything
First DM (plain text)
Hi, thanks for the comment. The checklist covers licences, insurance, references, contracts and how payments should match stages of work. Would you like a copy? Reply and I'll ask where to email it.Yes pleaseQuestions to ask before hiring a contractorGet the checklist
Handing out a checklist for judging any contractor shows you're happy to be judged by it, and it draws homeowners who are close to choosing. Their email lets you follow up once the other quotes are in, long after Instagram's 24-hour window has shut.

Freebies worth commenting for

A week-by-week kitchen remodel timeline, from strip-out to the last coat of paint
How to set up a temporary kitchen with a microwave, a kettle and a folding table
A list of decisions to make before work starts: tiles, taps, sockets, lighting and paint colours
A guide to living at home during a renovation: dust, noise, pets and children
A payment schedule explainer showing which finished stages should trigger each payment
A seasonal maintenance calendar for gutters, window seals, drains and the boiler service
The signs of damp, rot and old wiring that a cosmetic refresh can hide
A sheet for comparing three quotes for the same job, line by line
What to clear, cover and move out before the crew arrives on day one

The messages that pile up during a working day

Enquiries arrive at the worst moments: on a roof, under a sink, on the way to the builders' merchant. Most are one of a handful of questions with a standard answer. Let the automation take those, and spend your own replies on the jobs that look right.

They write	Auto-reply sends	Take over if
Do you do small jobs?	Your minimum job size, or the small jobs you do take	It's for a past client
How much for a bathroom?	QUOTE, with the form for photos and measurements	They've already sent photos and plans
Do you cover my area?	The towns and postcodes or zip codes you cover, at the top of the QUOTE page	They're just outside it and the job is large
When could you start?	DATES, or your current lead time	It's urgent: a leak, a collapsed ceiling, storm damage
Are you licensed and insured?	Your licence and insurance details, on your website	They ask to see the certificates
The last builder left a mess. Can you sort it?	Nothing automatic	Always: look at the work before saying anything about it

Tip: AI replies, on the Growth and Business plans, answer messages that don't match a keyword, using only the business details you write. List the areas you cover, the jobs you don't take and your current lead time, and update the lead time as the season fills, because the AI repeats whatever you wrote.

Posts that bring local homeowners into your DMs

A kitchen reveal filmed from the same spot before and after, with KITCHEN.
What we found behind the wall: rot, an old wiring joint or a cracked joist, explained calmly, with “DM us PHOTOS” for anyone worried about their own house.
A bathroom from strip-out to grout in 30 seconds, with BATHROOM.
A storm-damage Reel shot from the ground, showing what a homeowner can safely check without a ladder, with ROOF.
The questions to ask any builder, as a carousel, with CHECKLIST.
A Story on the day a slot opens, with DATES in large letters.
A walk round a finished job with the homeowner, filmed with their permission, ending with QUOTE.

Tip: Keep KITCHEN and BATHROOM as comment words on the posts they belong to. As DM keywords they would fire on every enquiry that mentions a room, including someone describing a leak under their kitchen sink.

Demand follows the weather and the calendar. Exterior jobs fill spring and summer, roofs and gutters turn urgent before winter storms, and plenty of homeowners want a new kitchen finished before the year-end holidays. Switch the matching words on a few weeks before each rush.

For many local trades, Facebook matters as much as Instagram. DMFast answers comments on your Facebook Page's own posts and messages sent to the Page in Messenger, with the same keywords. Posts in local Facebook groups aren't covered, because they don't belong to your Page.

From first message to signed contract

QUOTE, or a comment word, sends the form. A commenter's first DM is plain text, and the card with the form follows once they reply.
The form collects photos, measurements, the address and a timeframe, so you can judge whether a site visit is worth the drive.
Arrange the visit yourself. Automated Instagram messages can only go out within 24 hours of the person's last message, so the reminder the day before belongs in a text or your scheduling tool.
Send the written quote and the contract by email. A price agreed in a DM is hard to find again if there's ever a dispute.
Give your best Reels their own auto-replies. Tracked links count how many people open each card, which shows the posts that bring in quote requests rather than only likes.

Running two crews, or someone in the office who handles enquiries? The Business plan has five seats, so the office can pick up conversations the automation started, and room for up to ten accounts if you run separate brands, such as a roofing business and a kitchen business.

Licences, safety and what not to promise in a DM

Licence numbers. Rules differ by country and by US state. California, for example, requires a contractor's licence number in all advertising, online ads included. Check your own state's rules before a Reel goes out, and if you hold a licence, put the number in your bio.
UK trades. Gas work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and electrical work in homes in England and Wales falls under Part P of the Building Regulations. If other firms do those parts, say so instead of implying your own crew does them.
Homeowners' safety. Blur house numbers, number plates and street signs in reveals, and never post that a house stands empty while the owners stay elsewhere.
Payments. Some places limit how much a home improvement contractor can take up front. Tie payments to finished stages in the contract, and keep money talk off Instagram.
No guarantees from photos. Older houses hide problems, so don't promise a finish date or a fixed price before you've seen the job.
Instagram's limits. Each comment can get one private reply, sent within 7 days. A reveal that takes off can pass Instagram's cap of 750 private replies an hour; DMFast stays under 700 and works through the rest in order.

Messages to copy

Questions people ask

Can the automation send a price?

It can send prices that never change, such as a call-out charge or a rate for a standard job, if you publish them. Most remodels need photos or a visit before any figure means anything, so for those the reply should send the quote form and explain what happens next.

Homeowners send photos of cracks and damp patches. What happens?

A photo has no keyword in it, so it won't trigger a keyword reply. AI replies, on Growth and Business, work from the business details you write and won't judge a crack from a picture; they'll say someone will get back to the person. Look at those yourself, and suggest a structural engineer if a crack worries you.

Can I message last year's clients when spring dates open?

Not through Instagram. Automated messages need the person to have written to you in the past 24 hours, and official tools can't send bulk DMs. Post the dates in a Story with DATES as the reply word, and email past clients from your own records.

Could an angry comment set off a cheerful auto-reply?

Only if it contains one of your keywords. That's why FIX, HELP or PROBLEM make poor triggers, and why room words like KITCHEN belong on a single reveal post rather than across your whole account. Answer criticism yourself, in public and calmly, since other homeowners read how you handle it.

I work alone. Is this worth setting up?

That's when it helps most, because nobody else is there to answer while you're working. The Free plan covers one account and up to 100 people a month, which is enough for QUOTE and one Reel word. If a reveal takes off, Pro removes the limits on people and emails.

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Words to know

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Answer every KITCHEN comment in seconds

Pick a post and the word. DMFast replies under each comment, sends the DM and follows with your link once they answer, day and night. It can collect emails on the way. Free plan, no card.

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