Instagram After Hours Replies That Answer and Book
Instagram after hours replies answer the DMs that arrive when your business is closed. AeroChat answers the question, books the slot in Google Calendar, Calendly or SimplyBook.me, and records anything that needs a person in HubSpot so your team starts the morning with a list instead of an inbox to read.
What happens today
People scroll Instagram at night and on weekends, so that is when many DMs arrive. Most get no reply until the next working day, or a message that says the business is closed.
By morning, some of those customers have booked elsewhere. The team spends the first hour reading the night’s messages and working out which ones are urgent.
How it runs on Instagram
- A customer sends a DM at 11pm (example).
- AeroChat answers from your knowledge base, just as it does in the day.
- If they want to book, it checks open slots in Google Calendar, Calendly or SimplyBook.me and books the one they choose.
- If they want to buy, it sends a product link or a payment link.
- If the request needs a person, it tells the customer when your team is back, using the opening hours in your knowledge base.
- It creates a task in HubSpot with the customer’s name, the request and a short summary, for the morning.
- When your team starts work, they reply in the same Instagram conversation from the inbox or the mobile app.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When someone messages us on Instagram outside our opening hours of 10am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday (example), follow these steps.
- Answer their question from our knowledge base.
- If they want to book, offer the next three open slots in our Google Calendar and book the one they choose.
- If they need something only our team can do, such as a custom quote, say: “Our team is back at 10am tomorrow and will reply here.”
- Ask for their name and email if we do not have them.
- Create a task in HubSpot titled “Instagram follow-up” with their name, the request and a two-line summary, due at 10am the next working day.
- If they describe an urgent problem with a booking for tomorrow, mark the task as high priority.
Do not promise anything our team has not approved. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the opening hours and the task details to your own. For Calendly or SimplyBook.me, name that system instead of Google Calendar.
Connect the systems behind it
- Google Calendar. AeroChat checks open slots and books the appointment overnight.
- Calendly. AeroChat offers your available times and books the one the customer picks.
- SimplyBook.me. AeroChat books services for businesses that take bookings there.
- HubSpot. AeroChat creates a follow-up task with the request, so the team knows who to reply to first.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
Meta’s rules on Instagram
Automated replies on Instagram can go out within 24 hours of the customer’s last message, so an instant reply at night is always inside the window. Your team’s own replies have a separate 7-day window, which covers a message sent on Friday night and answered on Monday morning. If the DM came from a click-to-Instagram-Direct ad, you can reply for up to 7 days from the customer’s first message.
Also on WhatsApp, TikTok and web chat
The same after hours workflow runs on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, the chat on your website and email, with the same calendar and CRM behind it. See WhatsApp after-hours replies.
Who uses it
Businesses that close at night but get messages anyway use it, including salons booking with a stylist, dental clinics booking appointments, restaurants taking table reservations and spas.
Read more: Instagram chatbots for booking appointments.
Questions
Can I set up an away message on Instagram?
Yes, and with AeroChat the reply does more than say you are closed. It answers the question, books the slot and tells the customer when your team will follow up.
Can customers book appointments on Instagram at night?
Yes. AeroChat reads open slots from Google Calendar, Calendly or SimplyBook.me and books the one the customer chooses, at any hour.
Can my team reply on Monday to a message from Friday night?
Yes. Replies typed by your team can go out within 7 days of the customer’s last message. Automated replies are limited to 24 hours.
Which AeroChat plan do I need?
Workflows via Skills are on every plan, Free included. Starter includes 500 AI responses and 3 seats, Growth 2,000 and 10 seats, and Advanced 5,000 and 25 seats.
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.
Related: Instagram auto replies and Instagram customer service.