How to Connect InstantDM with Telegram Bot (Step-by-Step Guide)

Telegram bots can send messages to users, groups, or channels programmatically. Connecting InstantDM to a Telegram bot gives you instant notifications on your phone when someone interacts with your Instagram automations - no email checking, no app switching.

---

Why Use Telegram with InstantDM?

• Free - Telegram bots and the Bot API are completely free
• Instant push notifications - alerts arrive on your phone immediately
• Rich formatting - bold, italic, links, and inline buttons
• Group support - send alerts to a team group or channel
• No rate limits (practically) - up to 30 messages/second to different chats
• Cross-platform - works on mobile, desktop, and web

Common Use Cases

• Get a push notification when a new lead completes a DM flow
• Alert your sales team in a Telegram group
• Send daily lead summaries to a Telegram channel
• Get notified of high-value comments in real-time
• Monitor Instagram activity from your phone

---

What You'll Need

Requirement	Details
InstantDM account	Trendsetter, Trendsetter Pro, or any Multi plan
Telegram account	Free
InstantDM API key	Found at Settings → API in your InstantDM dashboard

---

Step 1: Create a Telegram Bot

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather.
2. Send /newbot.
3. Choose a name (e.g., "InstantDM Alerts").
4. Choose a username (e.g., instantdm_alerts_bot).
5. BotFather gives you a Bot Token - copy and save it.

---

Step 2: Get Your Chat ID

You need the chat ID of where you want to receive messages.

For Personal Messages

1. Start a conversation with your new bot (search for it and click Start).
2. Send any message to the bot.
3. Open this URL in your browser (replace YOUR_BOT_TOKEN):

   https://api.telegram.org/botYOUR_BOT_TOKEN/getUpdates
   

4. Find the chat.id in the response - that's your personal chat ID.

For a Group

1. Add the bot to your Telegram group.
2. Send a message in the group.
3. Use the getUpdates URL above to find the group's chat ID (it's a negative number).

For a Channel

1. Add the bot as an admin to your channel.
2. The chat ID is @your_channel_username or a negative number from getUpdates.

---

Step 3: Build a Webhook Relay

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

const BOT_TOKEN = process.env.TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN;
const CHAT_ID = process.env.TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID;

async function sendTelegram(text, chatId = CHAT_ID) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.telegram.org/bot${BOT_TOKEN}/sendMessage`,
    {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        chat_id: chatId,
        text: text,
        parse_mode: 'HTML',
        disable_web_page_preview: true,
      }),
    }
  );
  return response.json();
}

app.post('/instantdm-webhook', async (req, res) => {
  const { event, timestamp, data } = req.body;
  
  let message = '';
  
  switch (event) {
    case 'flow_completed':
      message = `🎯 <b>New Instagram Lead!</b>\n\n`
        + `👤 <b>Name:</b> ${data.response_variables?.full_name || 'N/A'}\n`
        + `📧 <b>Email:</b> ${data.response_variables?.email || 'N/A'}\n`
        + `📱 <b>Phone:</b> ${data.response_variables?.phone || 'N/A'}\n`
        + `📸 <b>Instagram:</b> @${data.username}\n`
        + `🔄 <b>Flow:</b> ${data.flow_name}\n`
        + `💡 <b>Interest:</b> ${data.response_variables?.interest || 'N/A'}\n`
        + `🕐 ${new Date(timestamp).toLocaleString()}`;
      break;
      
    case 'comment':
      message = `💬 <b>New Comment</b>\n\n`
        + `👤 @${data.username}\n`
        + `📝 "${data.comment_text}"\n`
        + `🔗 <a href="${data.post_url}">View Post</a>`;
      break;
      
    case 'dm_received':
      message = `📩 <b>DM Received</b>\n\n`
        + `👤 @${data.username}\n`
        + `💬 "${data.message_text}"`;
      break;
      
    default:
      message = `📌 <b>${event}</b>\n\n👤 @${data.username}`;
  }
  
  try {
    await sendTelegram(message);
    res.status(200).json({ status: 'sent' });
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ status: 'error', message: error.message });
  }
});

app.listen(3000);

---

Step 4: Configure InstantDM

1. Deploy the relay to a public URL.
2. In InstantDM Settings → API, paste the relay URL.
3. Select events and save.
4. Test with Send Test Webhook.

---

Via Make.com

1. Set up the webhook scenario per the Make.com guide.
2. Add an HTTP → Make a request module.
3. Configure:

Setting	Value
URL	https://api.telegram.org/botYOUR_TOKEN/sendMessage
Method	POST
Body Type	JSON

4. JSON body:

{
  "chat_id": "YOUR_CHAT_ID",
  "text": "🎯 New Instagram Lead!\n\nName: {{data.response_variables.full_name}}\nEmail: {{data.response_variables.email}}\nInstagram: @{{data.username}}",
  "parse_mode": "HTML"
}

---

Adding Inline Buttons

Telegram supports inline buttons for quick actions:

async function sendTelegramWithButtons(text, buttons, chatId = CHAT_ID) {
  await fetch(`https://api.telegram.org/bot${BOT_TOKEN}/sendMessage`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      chat_id: chatId,
      text: text,
      parse_mode: 'HTML',
      reply_markup: {
        inline_keyboard: buttons,
      },
    }),
  });
}

// Usage for a lead notification with action buttons
const buttons = [
  [
    { text: '📧 Send Email', url: `mailto:${data.response_variables.email}` },
    { text: '📸 View Profile', url: `https://instagram.com/${data.username}` },
  ],
  [
    { text: '✅ Mark as Contacted', callback_data: `contacted_${data.instagram_user_id}` },
  ],
];

await sendTelegramWithButtons(message, buttons);

---

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Bot not sending messages	Verify the bot token. Make sure you've started a conversation with the bot (sent /start).
"Chat not found" error	The chat ID is wrong, or the bot hasn't been added to the group/channel. For groups, the bot must be a member. For channels, the bot must be an admin.
HTML formatting broken	Telegram's HTML mode only supports <b>, <i>, <u>, <s>, <a>, <code>, and <pre>. Other tags will cause errors.
Messages not arriving in group	Ensure the bot has permission to send messages in the group. Some groups restrict bot messaging.
Rate limited	Telegram allows ~30 messages/second to different chats, but only ~20 messages/minute to the same group. Batch messages if needed.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I send notifications to multiple people?

Yes. Send to a Telegram group (add the bot to the group) or a channel (add the bot as admin). Everyone in the group/channel sees the notification.

Is the Telegram Bot API free?

Yes, completely free with no limits on the number of bots or messages (within reasonable rate limits).

Can I receive replies from Telegram and send them as DMs?

Yes, with additional development. Set up a Telegram webhook to receive bot messages, then call the InstantDM API to send a DM. This creates a two-way bridge between Telegram and Instagram DMs.

How do I send to multiple channels based on event type?

Use different chat IDs for different events in your relay code. Map event types to channel IDs and route accordingly.

---

What's Next

• Set up Discord for Discord notifications.
• Connect to Slack if your team uses Slack.
• Read the Email Alerts guide for email notifications.
• Build a Custom AI Agent to auto-respond to DMs.
• Explore the full API docs at instantdm.com/instagram-api-docs.