60 comment keyword ideas for Instagram reels and posts

A comment keyword is the word you ask viewers to type under a post or reel, such as GUIDE or LINK, so that an automation can send them something in their DMs. The best keywords are short, easy to spell, tied to one offer, and say what the person will get.

Below are 60 keyword ideas grouped by what you want the comment to do, followed by the rules that decide whether a keyword works, and a quick way to test one before you post.

What makes a keyword work

• It names the thing. RECIPE tells people what arrives in their DMs. YES does not, so it needs a caption that explains.
• One word, no spaces. Two-word keywords get typed in a dozen ways. If you need two words, join them: FREEPLAN, not "free plan".
• Easy to spell on a phone. Avoid words that autocorrect changes, rare spellings and anything with accents if your audience types without them. Matching in ChatinFlow ignores upper and lower case, but it doesn't forgive typos: "RECIEPE" is not "RECIPE".
• Rare in normal comments. If people write the word anyway ("love", "nice", "wow"), your automation answers compliments with an offer.
• It delivers something. In 2024 Instagram warned that posts asking for a specific word just to game reach may not be recommended, then clarified that calls to action and tools like ManyChat are fine. A keyword that gets the viewer the thing your post promises is the safe side of that line; "comment YES if you agree" is not.
• One keyword per offer. Different promises get different words, so each person gets the right thing and you can count each offer separately.

Keywords to deliver a free resource

Use these when the post promises a guide, a template or a checklist.

• GUIDE
• CHECKLIST
• TEMPLATE
• PDF
• FREEBIE
• CHEATSHEET
• SCRIPT
• PROMPTS
• SWIPE
• TOOLKIT

Pair the keyword with the format in the caption: "Comment CHECKLIST and I'll DM you the 7-point list."

Keywords for a link

When the post shows a product, an article or a video.

• LINK
• SHOP
• WATCH
• READ
• DETAILS
• SIZE (for clothing posts that get "what size?" questions)
• WHERE (for "where is this from?" posts)
• SOURCE
• GEAR
• SETUP

Keywords for creators by niche

Niche words feel natural because they name the content itself.

• RECIPE (food)
• PLAN (fitness, budgeting, travel)
• WORKOUT (fitness)
• ROUTINE (skincare, productivity)
• ITINERARY (travel)
• PATTERN (knitting, sewing)
• PRESET (photography)
• CHORDS (music)
• LESSON (teachers and coaches)
• BOOKLIST (book creators)

Keywords to sell

When the comment is a first step toward a purchase. Deliver the price or the details right away; nobody likes "DM me for price".

• PRICE
• BUY
• DROP (for a product launch)
• EARLY (early access)
• CODE (a discount code)
• DEAL
• RESTOCK (back-in-stock alerts)
• COURSE
• COACHING
• MENU (restaurants, cafes, bakeries)

For a discount, ChatinFlow's Give a one-time code step hands each person their own code from a list, once, and tells you when the list is running low.

Keywords to book

For services, consultations and appointments.

• BOOK
• CALL
• CONSULT
• SPOT
• TRIAL (a free first class or session)
• AUDIT (a free review of their profile, site or plan)
• QUOTE
• DEMO
• APPLY
• WAITLIST

If places are limited, the Limited spots step gives a spot to the first people who reach it; once every spot is taken, the rest follow a "Full" path, where you can send a waitlist message.

Keywords for community and engagement

When the goal is a conversation rather than a sale.

• YES
• IN (for a challenge: "comment IN to join")
• JOIN
• VOTE
• QUIZ
• CHALLENGE
• HELP (questions you will answer in DMs)
• STORY (a longer version of the post, sent privately)
• PART2
• AMA (questions for a live or a Q and A post)

Common words such as YES, IN and HELP appear in ordinary comments. Use "is exactly" instead of "contains" for them, or tie the automation to that one post.

Emoji keywords

An emoji can be a keyword too, and it is faster to type than a word: "Comment 🔥 for the playlist". Two cautions: some people add skin tones or several emojis, so "contains" is safer than "is exactly", and an emoji keyword needs a clear caption, because it doesn't say what arrives.

Match settings that save you trouble

• Contains catches "GUIDE please" and "guide!!", which is what you usually want.
• Is exactly suits short common words, so "yes I agree" doesn't trigger a flow.
• Starts with helps when people add a word after it, such as "PLAN for beginners".
• Tie the automation to a post when the keyword only makes sense for that post. In ChatinFlow, an automation tied to a specific post wins over a general one with the same word.
• Add common misspellings as extra keywords if you see them in your comments.

Test before you post

1. Paste a few real comments from your past posts into the free keyword tester and check which ones match.
2. Comment the keyword from a second account, ideally one that doesn't follow you, and check that the DM arrives.
3. Watch the first hour: if people write "link?" or "how?" instead of the keyword, your call to action isn't clear enough.

The full setup, from the first DM to the follow-up flow, is in our comment-to-DM guide. To start from a ready flow, use the comment-to-DM template.

Sources

• Social Media Today, Instagram clarifies its advice on single-word calls to action (June 5, 2024): calls to action are fine and tools such as ManyChat can still be used; content made to game reach may not be recommended. Checked October 2026.