Instagram CRM integration

What is Instagram CRM integration?

What Socialift does and does not do

Drawing the line early matters — it shapes how you design the integration.

Socialift DOES

Talks to the Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and Telegram APIs: OAuth and connections, Direct conversations, comments, posts, Lead Ads, ads and webhook signature verification. The SDK returns normalised data; your backend writes it to your system.

Socialift DOES NOT

Socialift is not a CRM. There is no deal pipeline, no tasks, no reports and no customer database. Those stay in your CRM — Socialift becomes their data source.

Who it fits

Teams building their own CRM, integrators adding an Instagram channel to an existing CRM, agencies, and the engineering teams of businesses that sell through Instagram.

What data your CRM can get

Each stream is a separate SDK call or webhook field — use only what you need.

Integration steps with the Socialift SDK

The full path for an engineering team. Plan extra time for Meta App Review, which you submit with a screen recording of the working integration.

1. 1

   Convert the Instagram account to a business type

   The account must be Business or Creator. A linked Facebook Page is required for the Facebook Login path (Instagram.via_facebook) and for Lead Ads; Instagram Login (Instagram(app_id, app_secret)) works without a Page but cannot access ads.

2. 2

   Prepare the Meta app and permissions

   Create an app in Meta for Developers and request only what you use: instagram_manage_messages (Facebook Login) or instagram_business_manage_messages (Instagram Login), plus leads_retrieval for leads. Advanced Access requires App Review.

3. 3

   Get a Socialift token

   Sign in with Google or email and create a licence key starting with slk_ under “Tokenlar” (Tokens) in the dashboard. The first month is free, with every SDK feature unlocked — Direct, Lead Ads, insights and the rest. After renewal, features depend on the token's plan: “Tekshirish va muhitlar” (Check and environments) shows the exact list.

4. 4

   Embed the OAuth flow in your CRM

   The user presses “Connect Instagram” inside the CRM and goes through OAuth: with Facebook Login, fb.exchange_code() and fb.pages() return the Page token and Instagram account ID; with Instagram Login, ig.exchange_code() returns an Instagram token.

5. 5

   Register the webhook endpoint

   Set the callback URL and verify token in the App Dashboard (answer with verify_challenge) and subscribe each Page with fb.subscribe_page(). Check the signature on the raw body (verify_request) and dedupe with dedupe_key() — Meta sends no event ID.

6. 6

   Map events onto CRM objects

   New conversation → contact and deal; lead form → lead; comment → task. That mapping is where the value of the integration actually lives.

Three ways to work with Instagram

Each approach has its place — here is an honest comparison.

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If you run one account and a handful of messages a day, doing it by hand is fine. Integration starts to pay off as the volume grows.

A practical example — turning conversations into CRM contacts

The Conversations API returns only a participant's ID and username; a CRM needs a name and qualification signals. Socialift gives you both at once.

import asyncio, os
from socialift import Instagram

async def main():
    async with Instagram.via_facebook(app_secret=os.environ["FACEBOOK_APP_SECRET"]) as ig:
        chats = await ig.conversations(page_token, page_id=PAGE_ID, ig_user_id=IG_USER_ID)
        for chat in chats["data"]:
            c = chat["contact"]
            if not c:
                continue
            crm.upsert_contact(external_id=c["id"], name=c.get("name") or c.get("username"),
                               source="instagram_direct", followers=c.get("follower_count"),
                               is_follower=c.get("is_user_follow_business"))

asyncio.run(main())

What Instagram CRM integration actually changes