We highly recommend asking for permission before using your users' content by sending Rights Requests. Don't worry, Flowbox makes this easy by letting you send the request through a Comment or DM. Please note that the Rights Requests feature is only available for posts collected from Instagram.
Discover the step-by-step guide for Rights Requests by DM in this article.
Create a template
First, you need to create a ‘Rights Request by Comment’ template. If you have done it already, you can skip to the next section.
To prevent Instagram from blocking you, we recommend using different messages and key hashtags in your templates.
In Flowbox, click on the 'Engage' menu, then select 'My Templates'.
Click on 'Create Template'.
Select the template type 'Rights Request by Comment (auto/manual)' and give your template a name, then click on 'Next'.
Set a Key Hashtag: The key hashtag is the keyword needed to retrieve the reply from the user (for example, #YesCompany). Once Flowbox detects the key hashtag, the status changes from “pending” to “author replied” or “granted”.
Specify your message/comment: The message is the comment you will send under the post you’d like to request. Make sure to include your key hashtag in the message.
Optional: To automatically approve the post once the Rights Request has been granted, you can toggle ‘on’ the switch 'Auto-Approve'.
When done, click 'Save & Close'.
Send your Rights Requests
The next step is to send the Rights Request. There are two options: Manual Rights Request or Automatic Rights Request.
If the post has been collected via a mention in the post’s caption, you can send the Rights Request directly in Flowbox without opening the post on Instagram. Otherwise, due to Instagram’s API limitations, you will need to send a Manual Rights Request.
Automatic Rights Request: Posts collected via Mention
In Flowbox, click on the ‘Visual Marketing’ menu.
Click on ‘Flow’, go to your Masterflow or the specific Flow where the content you wish to request rights for has been collected.
Click on the desired post.
Click on the ‘hammer’ icon in the top-right corner.
The ‘Automatic comment’ method is selected by default for posts collected via mention or tag.
Select your template
(6a.)and personalise it with the post context(6b.).Optional: Check the 'Auto-Approve' tick-box if you want the post to be automatically approved when the user has answered with the key hashtag of your template.
Click on 'Post Request'.
The “Used Time” indication helps you monitor how many times you’ve sent this template in the past 24 hours. To comply with Instagram guidelines, we recommend employing different templates and slight personalizing requests to each post.
Manual Rights Request: Posts collected via other sources
In Flowbox, click on the ‘Visual Marketing’ menu.
Click on ‘Flow’, go to your Masterflow or the specific Flow where the content you wish to request rights for has been collected.
Click on the desired post.
Click on the ‘hammer’ icon in the top-right corner.
If the automatic option isn’t available, the ‘Manual comment’ method will be selected by default.
Select your template
(6a.)and personalise it with the post context(6b.).Copy it to the clipboard.
Click on 'View Post' to view the original post on Instagram.
You can now paste your Rights Request as a comment on the original post.
Optional: Check the 'Auto-Approve' tick-box if you want the post to be automatically approved when the user has answered with the key hashtag of your template.
Click on 'Request Posted'.
If the username is not displayed in a post, it has been collected by a hashtag source. When the user replies to your Rights Request, the username will be shown. This is due to Instagram's API regulations.
Resend a request
We understand that a request without a response after 7 days may have been ignored or missed by the creator.
If you’d like to follow up on Expired posts, you can resend the request via DM.
Click on a post to open the popup box.
Select the ‘Rights Request’ tab.
Click on ‘Resend request via DM’.
Post your request by following the Rights Request by DM steps.
When you post the new request, the history of your original request will remain visible below the new one, and you’ll be able to track the status of the new one.
Please note that you can only resend a request once. If the new request also expires without a response, you won’t be able to request rights for that post through Flowbox again.
Self-grant a post
If you have obtained the rights to a post through an external channel other than Flowbox, you can manually mark it as Self-Granted.
This feature can be particularly useful in situations where, for example, you already have an agreement with the creator or they have asked for additional information via comments before granting rights in response without the key-hashtag.
Click on a post to open the popup box.
Select the ‘Rights Request’ tab.
Click on ‘Self Grant’.
Understanding Rights Request statuses
Pending: The request has been sent out, awaiting a reply.
Author replied: The user has answered your comment, but they have not replied with the key hashtag.
Granted: The user has granted you the rights to use their post by using the key hashtag.
Expired: Your request didn't receive any answer after 7 days.
Self-granted: You have confirmed that you hold the rights to the post.
For example, if the user has granted rights without using the key hashtag and you manually mark the post as 'Self-granted'.
Learn about other statuses.
Please note that posts in Flowbox are always displayed in order of 'most recent' unless you have enabled our AI algorithm Flowscore to automatically sort content based on engagement.
As an example - you see 2 posts in your inbox, Post A and Post B.
Post A was originally posted online yesterday.
Post B was shared online in the last hour.
You send Rights Requests to both posts. Assuming both say #Yes, even if Post A replies after Post B, Post B will always show up first in your Flow(s).