Getting started
Set up your account, build and test a conversation, then activate your first automation.
On this page
What you’ll set up
Ravela connects comments, DMs, and story replies to flows: sequences of messages and actions you choose. A flow can ask a question, deliver a resource, collect details, or continue through tools such as email and bookings.
This series walks the first-session path end to end. Each guide is short, and each hands off to the next:
- Create your workspace — sign up, start your trial, and add teammates with the right roles.
- Connect your Instagram account — link the professional account you want to automate.
- Build your first flow — they comment your keyword, respond to your opening DM, and receive your resource.
- Test your flow — preview on a simulated phone, then run a live test with a temporary code.
- Publish and go live — clear the publish checks and watch the first runs come in.
- Meet the inbox — see every conversation and step in personally whenever you want.
What you need
Have these ready before you begin:
- An Instagram professional account — Business or Creator. Personal accounts can’t use automation, and switching is free in the Instagram app.
- A second Instagram account you control (your personal one is perfect) for sending the live-test DM.
- A guide, link, or other resource to use in your first flow, plus time to test it before going live.
Follow the in-app checklist
The dashboard greets new workspaces with a short Get started checklist — connect an account, create a flow, set a trigger — and tracks your progress as you go. It follows the same path as these guides, so keep it open on one side and this series on the other.
Once all three steps are done, the checklist retires itself and your dashboard fills with live activity instead.
If you get stuck
Most first-session snags trace back to the account connection or the trigger configuration — the troubleshooting guide covers both, with the fixes in order of likelihood.
And nothing here is precious: flows stay in draft until you publish, live tests send real messages between accounts you control, and you can pause a published flow with one click. Explore freely.