> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://doc.autoreach.tech/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://doc.autoreach.tech/finding-leads/instagram-search.md). # Instagram Lead Discovery Find prospects on Instagram by mining hashtags, follower and following lists, post engagers, and lookalike accounts. Instagram leads flow into the same pipeline as X and LinkedIn: they are enriched, scored against your offer, and become eligible for sequences and Autopilot. > **Prerequisite:** Connect an Instagram account through the Chrome Extension first. See [Connecting Your Accounts](/getting-started/connecting-accounts.md). ## Starting an Instagram Search From the **Leads** page, click **Add Lead**, choose **Instagram**, then select the Instagram account and offer to use. Pick a discovery method from the options below. Each search runs in the background and converts discovered profiles into leads automatically. ## Discovery Methods ### From a Hashtag Extract the authors of top and recent posts under one or more hashtags. Enter a single hashtag, or, if your offer is linked, let AutoReach generate a pool of niche-relevant hashtags for you. Enable **Buyer Expansion** to keep the search running daily. AutoReach rotates through the hashtag pool one tag at a time, capturing fresh authors each run so the source never goes stale. **Best for:** Finding people actively posting about topics tied to your offer. ### From a Lookalike (Followers / Following) Extract the **followers** or the **following** list of a target Instagram account. You provide the target username, choose followers or following, and set a maximum number of leads. AutoReach paginates through the list and scores each person against your offer. Enable **Buyer Expansion** to re-extract from the seed account daily and capture new followers over time. **Best for:** Mining the audience of an influencer, competitor, or community account in your niche. ### From a Link (Post Engagers) Extract the people who engaged with a specific Instagram post. Provide the post URL and choose which engagers to capture: * **Likers** - people who liked the post * **Commenters** - people who commented on the post **Best for:** Capturing the engaged audience of a specific high-signal post or reel. ### Add Manually Add a single lead by Instagram username. The lead is queued for enrichment and scoring like any other. ## What Gets Extracted For every discovered profile, AutoReach captures the username, full name, verified and private flags, and (during enrichment) follower count, following count, post count, bio, external link, and business-account status. Results are deduplicated against your existing leads so the same person never creates a duplicate. Private profiles and profiles that cannot be resolved are filtered out before they reach your pipeline. ## Enrichment and Scoring Instagram leads run through the standard enrichment and [Buyer Intelligence](/core-concepts/buyer-intelligence.md) scoring pipeline. A pre-enrichment fit gate screens out clear non-fits before deeper enrichment runs, which keeps your pipeline focused on relevant prospects. ## Buyer Expansion (Recurring Discovery) Searches marked with **Buyer Expansion** resume automatically each day. For hashtag searches, AutoReach advances through the hashtag pool; for follower and following searches, it continues from where the last run left off. This is the engine behind continuous Instagram discovery in [Autopilot](/autopilot/overview.md). ## Next Steps * [**Finding Leads Overview**](/finding-leads/overview.md): All discovery methods across platforms * [**Supported Actions by Platform**](/outreach-and-sequences/supported-actions.md): What you can do with Instagram leads in a sequence * [**Autopilot**](/autopilot/overview.md): Run Instagram discovery and outreach hands-free --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. 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