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Getting Started: A Complete Guide

Learn how to set up your pollin8 account, connect Instagram accounts, and start discovering engagement opportunities.

pollin8 Team

Welcome to pollin8! This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get started with Instagram engagement for your agency or marketing team.

What is pollin8?

pollin8 is an Instagram engagement platform that helps marketing agencies find posts worth engaging with. pollin8 identifies relevant posts, filters out spam, and suggests personalized comments to help you build authentic connections.

Setting Up Your Account

Step 1: Create Your Organization

When you first sign up, you’ll create an organization. This is your team’s workspace where all your Instagram accounts and settings live.

  • Organization name: Use your agency or company name
  • Team members: You can invite colleagues later from Settings

Step 2: Connect Your First Instagram Account

pollin8 uses Instagram’s official API through secure OAuth authentication. Here’s what you need:

  1. An Instagram Business or Creator account
  2. A connected Facebook Page (required by Instagram’s API)
  3. Admin access to the Facebook Page

Click “Connect Account” and follow the prompts to authorize pollin8. We never store your password.

Configuring Your Settings

Describe Your Target Audience

Tell pollin8 what kind of posts you’re looking for. For example:

“I’m looking for posts from expecting parents who are asking for baby name suggestions or discussing baby names. I want to connect with genuine parents, not spam accounts or businesses.”

pollin8 uses this description to classify posts and prioritize the best engagement opportunities.

Set Your Comment Style

Provide examples of how you like to engage. This helps pollin8 generate suggestions that match your brand voice:

“I keep comments friendly and helpful. I might say something like ‘Such a beautiful name choice! We have a whole collection of similar names at [product] if you’re still exploring.’ I never sound salesy or pushy.”

Your First Scan

Once you’ve completed the setup, pollin8 automatically starts finding posts for you. New opportunities appear regularly to keep things fresh.

Each scan:

  • Finds recent posts relevant to your niche
  • Filters out spam and irrelevant content
  • Analyzes posts for engagement potential
  • Generates personalized comment suggestions
  • Delivers results to your dashboard

Engaging with Posts

When a scan completes, you’ll see a list of posts ranked by engagement potential. For each post:

  • Quality score: How relevant and valuable the post is for engagement
  • Suggested comment: Generated suggestion based on your style
  • Post preview: See the content before you engage
  • Direct link: Opens the post on Instagram for you to comment

Click the copy button to grab a suggested comment, then visit Instagram to post it. Remember: you’re always in control of what you post.

Team Collaboration

pollin8 supports teams with role-based access:

  • Admins: Configure accounts, manage settings, handle billing
  • Members: View posts, copy comments, engage with posts

Invite team members from Settings → Team to distribute the engagement work across your agency.

Next Steps

Now that you’re set up, here are some tips for success:

  1. Start small: Begin with one Instagram account and refine your settings
  2. Review suggestions: Always check comments before posting
  3. Track performance: Note which engagement strategies work best
  4. Expand gradually: Add more accounts as you learn what works

Have questions? Contact us at support@pollin8.me. We’re here to help you succeed!