Telegram Channel for Business: Tips, Secrets and Mistakes

In our time, messengers have become an integral part of our everyday communication, and Telegram is one of the most popular and in-demand messengers in the world, especially considering the blocked social networks.

However, Telegram not only provides the opportunity for communication between people but also has enormous potential for business use. Telegram is an excellent tool for promoting business, improving customer service, and handling potential customers, i.e., our subscribers.

Telegram popularity and statistics

In 2023, Telegram is visited by a huge number of users every month - 700 million people. This allows the messenger to hold a prestigious position among the top five most popular messengers in the world in terms of audience size.

On a daily basis, 55.2 million people actively use Telegram. Interestingly, men predominate in terms of gender ratio, comprising 58% of users, while women make up 42%. Among the most popular topics in Telegram, news stands out, with 82% of users interested in it, followed by entertainment and politics at 59%, and education at the third place, engaging 55% of users.

Overall, people spend about 4 hours per month on Telegram, dedicating a significant amount of their active time to the messenger.

Finances

24.6% of Telegram channel administrators earn an income ranging from $13 to $66 per month, while 12.6% earn over $1,660. Only 3.4% of Telegram channel administrators have the opportunity to earn over $5,000 per month. Interestingly, 36% of administrators managing Telegram channels have over two years of experience.

In 2021, over a third of advertisers on Telegram spent up to $330 per month on advertising. Approximately 17.4% of advertisers spent between $830 and $1,660 per month on Telegram advertising.

It is worth noting that 13.9% of advertisers planned to spend over $8,330 per month on Telegram advertising, having the highest advertising budget.

Benefits of Telegram Channels for Business

Based on the statistics, we can understand that Telegram is an excellent platform. But how exactly can the messenger benefit businesses?

Audience expansion and customer acquisition: Telegram channels provide the opportunity to reach a wide audience and attract new customers. With a simple subscription process and widespread usage, you can reach people from around the world, offering them your products, services, or information.
Direct communication channel with customers: Telegram channels allow for direct communication with your audience. You can interact with customers, answer their questions, provide information, and solve problems, establishing close relationships with your clients.
Exclusive information and special offers: Through Telegram channels, you can provide your subscribers with exclusive information, news, promotions, and discounts. This helps build loyalty among customers and motivates them to make purchases and engage with your business.
Monetization and revenue generation: Telegram channels offer opportunities for monetizing your business. You can display advertisements from your partners, sell paid content, services, or products directly through the channel. This opens up new sources of income and helps grow your business.
Analytics and statistics: Telegram provides various analytics and statistics tools for your channel. You can track the number of subscribers, audience engagement, and analyze the effectiveness of your content and advertisements. This helps you make informed decisions and improve your channel management strategy. You can also use third-party services like Popsters for detailed social media analytics.

Telegram channels represent a powerful tool for businesses, providing opportunities for audience expansion, direct customer communication, monetization, and analytics. Utilize these advantages to strengthen your business and achieve new results.

Secrets and tips

Secrets and tips for successful creation and management of a Telegram channel:

Identify your target audience: Before creating a channel, it's important to clearly define your target audience. Study their interests, needs, and preferences to create content that is relevant and interesting to them.
Create unique and engaging content: Strive to offer unique content that stands out among other channels. Be creative, interesting, and informative to attract and retain your audience's attention. It's even better to hire a professional for this work.
Regularly update your content: Maintain activity and engage your subscribers by regularly updating the content on your channel. Aim to create posts at an optimal frequency, so as not to overwhelm your audience, but also not to leave them unattended.
Interact with your subscribers: Be active and responsive to comments, questions, and feedback from your subscribers. Interaction builds strong connections with your audience and helps foster loyalty.
Harness the full power of Telegram features: Telegram offers many useful features such as polls, feedback channels, bot creation capabilities, and more. Utilize them to enhance interaction and improve the subscriber experience.
Promote your channel on other channels and social media: Actively promote your Telegram channel on other social media platforms and channels to attract new subscribers. Share information about it on your websites, blogs, or even in other Telegram channels.
Monetize your channel wisely: If you intend to monetize your channel, be mindful in choosing methods and advertising partners. Maintain a balance between commercial interests and the interests of your audience to avoid losing their trust.
Study analytics and adapt: Actively study channel statistics and analytics to understand which content is most popular and effective. Use this data to adapt your strategy and improve results.
Don't forget about design and branding: Create an attractive design for your channel that aligns with your brand. Use a logo, color palette, and style to establish a recognizable visual identity. Consider using Telegram Premium and animated emojis when necessary.
Be patient and persistent: Creating and managing a successful Telegram channel takes time and effort. Be patient, resilient, and continue working on your channel even if the results don't come immediately.

Telegram bots for business

Telegram bots are an invaluable tool for businesses. We're talking about both general-purpose bots that can be useful for various tasks and custom-built bots specific to your business. You can create an automated chatbot that interacts with customers, provides 24/7 support, assists with product selection, ordering, and even payment. It can offer unique promo codes and more.

Furthermore, a chatbot is an excellent way to gather information and data about your customers and target audience, as well as deliver personalized messages directly to their inbox. However, it's important not to abuse this feature, as excessive messaging can lead to more people unsubscribing from your updates. Use it carefully and when necessary.

Don't forget that Telegram allows you to embed web apps, which are mobile versions of websites deeply integrated into the Telegram ecosystem. This means that within the messenger, you can create almost full-fledged applications, personal dashboards with graphical interfaces, storefronts, payment forms, and much more.

This functionality turns Telegram into a kind of "internet within the internet," capable of replacing traditional websites and applications to a large extent. Users can access various services and features without leaving Telegram, providing convenience and efficiency in their usage.

Here's an example of a bot from Trello that allows you to manage your boards directly through Telegram:

Or an example of a food ordering bot:

Stickers as a way for PR

Stickers can also be used for native advertising of your business. People will add stickers to their collections and use them in conversations with friends, providing you with free advertising and word-of-mouth promotion.

There are several ways to create your own stickers, but the most common and accessible method is through the official @stickers bot. Here are some commands you can use with the bot:

/newpack: Create a new sticker pack.
/addsticker: Add a sticker to a pack.
/delsticker: Remove a sticker from a pack.
/ordersticker: Reorder stickers within a pack.
/cancel: Cancel the previous action.

Example of stickers:

Channel Navigation

Use channel navigation through hyperlinks, hashtags, and tools. Thanks to navigation, people will be able to quickly orient themselves and find what they need. Here's an example of a beautiful navigation on the Netflix channel, where such a format perfectly suits the channel's concept.

Common mistakes when creating a Telegram channel for business

When creating a Telegram channel for business, there are several common mistakes that should be avoided. Here are some of them:

Content mismatch with the target audience.
Running a Telegram channel without proper funding and professional copywriting.
Excessive advertising or scam advertisements.
Lack of interaction with the audience: If you don't have time to engage in comments, consider disabling them and using only emoji reactions or directing people to a bot.
Absence of Telegram Premium for the channel owner.
Uninteresting or poorly formatted content: Telegram posts are relatively concise compared to other social media platforms and typically include multimedia content.
Misusing group features: If you decide to create a group instead of a channel, make sure you utilize its functionality correctly. For example, don't restrict posting only to administrators if you want members to actively interact and share their opinions.

If you find yourself making these common mistakes, it's important to rectify them promptly to increase your chances of success.

General conclusions

Telegram is a powerful tool for businesses, providing a range of benefits. Creating and managing a Telegram channel requires the right approach, avoiding common mistakes, and conducting detailed analytics.

By using Telegram bots and embedded webapps, businesses can automate processes, improve customer interactions, and enhance the level of service.

With the right approach, a Telegram channel can become a powerful tool for achieving business goals and strengthening audience engagement. Good luck!

Useful article on a similar topic:

Telegram channel analysis: advanced data best practices.