Telegram Giveaways: Prizes in Channels and a Free Subscription to Telegram Premium

Social media giveaways are considered one of the effective tools for attracting new audiences and increasing the loyalty of existing ones. However, followers and participants often wonder about the fairness and transparency of these giveaways.

To ensure the results of the giveaway are 'guaranteed fair,' Telegram has introduced a feature for prize distribution, randomly allocating gifts among subscribers since the beginning of November. This update presents an excellent opportunity to reach a significant portion of the audience and promote your Telegram channel effectively.

Giveaways as a Marketing Tool

Giveaways represent a powerful and attractive tool capable of instantly capturing the attention of the target audience. These are strategically designed events aimed at stimulating user engagement and activity in online communities, particularly in popular messaging platforms like Telegram.

Some features of giveaways as a marketing tool:

Visual and emotional appeal. Giveaways are often accompanied by attractive design and valuable content, introducing an emotional element to users' feeds.

Instant engagement. The mechanics of conducting giveaways are usually simple and accessible, requiring minimal effort. Users can become participants in just a few clicks.

Audience growth. Giveaways contribute to the growth of subscribers. Participation conditions often include mandatory subscription to the channel or group, leading to organic audience growth.

Increased loyalty. Organizing and conducting such events within a channel positively impact the relationship between you and your audience. Users who win prizes become loyal brand supporters and often share their victory emotions on social media.

Viral effect. Giveaways have a high potential for viral spread. Participants often share information with friends and followers, thereby increasing brand visibility and reach.

Analytics and effectiveness evaluation. Giveaway results are easily measurable, allowing organizers to assess their effectiveness. Tracking engagement levels, subscriber growth, and other metrics provides valuable information for improving future marketing strategies.

Giveaways serve not only as a means of attracting attention but also as an effective tool for shaping a positive brand perception and expanding its online presence. Thoughtful use of this audience engagement method can be a key element in a successful marketing strategy within messaging platforms.

How do giveaways impact subscriber growth and engagement on Telegram?

Telegram boasts specific features that make giveaways highly advantageous for Telegram channels.

Integration with the messenger. Telegram serves not just as a messenger but also as a platform for active social interaction. This allows users to instantly participate in giveaways without leaving the application, making the process incredibly convenient and swift.

Bots and automation. Telegram widely employs bots capable of automating the organization and execution of giveaways. Sending automatic notifications, collecting and processing participant data – all of this can be streamlined with the help of a bot.

Channels and groups. The key advantage lies in the ability to create channels and groups where organizations, brands, or individuals can unite audiences based on shared interests. Giveaways in channels and groups become an integrated element of public discussions and interaction.

Hashtags and search. The use of hashtags in Telegram simplifies the search for giveaways for users, attracting the attention of even those who are not subscribers, thereby expanding user reach.

Secrecy and exclusivity. Telegram is renowned for its focus on security and privacy. Giveaways offered in channels can be perceived as exclusive and available only to subscribers, adding extra value and allure.

Built-in payment features. Conducting paid giveaways using Telegram's built-in payment functions makes them convenient and secure, providing additional monetization opportunities.

Notification system. Telegram's notification system enables swift and effective communication with subscribers about upcoming giveaways, retaining their attention and encouraging active engagement.

Spontaneity and dynamism. Telegram is often used for instant updates and news. Giveaways conducted spontaneously or in response to current events can quickly become widely discussed and attract a large number of participants.

All these unique features make Telegram an ideal platform for conducting giveaways, ensuring maximum convenience, engagement, and effectiveness in interacting with the audience.

What has changed with the introduction of the update?

Now, with the direct support of the messenger itself, Telegram channel owners can create giveaways with predefined conditions. Upon the conclusion of the giveaway, Telegram will randomly select winners from users who meet the specified criteria.

This innovation provides content creators with the opportunity not only to stimulate activity in their channels but also to expand their functionality, making this tool incredibly promising. Giveaway winners receive prizes for their participation, and Telegram channel authors gain additional ways to interact with their audience by featuring stories, changing the channel's color, background wallpapers, and other supplementary options.

The implementation of this new giveaway mechanism allows channels to showcase their openness, transparency, and fairness, positively impacting audience loyalty and engagement.

Several simple steps to organize a giveaway

Payment for the raffled subscriptions and the addition of other prizes. Before the giveaway commences, the organizer needs to purchase a specified number of Premium subscriptions and, if desired, choose additional prizes to accompany the subscription. Premium subscriptions can be bought through any Telegram app, on the Fragment platform, or via the @PremiumBot. Each purchased subscription earns the organizing channel 4 votes.
Organizing the giveaway. To conduct a giveaway in their Telegram channel, the organizer needs to specify the number of winners and the duration of the event. If desired, administrators can introduce additional participation conditions, such as limiting eligibility to new subscribers, residents of specific countries or regions. Other Telegram channels that participants need to subscribe to may also be specified.
Selecting winners. At the end of the giveaway, Telegram automatically determines winners from among users who meet the specified criteria. Winners receive gift codes confirming their victory. Each gift code activates a free Premium subscription and another prize from the organizer (if applicable). If a winner already has a Telegram Premium subscription, they can gift it to another user.
More opportunities for Telegram Premium users. Now, every user who independently subscribes receives 4 votes to use as they see fit. If a won subscription is gifted to a friend, they receive 1 vote, leaving 3 votes with the winner. In cases where the owner of a Premium subscription receives a subscription as a prize from the channel, all 4 votes remain with the organizer.

Durov's case

On November 6, the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, announced a giveaway of 10,000 Telegram Premium subscriptions worth $200,000 (approximately 18.5 million rubles as of November 7, 2023). The announcement of the giveaway was made on the Telegram channel 'Du Rove’s Channel.'

The distribution of 10,000 prizes was tied to the launch of a new tool for conducting giveaways. The announcement of the new functionality was also made on November 6, 2023, with a duration specified until 7:00 PM on November 13, 2023. Each raffled subscription will be valid for 6 months.

"To celebrate our new feature, I'm hosting a giveaway of 10,000 Telegram Premium subscriptions. I have already prepaid for this giveaway on Fragment in the amount of $200,000-worth of Toncoin I bought on a cryptoexchange. Enjoy!" - wrote Pavel Durov.

To participate in the contest, only one condition was required - to have a subscription to the organizer's channel without additional parameters.

Over the past week, approximately 700,000 new subscribers joined the English-language channel, and the latest posts garnered 2.2 million and 4.9 million views, undoubtedly positively impacting the statistics and attracting the attention of a wide range of users.

The drawbacks of the update

Despite all the advantages of conducting giveaways on Telegram after the latest update, there are some drawbacks that should be noted in the early stages. Currently, Telegram's new feature emphasizes not only the giveaway itself but also the opportunity for channel organizers to boost their channels through this method. In other words, organizers receive votes for purchasing Premium subscriptions, which they can use for posting stories, customizing channel colors, and further channel development. Thus, authors have the chance to 'buy' votes when acquiring raffled subscriptions.

The main downsides identified after the first week of implementing the update are:

Prize fund – Telegram Premium subscription

In the official Telegram blog, it is suggested that besides subscriptions, organizers can add other prizes ('such as Tesla cars'). Currently, the feasibility of this in practice remains a big question. Does it make sense for channels to 'pay' for boosts and reach something more than premium subscriptions?

Constraints on giveaway parameters

Organizers currently have limited freedom in setting participation conditions for the giveaway. Criteria that can be additionally specified include involving all subscribers or only new ones, defining participant regions, and requiring users to subscribe to another channel. There are no customized offerings, creative elements, or independent expansion of conditions for users.

Invasion of bots

There is a significant probability that instead of genuine active subscribers, several dozen (or even thousands) of bots might subscribe to the channel. This could affect the channel's reputation, the number of advertising offers, and collaboration with other authors.

Attracting non-target audience

Giveaways are a quick and relatively inexpensive way to attract new subscribers. However, often quantity does not equal quality. Typically, after announcing the contest results, there is a mass exodus of subscribers who joined the channel solely for the chance to win a prize. Such subscribers are often less interested in the channel's content, story views, and, ultimately, purchasing offered products.

In conclusion, Telegram giveaways are becoming more honest, transparent, and popular among Telegram channel authors and their subscribers. In the initial stages, we've seen benefits accompanied by certain drawbacks. However, it's undeniable that we've obtained an entirely new marketing and effective tool. Authors now have the opportunity to modernize their channels and increase audience growth, while users, by fulfilling simple conditions, win valuable prizes and can be confident in a guaranteed fair outcome.