Telegram as a marketing tool is not as popular as WhatsApp Business. However, it can become a powerful tool to enhance the reach of your brand.
Social media and instant messaging apps have changed the way people communicate, both socially and commercially. In the same way, they have changed the way brands communicate with their audiences.
In marketing it is essential to constantly be looking for new channels to attract users and direct traffic to the web to get new customers. And although social networks have shown their enormous potential for it, the truth is that the competition in them is fierce.
Therefore, a large number of brands have turned to instant messaging applications in order to open up new possibilities for promoting themselves and connecting with the public . Telegram, thanks to its features that combine messaging functionalities with others similar to Snapchat, has reached a significant number of users.
For brands, using Telegram as a marketing tool is an unbeatable opportunity to increase the reach of their content on a channel where users feel comfortable and use it regularly.
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Telegram: much more than a messaging application
Telegram is much more than a simple instant messaging application. It incorporates all the usual functions of this type of apps such as text messages, read receipts or sending attachments. However, one of the factors that distinguish it from its competition is the possibility of creating public channels .
These channels also have no limitation on the number of users. This is a great opportunity for brands to spread their content to a mass audience. Also, the most interesting thing about these channels is that only the administrator can share content if they decide to. In this way, the channel is prevented from being a chat room in which your content is diluted.
Without a doubt, Telegram as a marketing tool is one of the most powerful to improve communication with users. The message encryption and security is also one of its strengths . The intention is to improve the protection of users and offer them a better experience with the platform.
But what makes it an ideal marketing tool is that it has an API that can be installed on different devices and used simultaneously. In this way, brands can take advantage of designing exceptional campaigns that cover different options. For example, developing your own applications and creating bots.
One of the most useful functionalities when using Telegram as a marketing tool is the possibility of creating bots . These programs are especially useful for automating messages . For example, they can automatically answer basic questions, send pictures to customers, or prepare questionnaires .
Telegram also assists users throughout the bot creation process. From the API interface it offers detailed step-by-step instructions. But if you have programming skills, you can go directly to the developer page and delve into the process.
Whatever the option chosen, the truth is that it will enrich your channels with greater opportunities to automate actions, receive information from users and solve problems. Bots allow a large number of options:
- Offer games to users
- Search the Internet
- Reminders
- Connect with other users
- Integrate other services
Thanks to the bots, human errors can be greatly reduced and it is not necessary to have dedicated 24-hour personnel for customer service on the channel. It is a matter of designing the bot according to the needs of the brand and starting to take advantage of this functionality.
Advantages of using Telegram as a marketing tool
Telegram as a marketing tool has a lot of benefits for your brand. Not for nothing a large number of companies nowadays use it to contact users, accept orders and offer their customer service.
You have already seen what the main bets of this instant messaging application are. But in what type of specific advantages are translated its functionalities? Well they are many and varied:
- Time and investment savings thanks to the automation capacity with bots . Attendees are able to provide information to users about individual queries. They can send videos, images and documents, transfer payments, etc.
- Increase customer confidence . Brands that offer customer services through instant messaging arouse more confidence in users as they perceive them as accessible companies.
- Segmentation of audiences with broadcast lists. You can create different broadcast lists and add up to 100 contacts. In this way, you can direct relevant content to users.
- Processing of customer comments . This can improve your social listening strategy to better measure the impact of your campaigns and the quality of your content.
- Increase brand reach . Having the possibility of creating public channels that any user can access allows you to better disseminate your content. Furthermore, users can also share them with others by making them viral.
- Telegram is based on a cloud storage system . Therefore, it takes up practically no space on the device.
How to use Telegram as a marketing tool
It is clear that incorporating Telegram as a marketing tool in your strategy can be a very smart decision. But as with everything, proper planning is essential for success.
How to launch a strategy on Telegram? These 6 tips will help you know where to start taking advantage of this wonderful tool.
1.- Create a channel for your company with its own URL
One of the first functionalities that is recommended to explore is to create an exclusive channel for your brand that, in addition, will have its own URL to make it easier for users to enter it.
This channel is similar to a fan page on Facebook . But, in this case, the interaction can only be one-way. Only the brand can share content on it. Users can freely access the channel and it is not limited by a maximum of subscriptions.
Thanks to your channel you can reach a huge audience with all the content you want, without restrictions . If you can create a good strategy, your channel will become a good source of information for your promotions, discounts and campaigns.
2.- Promote your content on your channels at no cost
Unlike other social networks like Facebook, on Telegram you can send instant messages at no cost, regardless of the amount of shared content or the number of subscribers. In other words, it will not be necessary to carry out payment campaigns to improve the scope of the publications.
What’s more, every time you post, users will receive a notification on their mobile . In this way, the deliverability of the messages is greatly increased.
Each Telegram channel comes with its own public or private link for anyone to join their channel. Thus, users can stay informed about your brand and your updates.
3.- Avoid constant self-promotion
Keep in mind that Telegram has no advertising and that this is precisely what users value most. If you turn your channel into a means of constant self-pumping, it is very possible that users end up abandoning it.
People are drawn to the possibility of building deeper connections with the brands they like. Your Telegram channel should be an opportunity to better connect with customers and show your most human side.
This is key to making your followers faithful to your brand. Show interest in them and in the things that matter to them by sharing content that is relevant to them.
4.- Share the interesting content created by other entities in your sector or community
It’s not just about sharing your own content. After all, Telegram works as a social network. Therefore, if you find a document, an article, or a meme that may be interesting to your followers, do not hesitate to share it.
It is a good way to attract people to your network and increase your followers. Of course, do not stop attributing the content when it does not belong to you and, even, on some occasions, ask for permission to broadcast it.
5.- Create contests and giveaways to increase engagement
A very effective way to increase public engagement is to implement contests within your strategy. Suggest entertaining games or launch contests that encourage them to interact with each other and with your brand.
For example, you can create contests that involve the generation of content by users or based on the votes of others to force them to start a conversation.
6.- Promote your other social networks
Another great decision when using Telegram as a marketing tool is to link your other social networks so that your followers can easily find you on other platforms.
This will save you a lot of effort since you can send messages through multiple places. Also, you should not miss the opportunity to promote your other social networks on Telegram by inviting your followers to address them.
Telegram is a powerful marketing tool that allows you to reach your audience in real time and with a high reading rate.
