Recently, Telegram reached more than 700 million monthly active users, becoming one of the top 5 most downloaded apps worldwide.
With the growing popularity, the app announced the launch of Telegram Premium, its subscription version, with the aim of monetizing a part of its user base, allowing support for the continuous development of the platform and access to additional exclusive features.
With the Premium plan, the subscriber unlocks some of the most requested updates among users over the years such as doubled limits, faster downloads, improved chat management, among others.
We might identify two major reasons for this positive Telegram scenario:
First, instant messaging (let’s remember that, in 2019, during the “blackout” of Meta’s platforms — WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram — Telegram gained 70 million new users in 24 hours).
Second, and perhaps most importantly: the possibility of building a sense of community among audiences with common interests. A study conducted at Stanford University showed that belonging to communities has direct consequences on motivation, health, and happiness.
Research like this shows us why people engage so much in communities such as Facebook groups and, of course, Telegram channels. And this is extremely powerful for brands.
And Telegram earns extra points in terms of engagement. According to a study by Ayrshire, Telegram has a very high engagement rate, with 20% views, while Instagram has 3% and Facebook has 4%.
So, if you’re a marketer or brand manager looking to join Telegram, I’ve selected three examples of brands that are doing an awesome job in terms of community and engagement. Get ready to be inspired!
Brands that are using Telegram very well in their strategy
Ted Talks
Ted Talks is one of the best-known video channels in the world due to its inspiring and current content that shows studies and conferences by experts from different areas, who share their knowledge every day to thousands of subscribers on Ted Talks channels.
The company uses Telegram as an add-on to its Youtube channel. The most popular videos on Youtube are shared on Telegram. Thus, those followers who possibly don’t spend a lot of time on Youtube receive a notification of the most interesting videos.
Washington Post
The largest US daily newspaper in Washington DC uses Telegram to encourage readers to consume more of its content. How do they do it? The Washington Post publishes brief announcements of the hottest and most current news, about 5 posts a day, to update its followers who don’t have enough time to consume the entire story, bringing the main highlights of each news item.
This is a convenient way to retain audiences on your Telegram channel and pique the curiosity of those who want to read the full story on the newspaper’s website.
Channels created by the audience also help in the brand strategy
This is the case with Netflix and Amazon Prime Videos. Both companies don’t have an official Telegram channel, but allow their audience to create channels with updates about movies, series, releases, quizzes, behind-the-scenes, and much more. Follow the two cases below.
Netflix
With more than 430,000 subscribers, Netflix’s main (unofficial) channel on Telegram publishes various types of content every day, ranging from links to their newly launched projects to reviews and behind-the-scenes photos of the most famous characters and actors.
The channel focuses on delivering first-hand content and information to its audience, informing the public about the platform’s news, and making the product more interesting by creating an exclusive environment for users who are on the Telegram channel.
If you want to see how Netflix and other brands also behave on TikTok, check out this article I prepared to help you understand brands’ engagement strategies on the short video app.
Prime Videos
With more than 1 million subscribers, the unofficial Amazon Prime Videos channel has the same focus as Netflix — promoting Amazon movies, photos of characters and actors from the shows, and articles from the internet about the programs that are booming on Amazon.
In addition, the subscriber to the Telegram channel can select which language of movies they want to receive notifications in or that they are most interested in.
How can my brand succeed on Telegram?
The sense of community and exclusivity of information that Telegram channels generate for their subscribers is the key to keeping them active and interacting with brands on the app.
Telegram can be an excellent complement to your brand’s digital strategy. To stand out there, follow the dynamic way that the platform requires, with short videos, quick news, tips, polls, and stickers, using all the features that the platform has to engage your audience and convert your subscribers into loyal customers.
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