Telegram for Companies: Seven Usage Scenarios

Telegram came to light in 2013 thanks to the intuition of two Russian brothers, Nikolai and Pavel Durov.

Within five years it became the eighth most popular messaging platform in the world, yet – ironically – Russia is the only country (together with Iran) where the application is inaccessible.

According to the 2018 data, today Telegram has exceeded 200 million active users worldwide: a pool of users with enormous potential.

Looking atthe channel from a company’s perspective, there are three fundamentalcharacteristics:

• Complete anonymity of users:Telegram is for all effects a messaging service similar to WhatsApp, but with a coverage and data encryption system which, according to Durov, makes it invulnerable. When a new contact subscribes to a company’s Telegram channel, the company has no way of knowing the contact’s name, last name, or telephone number.

• Public domain API: This allows developers to implement services, add modes and options, and develop bots.

• Broadcast logic: In addition to secret groups and chats, Telegram lets you manage channels, i.e. special chats without any member limits. The fundamental characteristic here is one-way communication, one to many. Recipients cannot reply within the channels, but can only and exclusively view the content sent to them.

This last feature makes Telegram a perfect channel for companies and professionals who want to immediately update their customers on news, promotions, or events: a sort of mailing list with the characteristics of conversational marketing.

Brands also have technological support that exploits and expands the potential of Telegram with MailUp: it’s called Messaging Apps and is the channel that lets you connect a Telegram account to the MailUp platform, allowing you to manage the messaging app like a true digital marketing channel, for:

• Creating messages full of content
• Automating automatic campaign flows
• Sending with established schedules and frequencies
• Tracking openings and clicks in the message.

Many brands are still quite unsure of what and how to communicate on Telegram. This is why we would like to explore Telegram today, to show you how to carry out marketing and communications using its logic.

We have found seven usage cases of the channel, all at your fingertips and divided by objectives and solutions, with a single purpose: to explain the real potential of this messaging app, giving you examples of strategies you can draw inspiration from and apply to your situation.

1. Coordinate collaborators

Need

Companies that use a network of sellers and collaborators need to send communications to the entire sales force in order to align each member on the products to be promoted in a given month, on objectives, and on communications of common interest.

Solution

Create a Telegram channel all sellers must be registered to and then use it to send all the useful communications for managing the team.

In the example we have hypothesized a campaign that is addressed to the entire sales force and offers recipients the chance to download the updated product catalog in PDF format. Thanks to the integrated editor in MailUp, you can create Telegram messages that include:

• Text
• Images
• Videos
• Audio files
• PDFs
• External links

2. Deliver content

Need

Automatically deliver all types of content to customers and prospects subscribed to the Telegram channel.

Solution

Trigger an automation that sends campaigns based on every new update of your content, whether it’s blog posts or new products in the e-commerce catalog.

Let’s take a look at an example of a campaign focused on content marketing (our recent blog post) on one hand…

…and an example of a message from the Repubblica bot on the other, which is an Italian newspaper that sends breaking news for free and in real time. Readers cannot reply – the channel, as mentioned, is broadcast. 

3. Inform the community

Need

Organize and promote events addressed to sector communities or generalists. This is a typical need of tech communities (such as developers, who are very present on Telegram), who want and need to be informed when a new event is added to the site.

This need is shared by many public or private institutions such as universities, municipalities, and institutions who must communicate with citizens quickly and share important notices in a timely manner.

Solution

Link the bot of your community to the MailUp platform and then create a recurring automatic campaign based on any RSS source updates; in doing so, as seen before, every time a new event is published on the site, MailUp retrieves it and sends it to all users, who can then subscribe to the event thanks to the link that leads to the event page.

4. Promote offers

Need

Take advantage of a next-generation channel like Messaging Apps to promote products and offers and lead to a purchase: a typical need for e-commerce sites and all companies with an online store.

Solution

Create Telegram messages to forward coupons, flash sales, and communicate promotions and new items in the catalog with a periodic frequency.

Moreover, Telegram lets you share messages: by creating affiliations with various networks, a brand can increase the dissemination of its offer and reach an ever-greater audience of people and prospects.

5. Create a channel for loyal customers

Need

Gratify loyal customers who spend more on average, reserving an ad hoc channel for them.

This is another typical requirement of e-commerce sites but also of retailers, who can invite contacts to visit the nearest store to take advantage of exclusive discounts.

Solution

Create a thematic Telegram channel for a small community consisting of customers who are united by their loyalty to the brand.

A sort of broadcast 2.0, as communications here are in a one-to-all mode (as in the case of radio and television) but with a highly selected and non-generalist target.

6. Develop strategies for the non-profit world

Need

Non-profits constantly need to recruit new volunteers, collect donations to carry out their activities and, finally, request donations.

Solution

Add the Telegram channel and promote it through social campaigns, using the channel to promote knowledge and debate on specific topics, request donations, and share search ads for new volunteers.

7. Protect the privacy of community members

Need

Cultivating communication and discussion on issues that require the protection and maintenance of user privacy, especially in the case of a young audience. This is a typical need for companies operating in the social, education, and prevention sectors.

Solution

Create and connect your Telegram bot to the MailUp platform. Once you’ve launched your strategy to collect subscribers to the channel thanks to a multi-channel popup form inserted on your site, you can share information and advice regarding education and prevention, triggering debate.

Telegram is the most suitable channel, since names and phone numbers are not revealed or shared between the channel administrator and the user, nor between one user and another.

Next step: get to work, starting to create your first campaign.

To do so, just request a free trial of the MailUp platform, which will let you use the Email, SMS, and Messaging Apps channels for free for 30 days.