Telegram for business: how to promote an online store in the messenger from scratch

Use Telegram for business. The messenger operates differently than a standard social network, but the free messaging channel and chatbot allows you to not only send photos or videos, but also place orders and deliveries without visiting online stores or downloading special offers. The number of users in the messenger has grown to 400 million, and up to 1.5 million people register on Telegram every day.

9 advantages of Telegram for business

• There are no ads on Telegram. Users get bored with pop-ups and intrusive advertising spam that distracts them. It's annoying when you go to the checkout when buying a product, but instead of a window where you need to enter data, an ad appears on the screen.
• The messenger loads twice as fast, as Telegram was originally created as a means of communication and the channel does not have a management system and a large structure like social networks, so it is quick and convenient to access the messenger from a phone or computer.
• 70% of the target audience of Telegram is young people (users under 30). Take this factor into account when developing your online store. People come to Telegram not only to communicate, but it is also a platform for publishing author's content. Therefore, popular bloggers, large companies, and publishers have their own channels on the messenger.
• The official policy of the channel's creators is not to disclose confidential information and correspondence.
• The channel has no restrictions and a convenient search engine.
• The platform is free.
• Users share files of different types and sizes.
• Cross-platform - not limited to only one operating system and hardware platform, so the store in Telegram can function on the basis of Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Windows, macOS and GNU/Linux.
• Published notes or articles are not lost or disappear in the feed, but appear as a separate message. Therefore, the risk that customers will miss new information is reduced by 98%.

About 50% of online store owners do not hide their disappointment in Telegram within two weeks after the start of promotion, as the channel does not give an instant result. It is true that the promotion of a store on Telegram does not give an immediate increase in sales, and therefore, the conversion of the site will not increase by 100%, because search engines do not index content, the online store cannot be embedded, and there are no banners. The channel works exclusively to attract and retain the audience. However, by creating an online store bot, you also identify competitors and save money.

Disadvantages of the Telegram channel: it is impossible to order contextual advertising and content optimization. The channel does not allow you to use aggressive PR technology and reach the top, and does not guarantee an instant increase in sales.

How to create an online store in Telegram

The only way to open a marketplace on Telegram is to create a bot. This is an account that has certain commands: to greet a new subscriber, display the store's assortment, send out mailings and reminders to customers, answer questions and answers. A bot for a store on Telegram is also responsible for removing spam, unwanted advertising messages, and takes over 50% of the responsibilities of employees - people entrust responses to the bot rather than correspond with each client individually.

The main responsibility of a Telegram bot is to redirect users to the website of an online store and collect order requests while communicating with a potential buyer. Don't be afraid to entrust these tasks to a robot. The bot system is well established and constantly evolving - the developers are planning to introduce a dozen more functions.

How to create a bot for an online store on Telegram

If you don't want to do it yourself, use the services of programmers. You don't have to hire an employee; you can find freelancers on freelance exchanges who create bots for business. You can also try to create a bot yourself - there are instructions on how to do it on the Internet. The Botobot bot was created specifically for online stores.

Go to the Botobot website and add a bot. Then follow the instructions - come up with a name for the bot, give it an id. After completing the technical part of the work, proceed to the design - create an avatar, description, and greeting for the bot that the client will see. After the bot is created, a personal account appears, where you can upload goods in the Import section.

Keep in mind that using bots on Telegram is not free - if you have 20 products in your uploaded assortment, you won't have to pay. However, if the number is 20+, you will be offered a tariff plan.

How customers can order goods on Telegram

A menu and a product catalog appear on the screen. The customer selects the desired section, clicks, and sees information about it. The bot allows you to select products, add them to the cart, place an order, and pay.

Keep in mind that a bot is a connection between a store and a customer, and as soon as a message appears, subscribers see it in their feeds. Therefore, we advise you not to spam and reduce the number of advertising messages by 95%. If you clog up the channel, the customer will unsubscribe or turn off notifications and won't see updates or important information about the store. Only include new products or services and information about promotions in the newsletter. If you intend to share content with users, create an additional Telegram channel.

How to manage a channel on Telegram for business

You need a channel to publish interesting content. If you intend to use the channel to earn extra money, promote it and then use it to publish advertising messages on a paid basis. The amount of income depends on the number of subscribers. According to Oleksandr Obukhov, the creator of @Mens_kitchen and @Tasty_Diet, the cost of advertising depends on the popularity of the channel. For example, advertising on his channels costs $5-6, but there are platforms with prices as high as $80-200. To make your Telegram channel stand out, find your own style. There are already 30 popular channels in most niches, so study them. And after analyzing them, you will understand how to stand out from the competition.

Each message that a subscriber receives is a new message, so don't spam every hour. The optimal number of 1-2 posts per day. 90% of the audience uses Telegram from smartphones, so it's inconvenient to read long texts. Create short notes, attach a link to a website or bot channel, add pictures, videos, and gifs.

In the messenger, the developers have provided a feature for those who do not have their own website. This is the Telegraph service that allows you to publish texts with photos or videos.

• Visualize your message by building a unified style from drawings and pictures.
• How to promote a Telegram channel
• Post information about the channel in the project's publics and on social media pages.
• Be sure to post a link to the channel on your website or blog.
• Keep your customers informed with email or SMS newsletters. Make sure that users subscribe to the channel, so share what content you plan to post, whether you will hold promotions, sweepstakes, and possible discounts.
• Collections of channels' telegrams. The media, as well as large channels of the messenger, create collections. For example, 11 channels in Telegram on SMM, 15 best Telegram channels about fashion and clothing design. At the start, make such a selection yourself and include your own channel in it. Then share it on social media, and contact the owners of the channels you included in the collection and ask them to leave a comment, tell about the selection on their own channels. Involve media outlets that are interested in the topic.
• Use mutual promotion - channels tell their subscribers about each other. However, choose those with a similar target audience to yours.
• Use paid promotion. When the number of subscribers exceeds a thousand, find popular Telegram channels with similar topics and advertise there.

A table of resources that help you find chats on the topic you need:

• The name of the channel creator is indicated in the description, but if this information is not available, use the services of the Social Exchange. You can place ads through it if the selected channel is included in its list. It also has statistics that allow you to view the reach. If the audience of a channel on Telegram is 3-4 times higher than the reach, this indicates the presence of "dead subscribers" and you will overpay for advertising. The optimal number of engaged users is 15%. For example, if the channel has 20,000 subscribers, the reach reaches 4000-5000 people.
• Keep in mind that only 48% of online retailers launch their own channels, unlike large media or online publications, so offer readers quality content. The target audience on Telegram is modern and trend-oriented, so no one will read published news from other sources. Hire a copywriter or a journalist, tell not only about company news and new products. To gain the reader's favor, solve their problems with your content. For example, tell about unusual ways to use your products, life hacks.
• Create group chats where subscribers communicate with each other. It is difficult to attract online shoppers to such chats, but it is possible. Make the chat special by granting users VIP customer status or promising discounts for participation and activity.
• Collaborate with bloggers. Media people thrive on social media, with tens of thousands of users subscribing to their channels. With the advent of Telegram, bloggers have mastered this platform as well. The algorithm of cooperation is similar: find contacts, write off and discuss the terms of partnership. However, cooperate only with those who work with the target audience that is close to the topic of the online store.

Develop branded stickers on Telegram. Such stickers are popular, used in chats on various topics, as they express any emotions and at the same time constantly remind you of the company. Have your stickers designed by professionals. If your store has a character or mascot, create stickers based on it. Also, use slang that is specific to your topic or trends, situations that customers will understand.