Author: Jan Suski

Updated: May 21, 2025

12 min read

Telegram Marketing in 2026: Full Guide For Beginners

Telegram is a powerful platform for marketing, community building, and even commerce. With around 1 billion monthly active users in 2026, Telegram has become a key channel for brands, creators, and businesses to connect with engaged audiences.

This guide will show you how to use Telegram for marketing effectively in 2026, covering channels, groups, bots, mini‑apps, monetization, advertising, and best practices.

Using Telegram for marketing

When it comes to marketing your business over the internet, there are many different tools and platforms at your disposal. Some of these, such as Facebook or Twitter, are well-established and relatively easy to use.

However, if you’re looking for a messaging app that provides extra features for businesses and marketers, Telegram might be the right choice.

With Telegram, you can set up groups and channels to discuss your products and services with potential clients or customers. You can also integrate bots into your Telegram account to automate certain tasks, saving you time and effort in the process.

And thanks to its strong security features and cloud-based infrastructure, Telegram is great for keeping sensitive information safe while still allowing you to reach large audiences easily.

So if you’re looking to boost your marketing efforts using an innovative messaging platform, then Telegram is worth a try.

Some Telegram statistics:

Telegram reached 1 billion monthly active users (MAU) in March 2025.

The platform now has around 450 million daily active users (DAU). On average, users open the app 21 times per day, and engagement levels significantly exceed earlier estimates of just a few hours per month.

With 1 billion monthly active users, Telegram is no longer a mid-tier platform. It now ranks among the largest messaging platforms globally, surpassing many social networks in active user base.

Social media platform	Monthly active users
2 Facebook	3,070 million
3 Instagram	3,000 million
4 WhatsApp	3,000 milion
5 YouTube	2,580 million
6 TikTok	1,990 milion
7 WeChat	1,410 milion
8 Telegram	1,000 milion
9 Snapchat	932 milion

Sources: Statista.

Here are the most popular channels:

Sources: Statista.

Telegram was particularly well-received in specific countries, as shown in this table of Top Countries by Telegram App Downloads (2025 Data):

Country	Number of Telegram app downloads
2 India	100-104 milion
3 Russia	34-38 milion
4 United States	26-38 milion
5 Indonesia	31 milion
6 Pakistan	24 milion
7 Brazil	16-21 milion
8 Vietnam	14 milion
9 Mexico	12 milion

Finally, it’s interesting to see how Telegram’s popularity is spread out across the globe. For instance, the US makes up just 2% of the entire user base with under 10 million monthly active users.

So, now that you’ve seen some impressive numbers, how about we jump into the nitty-gritty?

Marketing opportunities on Telegram

Channels

A Telegram channel is like a megaphone for your voice. It’s a platform where you can broadcast messages to a large audience with no limitations on the number of channel members.

Only admins can post to a channel, but each member is notified of every new post. This makes it ideal for sharing announcements, updates, or just about anything you want to say.

And since members of the channel can’t see each other as well as the admins, it’s also a great way to keep your audience anonymous.

Here’s how to create your own channel:

Then, you pick a name, description, and picture:

Next, Telegram will ask you if you’d like to allow saving content and whether you want your channel to be private or public.

Public channels can be found in search and joined by anyone, while private groups require an invite link to join.

A private channel is perfect for businesses that want to control who has access to their group.

This all depends on the purpose of the channel.

And you’re done! Now you can begin promoting your channel and inviting new members.

Groups

With up to 200,000 members, Telegram groups are perfect for businesses and organizations looking for a way to communicate with large numbers of people.

Members can send messages, photos, videos, and voice recordings, making Telegram groups a versatile communication channel. Groups can be either public or private.

Telegram groups are an excellent marketing tool because they allow businesses to easily reach a large audience. By creating a public group, entrepreneurs can make it easy for potential customers to find and join their group.

With a private group, companies can control who has access to their group and use the invite link as a way to generate interest in their products or services. Either way, groups are one of the most powerful marketing channels.

Creating a new group is fairly similar to a new channel:

Telegram will then ask you to add new users:

Once you add new users, you’re golden.

Read more: Top 5 Telegram Analytics Tools

Chatbots

Each channel and group *needs* a chatbot to make sure that it functions properly. Admins can only do so much with thousands of users.

Telegram chatbots are handy little programs that can help you with a variety of tasks, from collecting leads to providing customer support or even sending newsletters to existing customers.

BotFather serves as the template for all Telegram chatbots. You can modify it to create one that fits your exact needs. Chatbots are beneficial because they automate some of the interactions you would otherwise have to do manually.

Using a bot saves you time and energy and can help you provide a better experience for your customers. In addition, chatbots can help you run marketing campaigns or collect feedback from your users.

Accessing the bot is a piece of cake:

Here’s what the bot dashboard looks like:

After you create your bot, you’ll be able to access its API:

From then, it’s all you. Creating a bot for yourself will require some programming skills. Fortunately, there are apps like SendPulse which allow you to program your bot with no coding whatsoever.

Of course, there are also open-source ready-to-use bots.

Mini-apps

Mini-Apps are like little apps that live inside Telegram. Your audience can shop, play games, take quizzes, or join loyalty programs without ever leaving the app.

They work hand-in-hand with bots and even Telegram’s TON blockchain, so you can automate tasks, engage users, and even make sales all in one place. Basically, Mini-Apps let you turn your channel or bot into a tiny ecosystem where people can interact, explore, and have fun.

Big plus? All while staying inside Telegram.

How Marketers Can Use Mini‑Apps

• Build visibility inside Telegram: Promote your Mini‑App through your channels and groups, share updates and exclusive features, and give your audience a reason to engage.
• Make it easy to find: Get your Mini‑App listed in the Telegram App Center and use clear keywords/hashtags in descriptions so users discover it organically.
• Boost growth with ads: Use pay‑per‑click campaigns (e.g., Telegram‑focused ad formats) to drive fast user acquisition and test creative messaging.
• Keep users engaged: Ask for feedback, run polls or contests, and reward active users to increase loyalty and word‑of‑mouth growth.
• Cross‑promote outside Telegram: Share your Mini‑App on Instagram, TikTok, or other social platforms and collaborate with influencers to reach new audiences.

Devising a marketing strategy for Telegram

When planning their next big marketing campaign, businesses often overlook the Telegram messaging app as a potential platform. With its large user base and unique features, Telegram is a powerful tool for promoting a product or service.

And with the right approach, any business can devise a Telegram marketing strategy that will reach its target audience and achieve its goals.

Creating a business profile

A business profile is like a resume, but for your business. It should include information about your products or services, your target market, and what makes you unique. In today’s social media-savvy world, it’s also important to make sure your business profile is up to date and looking good.

Telegram is a bit different when it comes to company accounts. There isn’t a dedicated feature for businesses, unlike WhatsApp Business for instance.

Instead, your company will be represented by the aforementioned chatbot as well as admins.

Finding the right target audience

As any marketer worth their salt will tell you, finding the right target audience is crucial for marketing success. Telegram is no different. However, with such a large user base, it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to targeting your marketing efforts.

Even though Telegram uses phone numbers for registration and IDs for identification, the only thing you can pass to the CRM are the names, which can be changed at any time later.

When starting off, you can add up to 200 people from your contact list. Then, you have to convince others to join in. You have to start promoting your group or channel if you want to reach any meaningful numbers.

Promoting your channel

Other groups

If you have something valuable to contribute, such as advice, tips, or resources, don’t hesitate to share it.

In most cases, the more you contribute to a group, the more likely you are to get something back in return. And who knows? You may even make some valuable connections that could help take your business to the next level.

Telegram Ads

While Telegram does offer paid advertising, its targeting is limited to public channels. Telegram is all about privacy, which is why you won’t be able to target users with specific characteristics. You can choose languages and interests, but not much else apart from that.

Your ads will be displayed on those that have more than 1000 subscribers as a message, so you can be sure that your message reaches lots of people. As Pavel Durov, Founder of Telegram, said, his app generates “500 billion views in one-to-many channels.”

One thing to keep in mind about Telegram Ads is that they require a 2 million euros down payment, with a possibility of refunding 1 million out of that. This limits small businesses, especially when it comes to promotion. The minimum CPM is 2 euros.

Social media

One of the best ways to promote your Telegram business channel is to share it with your followers on other social media platforms. If you have a strong presence on platforms like Facebook or Twitter, take advantage of that by sharing your Telegram channel with your followers there.

You can also share it in relevant online communities and forums. Another great way to promote your channel is to create compelling content that will encourage people to check it out.

If you regularly post interesting stuff on your channel, people will be more likely to subscribe and tell their friends about it.

Check out our guide to the best social media analytics tools.

Cross-promotion

If you’ve ever been a part of a Telegram group or channel, you know that they can be very active places. There’s always something new being posted, and it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle.

However, as a business owner, you can use Telegram groups and channels to your advantage by cross-promoting your channel. By working with other groups and channels, you can help to raise awareness of your business and reach a larger audience.

Plus, it’s a great way to build relationships with other businesses and create joint marketing opportunities.

Here are some tips on how to effectively use cross-promotion to promote your Telegram business channel:

Paid social media ads

Paid social media advertising is a powerful tool that businesses can use to reach new audiences and promote their products or services.

And with the rise of Telegram, a new messaging app that offers businesses a variety of features to help them communicate with customers, it’s no surprise that more and more businesses are turning to paid social media advertising to promote their Telegram channels.

Here are some tips on how to use paid social media advertising to promote your Telegram business channel:

Website

How do you go about promoting your Telegram business channel on your company website? Here are a few ideas:

First, be sure to include a link to your Telegram channel on your website’s home page. This will make it easy for visitors to find and join your channel. You can also include a “Join our Telegram channel” button or banner on other pages of your site, such as your blog or product pages.

In addition, you can use your website to drive traffic by writing blog posts or creating landing pages that promote your channel.

For example, you could write a post about the benefits of joining your Telegram channel or create a landing page with an opt-in form that collects leads who are interested in joining.

Monitoring Telegram for data-driven decisions

If you’re not already using media monitoring tools on Telegram’s public channels and groups, now’s a great time to start.

Here’s what it can help you do:

Media monitoring on Telegram is not much different than on other social media. Make sure to monitor the most relevant keywords for your business as well as branded terms.

Taking a look at what the competition is doing is also a great option.

Read more: What is Telegram monitoring?

Conclusion

Telegram marketing may be a new concept for many business owners, but it is a powerful tool that can help to reach a wide audience. Telegram marketing involves using the Telegram messaging app to send messages to potential and existing customers.

While the app is primarily known for its personal messaging features, it also offers a number of powerful business-focused features, including the ability to create groups and channels, schedule messages, and track metrics.

Businesses of all sizes can benefit from Telegram marketing, and with a little creativity, it can be an extremely effective way to reach new customers and grow a business. Thanks for reading!