Telegram is one of the most popular instant messaging apps, offering healthy competition to Facebook-owned WhatsApp. The app offers almost all the features of WhatsApp for effective communication.
In addition to direct chats with your contacts, you can join two types of communities on Telegram: Telegram Channels and Telegram Groups. They are similar to WhatsApp groups and broadcast lists.
Take a look at what they are, how they differ from each other and which one is best for you.
What is a Telegram channel
A Telegram Channel allows you to broadcast your message to a large number of subscribers.
There is no limit to the number of people who can join a channel, but cannot interact with each other.
The administrators of the Telegram channel are the only ones who have the right to publish one-way messages.
What is a Telegram group
A Telegram group, on the other hand, is just like any other messaging app group.
All group participants can communicate with each other in the group and share media files, while the administrator has the right to restrict member interaction.
Types of channels and groups of Telegram
Telegram channels and groups can be both public and private. As the name suggests, public groups and channels are easily accessible by searching for their username in the search bar, while you can only join private groups and channels via an invite link.
The owners and administrators are the only ones who have access to the group membership link.
Telegram channels and groups: differences
Access to the profiles of your friends
Telegram channels are more private when it comes to information about other members since you can't see their profiles. Even if someone on your contact list belongs to the same channel, you can't find out.
Telegram groups, on the other hand, are more public in this respect. Regardless of whether someone is on your contact list or not, you can easily access their profile.
You can interact with them in the Group and send messages even privately. However, it depends on the privacy settings of the account you want to connect to.
Rights you have as an administrator
As the administrator of a Telegram channel, you can post any message, add or remove members from the channel, and close the channel at any time. Hardly any member interaction means all you have to do is update your channel regularly.
However, an increase in member interaction in the Telegram group increases the workload for administrators. You will need to properly handle spam, remove rules-breaking members, respond to member requests via direct messages, and maintain a healthy environment within your group.
Both groups and Telegram channels allow you to change your visibility from anonymous to username and vice versa.
Access to the old chat history
Each member of the Channel has had access to the entire chat of the Channel since its creation. This way, new members can check past conversations and documents if they wish.
New members of Telegram groups can also access old chats. However, the administrator can choose to restrict access to prevent new users from accessing older messages.
Number of members
Any Telegram channel can have an unlimited number of participants and members are called subscribers.
Initially, you can only have 200 members in a Telegram group, but if you upgrade it to a supergroup, you can have up to 200000 members.
Determination of involvement
Each message in a Telegram channel has an eye-shaped button in the lower right corner that shows how many subscribers have viewed it. Based on your average message views and number of subscribers, you can determine how active a community is.
This number is extremely important if you run a branded community and receive regular promotional offers from businesses and organizations.
As the administrator of the Telegram channel, this number gives you a clear picture of your channel's performance. Based on this metric, you can also plan for the growth of your community.
On the other hand, it is difficult to assess the commitment of a group as it is not possible to determine how many members actively participate in the discussion on a regular basis.
Notification of joining the group and silent messages
All members are notified when someone joins a Telegram group; joining a Telegram channel remains secret and only channel administrators can see.
Telegram channel administrators can send silent messages to their subscribers, which is not possible in groups. Silent messages, as the name suggests, are those received without any notification sound. It is useful for sending urgent messages to recipients who are in a different time zone without disturbing them.
Just press the notification bell next to the message box in the Telegram Channel to send a silent message.
Get feedback
While you can get feedback from your community via Telegram groups, there is no equivalent way to reach your community via Telegram channels.
By discussing an idea with your group members, you can refine it, which isn't possible with subscribers to your channel.
Best ways to use Telegram groups and channels
Telegram allows you to directly link your Telegram Channel to the Telegram Group.
This will automatically post messages to your group when you post them on your channel.
This way, you can discuss with your audience, hear their feedback, and enjoy the rest of the Telegram groups features. Both Telegram channels and groups offer a range of features that simplify communication between family, friends and colleagues.
A Telegram group will be a good choice if you want to have an informal discussion with your community where everyone can share their opinion.
On the other hand, creating a Telegram channel will suit your needs if you want to limit the posting of content to yourself.
