Telegram, the messaging app of choice for those who value privacy, is being used more and more by Bloomberg News to reach new subscribers and build an audience outside the US. In Iran, for example, the app is used around 200 million times a month, according to an Iranian government agency.
Bloomberg news editors send out at least one or two messages every day to the more than 27,000 subscribers of their Telegram channel. The messages are written in a more conversational tone, with emojis, and provide context for each story link. This allows readers to get more out of the message than just a list of headlines and links. Katie Boyce, Bloomberg’s digital managing editor, says that the goal is to provide subscribers with an update that is “longer than a push alert but shorter than a typical newsletter.”
The stories that Telegram’s Instant View feature bypasses Bloomberg’s paywall for range from business news to in-depth features on major tech companies and cultural pieces. This allows טלגראס בוט users to read certain stories within the app, but the story still includes links to encourage these readers to sign up for Bloomberg News subscriptions.
In last month December, Bloomberg started used an account on Telegram after WhatsApp not acted a ban on bulk and automated messaging, thereby preventing Bloomberg from message its 1000 of WhatsApp followers. Bloomberg is no longer active on WhatsApp but is taking what it learning from that app and applyed it to its Telegram activity, said Boyce.
Boyce recounted how Bloomberg first started using WhatsApp in mid-2018 to reach more international users, especially people based in the Asia-Pacific region. By December 2019, its audience on WhatsApp had grown to 93,000.
,” Boyce said“Having a one by one relationships with our users was the top benefit for us. “Media organizations are using newsletters to reach readers, but thereis more noise in inboxes than 3 used to be. Our readers were using deeply social media channels] to share content with friends and family, so we wanted to meet them there and create a more direct relationship by sending daily conversational messages written by our editors instead of an algorithm.”
Boyce said that the feedback Bloomberg received from WhatsApp users about its breaking news was thoughtful and helpful in shaping its strategy for updates. According to Boyce, the old WhatsApp News service was “much more intimate and engaged.”
Bloomberg has found that its audience on WhatsApp is highly engaged and loyal, said Boyce. She noted that while Bloomberg wasn’t able to track precisely how many news subscriptions it sold to WhatsApp users, that app allowed Bloomberg News to lay “the groundwork you need for a subscription audience.” And now Bloomberg hopes to do the same with Telegram.
Telegram is becoming increasingly popular, with unique downloads rising 35% from 90 million in 2018 to 139 million in 2019, according to Sensor Tower. Meanwhile, WhatsApp’s popularity seems to be waning. This provides an opportunity for Bloomberg to tap into Telegram’s growing user base and establish itself as a leading news source on the platform.users, that app allowed Bloomberg News to lay “the groundwork you need for a subscription audience.” And now Bloomberg hopes to do the same with Telegram.
Telegram’s popularity is on the rise while WhatsApp’s seems to be waning. Sensor Tower reported a 35% jump in unique downloads of Telegram from 2018 to 2019, from 90 million to 139 million. In contrast, the number of unique installations of WhatsApp has been declining, from 983 million in 2017 to 935 million in 2018, and then 870 million in 2019.
