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Marketing

Telegram Premium Is Now Available For Subscription. But Is It A Worthwhile Marketing Strategy?

MM
Matt Montenegro Founder & CEO
23/06/2022 4 min
TL;DR

Telegram Premium is an optional paid tier for exclusive features while Telegram says the pre-Premium feature set stays free for everyone else.

  • Why it matters: marketers using channels need to know who still sees official Sponsored Messages.
  • How it works: subscribers unlock extras and earlier access; free users keep the baseline messenger tools.
  • Reality check: official Sponsored Messages on some large public channels are hidden for Premium users.
  • Zoom in: channel-posted promos can still appear even when Telegram's own Sponsored Messages do not.
  • The bottom line: treat Premium as a user monetization layer, then map which of your readers still see ads.

Telegram has recently launched Telegram Premium, a new subscription service that offers an exclusive experience for the users. The paid service will offer additional features and first-hand new feature releases, and it costs anywhere between $5 – $6 per month. 

According to their statement, the goal is to “offer all the resources-heavy features users have asked for over the years while preserving free access.” In other words, Telegram has found a way to deliver a more unique and amplified version of the app, without compromising the free version, so appreciated (and downloaded) all over the globe. 

In numbers, Telegram ended April 2022 with over 500 million monthly active users and was one of the 10 most downloaded apps in the world. To give you a quick perspective of its growth, the app increased its user base by 25% in only two years (remember that we are talking about millions of people). Nowadays, the app has already achieved 700 million.  

And what I love the most about Telegram’s growth and Telegram Premium is the story behind it. Telegram has never paid to advertise its apps. Their entire growth came from the old (but gold) method of personal recommendations. People invited their friends to join the app and, one by one, they decided to become a part of it. Does it bring you a sense of community?

For me, it does. Telegram was capable of building its own brand community, by only delivering a good and helpful service. 

It’s kind of wild, honestly, that a platform can get this far without splurging on ads or influencers. Just people, nudging friends and coworkers, and—next thing you know—it’s seven hundred million strong. Sometimes I wonder if this sort of word-of-mouth magic is just old-fashioned luck or some lost art we should all study. Either way, the effect on user trust is real, and possibly one of Telegram’s biggest hidden assets as it moves toward paid offerings.

By the way, watching the shift from purely free features to a tiered, premium offering brings up a lot of questions about what people are really willing to pay for online. Does a “brand community” fall apart if some users opt to pay for more? Or does it get tighter, with folks seeing more value and wanting to chip in? Maybe Premium ends up more like a secret handshake than a velvet rope—though only time will really tell.

Going further, one of the reasons why Telegram has launched the Premium version, was because many users have expressed their desire to support their team – they wanted to support Telegram’s continued development and were willing to pay for more features. Again, I can’t describe this movement with other words than a strong sense of brand community. 

What can the Telegram Premium mean for your Marketing strategy?

This is all great. But how can you – as a marketer – take any benefits from Telegram Premium? Well, the first thing (and as a piece of strong advice) is to learn from them. Telegram shows us the power and importance of having a strong brand community, and how you can grow your brand with their help. 

A brand community gives you a chance to foster an environment that supports strong loyalty and allows people to connect emotionally to your brand. Learning how to build an engaged and loyal brand community is the first lesson Telegram leaves with you.

The second thing is about the new features available. If you use Telegram as part of your strategy, the Premium version includes new tools to organize your chat list.

Also, public figures and organizations can verify their group, channels, or bot, which can give your brand more authority. And talking about bots, Bot developers can now include a photo or video in the “What can this bot do?” section of their bots to show off their features.

Unfortunately, not everything is rainbows and butterflies for marketers who use Telegram as part of their paid strategy. In some countries, the app shows Sponsored Messages on large, public channels.

If this is your case, it is important to highlight that this option will no longer appear for Premium subscribers, only for the free ones. 

There are other features available on Telegram Premium that you can explore and try with your Marketing strategy and, who knows, to also use them to start a conversation with your brand community.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Telegram Premium mean the free app goes away?

No. Telegram's FAQ says Premium is optional and that features that existed before the tier remain free, including core messaging capabilities called out there. The article likewise frames Premium as an amplified paid experience that still preserves free access. Plan community tactics for both free and paid cohorts.

What changes for marketers who buy Sponsored Messages?

On large public channels where Telegram shows official Sponsored Messages, Premium subscribers no longer see those ads. Free users still can. Telegram also notes that promotional posts published by channel admins are outside that hide rule. Measure reach assuming part of an affluent or power-user segment is ad-blind to official placements.

Is Premium mainly a consumer perk or a brand tool?

Officially it is a user subscription that funds development and unlocks exclusive features. The article explores marketing angles such as verification for groups, channels, or bots and bot presentation upgrades with photo or video in the bot description section, alongside the free-versus-Premium Sponsored Messages split. Treat those as brand-adjacent Premium surfaces rather than a complete media buy.

Should you quote the article's old price or user counts as current?

No. Treat launch-era price bands and monthly active user snapshots as historical context from the body. Confirm live pricing in Telegram's client or bot checkout and use a dated primary source for audience size. The durable facts for strategy are optional paid extras, a free baseline, and Sponsored Messages hidden for Premium users.

MM Matt Montenegro

Matt Montenegro

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