How to start messaging via the Telegram bot

Create Telegram bot

  1. Use @BotFather* to create the Telegtam bot. Click Start and select /newbot command.

    *@BotFather — is a bot on Telegram that manages all the bots that you create via your account on Telegram.

    Creating a Telegram bot
  2. Choose a name for your bot.
    Creating a bot name
  3. Then create a username (it will be displayed in links). It must be written in Latin, may contain numbers and underscores, and must end with Bot. The username must be unique. If the username is already taken, @BotFather will report it back.
    Creating a Telegram bot username
  4. Congratulations, you have created a Telegram bot! You will need the Telegram bot’s token to set up the integration of the bot with Messaggio.

Link the bot to your Messaggio account by creating a Telegram Sender ID

  1. Sign in to your Messaggio dashboard, go to the Senders section, and click Create.
    Creating the Senders ID
  2. In the Channel field, select Telegram from the drop-down list. Copy the Telegram bot’s token and add it to the appropriate fields on the Messaggio side.
    Creating a Sender_ selecting a channel

Create a message template

  1. Among the Sender actions section, select Create template with the Sender.
  2. Creating a message template

  3. Choose the appropriate template layout. Add buttons and links. Click Create.
  4. Creating a message template layout

  5. Submit the message template for moderation. The Messaggio support service will check the template for compliance with the Telegram rules within 2 working days. The ACTIVE status will appear next to the approved template.
  6. Sending a template for moderation

Telegram bot messaging capabilities in Messaggio

Telegram bot allows you to communicate with customers in 3 ways:

  • Sending messages on behalf of the bot to the Telegram channel.
  • Sending messages on behalf of the bot to the Telegram group.
  • Sending messages to a personal Telegram chat with a user who subscribed to the bot.

Let’s look at how to set up the Telegram bot for each communication method.

Messaging to the Telegram channel / Telegram group

Add the bot to the Telegram channel / Telegram group

  1. Go to the Telegram channel / Telegram group to which you are going to send messages.
  2. Click on the channel title, and go to the Subscribers section.
    Adding a bot to a Telegram channel
  3. Click the Add Subscribers button. Find the previously created bot in the search and click Add.
    Adding subscribers to the Telegram channel

Now the bot can send messages to the Telegram channel / group on its own behalf.

Launch messaging campaign to subscribers of the channel / group

  1. In your Messaggio dashboard, go to the Dispatches section and click Create — Regular dispatch.
  2. Come up with the title of the dispatch, and select the previously created Telegram message template.
  3. Assign a contact group for dispatch. In the list of contact groups, you will see an automatically created group in the Telegram channel_UsernameBot / Telegram group_UsernameBot format. Select a contact group and click Add selected.
    Selecting a contact group
  4. Select the created Telegram dispatch in the list, and click Start sending. Set the messages’ delivery time and click Launch the dispatch.

The messaging campaign will be delivered to the Telegram channel / Telegram group on behalf of the bot at the time you specified.

Sending a message template to a Telegram bot

Messaging in the Telegram chat with a user (direct messages)

In order for the Telegram bot to send messages to a private chat with a user, the user must be subscribed to the bot. A user is considered to have subscribed to the Telegram bot if he initiated communication with the bot by launching it and sharing the phone number.

  1. In your Messaggio dashboard, go to the Dispatches section and click Create — Regular dispatch.
  2. Creating a dispatch

  3. Come up with the title of the dispatch, and select the previously created Telegram message template.
  4. Assign a contact group for dispatch. In the list of contact groups, you will see an automatically created group in the Telegram chats_UsernameBot format (stores the contact details of all users who texted to the bot and shared contacts). Select a contact group and click Add selected.
  5. Selecting a contact group

  6. Select the created Telegram dispatch in the list, and click Start sending. Set the messages’ delivery time and click Launch the dispatch.
  7. Sending a dispatch
    Launch settings

The messaging campaign will be delivered on behalf of the bot to the Telegram chats of all users who subscribed to the bot at the time you specified.

How to improve messaging campaign results: A/B testing

To improve your messaging and SMS promo campaign, do an A/B test and create a campaign that intrigues, engages, and sells best.

How A/B testing works in Messaggio

A/B testing in Messaggio is a tool that helps you to find the best converting template for bulk dispatch.

In your Messaggio dashboard, you can create two message templates (A and B). Еach of them can be multichannel — it means that the message can be redirected to another messenger or SMS. Templates will be sent to users as a special dispatch: part of the selected contact group will receive template A, the other — template B.

Such sending allows you to evaluate which message received the higher conversion. The template of such a message can be used in the future for sending to the entire base of recipients.

A/B testing can help you decide which message templates should be used more actively, and which ones should be abandoned.

To understand what exactly influenced the conversion rate of your dispatch, test only one of the message elements in one campaign.

What you can check with A/B testing:

  • The message header is the first thing recipients pay attention to. The phrase that starts the message is displayed in the preview on the mobile phone screen, so the first lines of the message directly affect the recipient’s behavior.
  • The text of the message is your offer, the most valuable information for the recipient of the dispatch. To find the right words, test several variations of the text.
  • An image is a banner that catches the eye immediately after opening a message. It can complement the text and become a decisive factor for the recipient in shaping the impression and making a decision. Sometimes it’s a good idea to ditch the text in favor of a single informative banner.
  • CTA button is a clickable element in a message that motivates you to take targeted action. Depending on the channel, the message template can contain one or several buttons. Check the conversion not only by changing the name of the buttons but also by changing their number.

How to set up A/B testing of your messaging campaign

To do A/B testing in Messaggio, go to the «Dispatches» section, click «Create — A/B testing dispatch.

To create an A/B testing dispatch
Screenshot 1: A/B testing dispatch

Specify the name of the dispatch and the project.

Dispatch data
Screenshot 2: dispatch data

Select message template A and message template B to test. If you haven’t created templates yet, read about how to do this in the «How to create a message template» section.

Templates for A/B testing
Screenshot 3: templates for A/B testing

In the A/B testing constructor, specify the percentage of recipients that will receive template A. The second part of recipients will be sent template B. Contacts from the list for each of the recipient segments will be randomly selected.

Recipients of template A and template B
Screenshot 4: recipients of template A and template B

Add messaging recipients — select contact groups, and click «Add Selected». You can also exclude contact groups from the messaging list.

Click «Create».

Contact groups for dispatch
Screenshot 5: contact groups for dispatch

Now you have two dispatches with different templates. Launch each one now, or specify the date and time when dispatches should begin. For information on how to do this, see the «How to schedule a dispatch» section.

Ready-made dispatches for A/B testing
Screenshot 6: ready-made dispatches for A/B testing
Start or schedule a dispatch
Screenshot 7: start or schedule a dispatch

After the dispatches are sent, analyze the results of the A/B testing. To do this, go to the «Statistics» section and compare the Open rate and the Click rate of dispatches. Use the solution with the higher scores for future sendings.

Another way you can use Messaggio’s A/B testing feature

If you want to find the best time for messaging, you can also use Messaggio’s A/B testing feature. Сreate two identical message templates and assign a group of contacts for dispatch — the system itself will divide the audience into two parts. Next, schedule your dispatches at different times, for example, send template A in the morning and template B in the evening.

Templates for A/B testing of messaging times
Screenshot 8: templates for A/B testing of messaging times

After the messages are sent, look at the results. The time at which the messaging received the best performance will be optimal for future sendings to your customer base.

Now you know how to do A/B testing in Messaggio and you can easily create a highly converting ad campaign in messengers or SMS.

How fast does the dispatch send

In multichannel messaging, the speed of sending messages to clients (rps) is important. A delay in sending can affect the time of receipt of messages and completely change the reaction of users to your offer or notification. The rps is especially important when you send messages to large groups of contacts.

The average message sending rate through the Messaggio platform is 1500 messages per second and can reach 7000 messages per second. This sending speed allows you to send a message to a large contact base to a mobile operator’s network or messenger in a couple of minutes. Therefore Messaggio is great for bulk urgent notifications.

АAnd if you need to send messages smoothly to help the support team to cope with order requests from customers on time, use smooth dispatch. For more information about the possibilities of sending messages smoothly, go to the section «How to send a dispatch smoothly».

How to add a blacklist to the dispatch

You can exclude recipients from the dispatch: add contact groups to exclude recipients when creating the messaging. To do this, in the «Excluded contacts» section, click «Select contact groups». Then click «Create group». You will be redirected to the «Contact Groups» section. More about how to create contact groups for exclusion, you can find in the section «How to create a blacklist of contacts».

Select excluded contacts

Create group to exclude

If you already have a group of contacts for exclusion from the dispatch, specify it when creating the messaging in the «Excluded contacts» block. Click «Add Selected».

Add selected blacklists

You can add several groups for exclusion in one sending and use them as filters over a group of contacts for dispatch. Read about how to work with groups of contacts for dispatch in the section «How to upload the contact database».

Check the list of selected groups and click «Create».

Create blacklist

Your dispatch will appear in the messaging list with the NEW status. You can start sending it right now or schedule the messaging for a specific date and time. You can also define the time for which messages will be delivered to the recipient base. For more information on scheduling a dispatch, see the sections «How to schedule a dispatch» and «How to make a smooth sending».

How to add contacts to deliver the messages

To send a dispatch to the contact base, you need to create a contact group for messaging. To do this, click «Select contact groups» in the «Recipients» section. Then click «Create group». You will be redirected to the «Contact groups» section. For information on how to upload contacts to a group, see the section «How to upload a contact database».

Select contact groups

Create group for dispatch

If you already have a group of contacts to deliver the messages, select it when creating a dispatch in the “Recipients” section. Click «Add selected».

Add selected

You can add several groups to one dispatch, as well as combine them with blacklists. For information on how to work with contact groups for exclusion, see the section «How to create a blacklist of contacts».

Check the list of selected groups and click «Create».

Create a contact group

Your dispatch will appear in the messaging list with the NEW status. You can start sending it right now or schedule the messaging for a specific date and time. You can also define the time for which messages will be delivered to the recipient base. For more information on scheduling a dispatch, see the sections «How to schedule a dispatch» and «How to make a smooth sending».

 

How to create a multichannel campaign

With the help of multichannel messaging, you will not only send a message to the customer base but deliver it to a channel convenient for the client, which he uses every day and which he trusts. You can send service and advertising traffic first to the messenger and then to SMS or vice versa. This is useful if you are not sure whether all contacts from the database are using the channel you have selected. Messaggio’s flexible settings allow you to route messages by assigning the order of channels in one click. We will tell you how to create a successful high-deliverability dispatch in this guide.

To create a multichannel campaign, you need to prepare a multichannel message template. Our section «How to create a multichannel template» is about it.

When the multichannel template is ready, go to the «Dispatches» section and click «Create».

Specify the name of the dispatch, choose the project, and select a multichannel template for messaging. Turn on message templates for the channels you plan to send to. The order of templates determines the order in which messages are routed. To reorder, drag over message blocks and assemble the sequence you want.

 Create a multichannel dispatch

For more information on how to create a dispatch in each of the channels, see the sections:

How to stop sending

To stop in progress

You can interrupt the messaging in progress at any time. To do this, click «Abort sending» on the widget that will appear after starting the dispatch.

Abort sending

To stop a scheduled dispatch

You can cancel the scheduled dispatch before the launch. To do this, go to the «Dispatches / Scheduled» section and click on the pause icon next to the messaging list.

To click on the pause icon

To resume sending, go to the «All dispatches» section, select the messaging list and set new conditions for dispatch.

Before sending, we recommend you to check all the settings of the contact groups carefully and make a test dispatch, because you will not be able to recall already sent messages.

How to send a dispatch smoothly

Smooth sending will help protect your call center from a large flow of requests at a time. To set up a smooth sending, select a dispatch and click «Start now».

To set up a smooth sending

Then go to the «Launch settings» section, activate smooth sending, and select the period during which messages should be sent.

Smooth sending

By changing the position of the slider, you configure the number of hours it will be sent to all contacts.

How to schedule a dispatch

If you want to send messages from the company at a specific date and hour, set up the time of sending a dispatch. To schedule a messaging, select a dispatch, and click «Start now».

To schedule a dispatch

Then go to the «Launch settings» section, activate a schedule start, and select the date and time when the dispatch should start.

Schedule start

You can always cancel the scheduled dispatch before the launch.