This just in: Meta announced the launch of Instagram Broadcast Channels. What are they? Who can use them? Where are they available? When can businesses start sending broadcasts on Instagram? We sum up what you can expect from the new feature.
Instagram is getting broadcasting channels! As Meta announced on February 16, the new feature will roll out gradually, and enable creators to send out broadcasting messages to their followers. Read on to find out what the new feature offers, how you can use them, and why Instagram has just gotten more interesting for businesses.
How do Instagram Broadcast Channels work?
Similarly to WhatsApp broadcasting messages, the new Instagram Broadcast Channels allow creators to send one message to multiple users at once. So far, the feature is only open to creators. According to Instagram, it's meant to "help followers stay in-the-know with the latest updates and behind-the-scenes moments using text, photo, video, voice notes and polls."
Followers, that receive the broadcasts, can react to the content and participate in polls. As of now, reactions and poll answers are the only two ways for followers to respond to a broadcast, but Instagram promised that more features are to come soon.
Until now, creators mainly shared news with their followers through stories. The one-to-many broadcast offers a new option to connect with followers more directly, and on a more personal level.
Where are Instagram Broadcast Channels available?
The feature originally launched in March 2023 with a few select creators in the US and some first features. Since then, more countries have seen the channels being launched. Meta is planning the global rollout throughout June.
In Germany, the feature became available in the beginning of June. And in India, Instagram Broadcast Channels launched June 15.
These are some Indian influencers you can follow (the channel links are in the bios)!
- MC Stan (@m___c___stan): Rapper, singer, composer and writer. 1M members on his channel named ‘Aai Zavun Tak Mitra Mandal’.
- Faisal Shaikh (@mr_faisu_07): Content Creator. 351k members on his channel named ‘Faisusquad’.
- Mumbai Indians (@mumbaiindians): professional franchise cricket team based in Mumbai. 311k members on their channel named ‘MI Channel’.
- ICC (@icc): International Cricket Council, the global governing body for cricket. 294k members on their channel named ‘#WTC23 The Ultimate Test’
- Smriti Mandhana (@smriti_mandhana): Indian Cricketer; part of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team. 251k members on her channel named ‘SM18 FamJam’
- Payal Gaming (@payalgamingg): Gaming creator. 180k and 25k for her channels named ‘Payal Fam <3’ and ‘s8ul Fam <3’ respectively.
- Armaan Malik (@armaanmalik): Singer and songwriter. 112k members on his channel named ‘next 2 you’.
- Karan Sonawane (@focusedindian) : Content creator. 33k members on his channel named ‘Focused Mandal’.
- Divija Bhasin (@awkwardgoat3): Content creator. 7.9k members for her channel named ‘Goatnation’.
- Yes, We Exist (@yesweexistindia): an LGBTQIA+ community. 5.5k members for their channel named ‘Yes, We Exist’.
Broadcast Channels now also enable creators to invite collaborators to their channels. Other features, such as asking questions to gather feedback, adding moderators, or setting an expiration date to a channel, are still in development.
Meta also wants to integrate the broadcasting feature into the Facebook Messenger soon. And just a recently, Meta also launched WhatsApp Channels.
How to sign up for a broadcast
Users can find broadcasts in the Discovery section on Instagram. This means: Everybody can find a creator's broadcast and follow it. All followers then receive a first notification to join the broadcast channel. After this, only users that join the channel receive notifications for updates. So, in order to receive a channel's broacast notifications, users have to follow a two-step process:
- Follow a channel.
- Join a channel.
Aside from discovering a broadcast channel, creators can get followers by sharing the channel link in their stories (through a sticker, for example). They can also pin a link to their channel in their bio. After followers join the channel, the broadcasting notifications will show up in their DMs. For now, followers can't respond directly to broadcasting content, but they can send other users a link to follow and join the channel.
Safety features
Meta said that it'll treat broadcast messages differently from private messages. And since broadcasts are publicly discoverable, it won't have the same privacy features as a direct message. However, Meta said that it's planning on adding different tools to verify users' profiles, and that the content will be moderated. In addition, users can choose how often and prominently they want to receive a broadcast notification.
When will businesses get access to Instagram Broadcast Channels?
As of now, Instagram Broadcast Channels are only open to creators. If successful, it's likely that Instagram will open the usage up to more users, including businesses. It'll then most probably be integrated on the Instagram API.
Instagram Broadcasts: New possibilities for businesses
Overall, the new broadcast channels, have just made Instagram more interesting for business communication. Especially, if businesses get to use the feature in the future, it'll open up new possibilities in conversational marketing on Instagram.
Combined with the in-chat payment possibilities on Instagram Direct, Instagram (and possibly Facebook Messenger) will then all offer business the possibility to manage the entire customer journey on one messaging app.
Engage with all your customers in one place.
Meta Verified
In other news, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also announced that he wants to test a new subscription service, "Meta Verified", that'll allow users on Instagram and Facebook to pay for getting verified. The verified subscription will start at 11.99 US dollars per month (14.99 US dollars for iOS users), and will also come with some other perks, such as extra protection against fake accounts and direct access to Meta's customer support.
Zuckerberg's announcement follows a similar move by Twitter CEO Elon Musk who also launched a paid subscription model for the blue check mark on Twitter.
Meta Verified will first roll out in Australia and New Zealand this week, with more countries "coming soon".
Both changes show a significant shift in Meta's business model. As ad revenues have dropped over the last quarter, Meta is now looking for new revenue sources. Given that Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger currently have 2.9 billion users combined globally, it's a smart move to leverage the world's most popular messaging apps for broader business use.
