‘Broadcast channels’ have been rolled out across the UK this month after Instagram’s initial launch of the feature in June.
What are broadcast channels?
Instagram broadcast channels are a way for creators to directly engage with their followers in real-time. The feature provides a group chat-like environment that allows creators to send messages, voice notes, polls, pictures, and videos to their audience.
Followers can only react to messages and participate in polls but Instagram says there are more features coming soon…
How do I use a broadcast channel?
As a brand, broadcast channels could be a great tool. Particularly if influencer marketing is part of your strategy.
Creators in the UK now have an outlet to form deeper connections with their communities – and brands should be leveraging this.
You could give your influencer’s audience exclusive access to a new product you’re launching, or a discount code that’s only for members of their broadcast channel.
It’s likely that costs for paid partnerships in these broadcast channels will be quite high given you’ll be placing your brand’s name directly into someone’s DMs!
How do I create a broadcast channel?
Your account must be in ‘creator mode’ to be able to start your own broadcast channel – this is a simple switch if you currently have a professional profile. Go to Menu > Settings & Privacy > Professional Tools & Controls > Change account type > Creator.
Now you’re ready to start your broadcast channel! Slide into your DMs and click on the icon to start a new message, then click ‘Create a broadcast channel’. From there, you will be able to choose your channel’s name, audience, end date (optional), and choose whether or not you want the channel to appear in your bio.
Examples of broadcast channels
Creators definitely didn’t sleep on this one – thousands of broadcast channels are already up and running and creators are sharing private voice notes and messages with their followers and developing deeper connections than ever before.
Entrepreneur, Steven Bartlet, hopped on the trend immediately (no surprise there!), his channel is called ‘Diary of a CEO Exclusive Club’. He’s been using the new feature to play games with his audience and give them the chance to win free tickets to his live podcast recordings if they ‘guess the emoji’.
Mark Zuckerburg has also got his own broadcast channel for all the social media gurus and Meta fans out there. He claims to share all new Meta updates with his broadcast channel members before sharing anywhere else!
What’s next?
With the recent introduction of Threads and now broadcast channels, Meta is clearly responding to user’s changing wants and needs and offering new and exciting ways to interact with the platform.
We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the broadcast channels feature, so be sure to watch this space for our next blog with everything you’ll need to know! In the meantime, check out our blog on Twitter vs Threads.
Or get in touch to discuss your influencer marketing and social strategy!