Instagram Broadcast Channels: The Complete Guide

How many of your Instagram Stories have gone unseen? Or how many of your Feed posts get buried amongst the other million posts?

Now imagine having a megaphone to cut through the noise and reach your target audience directly. 

This is what Instagram Broadcast Channels help with. 

Instagram Broadcast Channel is a feature that brings your most important audience closer to you. It shows your message directly in the inbox tab of the app. 

You don’t have to hail the algorithm gods in the hopes of getting your posts and announcements seen. Instead, you can connect to your audience directly, eventually increasing your sales, brand value, and audience trust.

What are Instagram Broadcast Channels? 

Instagram Broadcast Channels are a one-way direct messaging channel between creators and channel members, where the creator can send multimedia messages like texts, videos, and voice notes. It shows up in the Instagram inbox, making it easier for the creators to engage with the followers. 

While only the creator can send the messages, the followers can respond with emojis and participate in Q&As.

That might sound like Instagram Stories, but there’s a huge difference between the two. Broadcast Channels show up as direct messages, bypassing the dependence on the algorithm. On the other hand, Instagram Stories are available for only 24 hours and the views are highly dependent on the Instagram algorithm.

Why is an Instagram Broadcast Channel important? 

Here are some important reasons why you should be using an Instagram Broadcast Channel:

1. No need to rely on the algorithm 

An Instagram broadcast channel gives you guaranteed visibility (as long as the channel follower doesn’t mute you). The Broadcast Channel is the same as any other Direct Message on Instagram—the app notifies the user about the messages.

The benefit goes beyond visibility. If a follower engages with your Broadcast Channel, it signals the algorithm about their interest in your brand. This could result in more visibility of your Feed posts and Stories, too.

2. Increase engagement with your followers

Broadcast Channels are an opt-in feature, meaning not all your followers have to join it. That means, only followers who are the most interested in your brand would join your channel. 

You get direct access to your most primed audience. Use this opportunity to engage with them as you have higher chances of getting a response.

3. Gauge audience sentiment 

You can use your channel to understand how your audience feels about a particular idea, product, or content, even before you start working on it. For example, if you want direct feedback on the latest product launch, you can rely on your channel followers for an honest response.

4. Create an exclusive community

While the channel is a one-way communication, you stay on top of your audience’s mind and bring like-minded people together.

Make sure you post exclusive content and sneak peeks to make your followers feel rewarded.

How to create your Broadcast Channel

Here are two requirements for creating a Broadcast channel:

1. You need to have a Creator account to make a Broadcast Channel. So, if you have a business account, you’ll have to change the account type before creating the channel. 

2. You need to have a minimum of 10,000 followers. (If you’re not there yet, learn how to increase your followers here.)

If you meet these criteria, this is how you can create a Broadcast Channel:

Go to your messages tab on the Instagram app and tap on the icon with a paper and pen in the top right corner.

You’ll see the option “Create Broadcast Channel”. 

Next, set the channel name and select your audience type. And you’re all set to send your first message. Once you create the channel, your followers will receive an automatic notification invite. 

Types of content to post on your broadcast channel

1. Q&As 

Just like Q&As on Stories, Broadcast Channels feature stickers like questions and answers. This not only incentivizes the channel followers to keep up with you but also allows you to be more vulnerable with your close audience. 

For instance, if you’re a fashion influencer, you can host styling advice-focused Q&As and give personalized styling tips to your followers. 

2. Share resources 

Broadcast Channels don’t restrict you with a word limit or a content type. You can post longer texts, links, images, and every other content type.

Because of this, you can share your thoughts freely. If you have an informative-first channel, you can share industry tips and resources. It could be via a video or a blog link. This will position you as an expert in your niche, increasing the audience’s trust in your brand.

For example, a business coach can share exclusive guides, articles, or tools to help their followers improve their entrepreneurial skills.

3. Share videos

The best part about broadcast channels is you can be more informal than Stories or Feedposts. Since the channel is a tight-knit community of your fans, you can record a quick video over typing a text to build a deeper connection. In fact, video content is more engaging and allows you to convey your personality.

4. Share voice notes

If you’re camera shy or don’t prefer to create videos, you can leverage voice messages. The idea is to move beyond written text so your Instagram audience can associate you with a voice or a face, making the connection more personal. 

For example, if you have a personal story to share, your voice will convey the emotions and personality better than a text message. For example, a wellness coach can send daily motivational messages or mindfulness exercises to their followers via voice notes on their Broadcast Channel.

5. Do market research and gather feedback

Market research is always difficult – from finding the right target audience to making sure they respond genuinely. 

Instagram Broadcast Channels give you direct access to the right audience interested in your brand. If you ask a brand or product question, you can trust these members to respond taking their time.

You can create polls, leave a question sticker, or ask the members to respond with an emoji on a message.

6. Hype up upcoming product launches 

As broadcast members are usually your biggest fans, you can give sneak peeks of upcoming content and products to create excitement. However, announcement-like posts shouldn’t be the only content you upload.

Upload this type of content along with other engaging content to avoid having your Broadcast Channel muted by the audience.

7. Share behind the scenes 

As mentioned earlier, Broadcast Channels are more laid-back because of the type of followers joining the channel. You can record a quick video of the inventory or even share the ups and downs of the business. It makes the followers feel more connected to your brand as you humanize your brand. 

8. Link to other content 

If you have a blog, YouTube channel, email newsletter, or any other content outside of the social media platform, the Broadcast Channel can help you drive traffic to it. 

You can give broadcast members early access to external content, making them feel exclusive, while also driving traffic.

9. Collaborate with other creators

You can collaborate with up to five creators at once on Broadcast Channels. So, if you’re a brand, you can invite an influencer to host a Q&A. Or, if you’re a content creator or media personality, you can collaborate with your peers to gain more traction. They’ll have a similar audience which will be the exact people you need to put your content in front of.

For example, this is how a tour organizer company adds its sister pages on the Broadcast Channel:

10. Post sponsored content and ads 

In your content strategy, you need to create a balance between educational, personal, and promotional content. If you have a launch coming up or an affiliate link, don’t shy away from posting it, provided it’s relevant to the audience. Here’s how an astronomy channel shares an affiliate product useful for its audience:

Tips and tricks to make your broadcast channel successful

1. Use Stories to invite followers to join

While Instagram sends a notification to your followers when you create a new Broadcast channel – it’s not enough. Some followers could miss the notification, while some might not be sure about the content quality.

Once you start posting on your channel, share snippets on Stories with the invite link to join the channel. 

2. Add your broadcast channel link to your Instagram bio

Instagram gives you the option of adding the Broadcast channel link to your Instagram bio. Adding the link doesn’t change your other CTAs, the Broadcast Channel gets added to the rest of the content. This will help new followers to get to know about your channel and join.

3. Create a subscriber-only VIP Channel

With Instagram subscriptions, you can offer an exclusive Broadcast Channel to your paid subscribers. That way, you get to earn additional income. Think of it similar to Patreon or any other subscription-based service.

However, this might not work for brands selling products. But if you’re an individual creator, you can give an upfront incentive like a free consultation for paid members so more people subscribe. 

For example, if you’re a stylist, you can offer 15 minutes of free consultation for the first 20 members. 

4. Make sure you leave a CTA with every message

As Instagram Broadcast channels are one-way communication channels, you need to take the responsibility of getting your followers involved. Otherwise, it’ll reduce to a message blast channel, not giving you the engagement benefits. 

So, leave questions as a CTA and ask for reactions at the end of your broadcast messages. Do polls and Q&As regularly to make your audience feel engaged and involved.

5. Create multiple channels for different reasons

You can create different channels with the same Instagram account. Leverage this feature to segregate important topics. An excellent example is the sustainable clothing brand, Tala. The brand has two broadcast channels – one for stock updates and another for new launches. 

That works for the brand Tala as those two topics are what interests its audience the most. The brand makes it interesting by giving early access passwords and discounts as broadcast messages. 

Boost your engagement with Instagram Broadcast Channels

Once you create your Instagram Broadcast Channel, make sure you include ways to measure the impact of it. You can do it by creating UTM links, special promo codes, and even a survey down the line. This will help you understand if spending time on the Channel is beneficial for you or not. 

You can also include a moderator to manage members of your broadcast channel if it’s a success.

Make the Broadcast Channel a part of your entire Instagram marketing and social media marketing strategy.