Business

Telegram as a business: how millionaire channel owners make money

ANALYSIS FROM

After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Telegram became almost the main source of information for Ukrainians. The main source of income for Telegram channels is advertising, but it is not known exactly how much their owners earn. The real income of the channels cannot be determined because they are not subject to official registration. However, it is possible to estimate approximate amounts. The main way to make money on Telegram channels is by selling advertising. The more subscribers a channel has, the more expensive its advertising becomes.

Telegram channels, black PR, and fabulous money for advertising posts

Ukrainian entrepreneur and founder of the Textile-Contact group of companies Oleksandr Sokolovskyi shared his experience of fighting black PR and negative advertising about him through Telegram channels at the panel discussion “Telegram Wars in Ukraine: How to Survive Cyberbullying and Save Your Company. Business Stories and the State’s Position” organized by Komersant ukrainskyi.

Sokolovsky says that black PR does not operate according to the rules, as the owners of some Telegram channels make money from advertising publications aimed at discrediting companies or individuals. Sokolovskyi gave an example from his own practice when his company became the target of attacks for participating in tenders for the supply of personal protective equipment at the height of the pandemic.

“In 2020, when we supplied coveralls at a much lower price than our competitors, the Ministry of Health canceled our tender due to the lack of kickbacks. Then they made a purchase twice as expensive, and even the Chinese equipment probably did not reach Ukraine. In response, I published a post, after which a black PR attack began against me through advertising posts on telegram channels,” Sokolovsky says.

According to the entrepreneur, in such cases, media attacks can be quite expensive.

“Companies engaged in black PR have budgets of up to 40-50 thousand dollars a month. Businesses simply cannot afford such costs for countermeasures,” he added.

Business raiding and blackmail through telegram channels

It is not uncommon for entrepreneurs with successful businesses to receive an offer to stop negative publications about their company for a fee via the Telegram channel. In such cases, there are two ways to go. If you act within the law, you have to report cases of information racketeering to the cyber police or solve the “problem” on your own.

Sokolovskyi confirms that such information pressure is indeed often used to force entrepreneurs to pay for the removal of “negative publications” or “blocking” mentions of a particular type of business in news reports.

“I have often experienced that when you write about some trouble, the problems of our company or my friends, there is a huge organic coverage, people help. An attack, on the other hand, has nothing behind it and appears unexpectedly. We understand that it is a paid-for attack because the company has not actually violated anything,” Sokolovsky says.

He cited an example when his company worked with Ukrzaliznytsia and fake information about the inflated cost of goods appeared. As a result, the company was subjected to a stream of negative media coverage. Sokolovskyi emphasized that such attacks are not uncommon in today’s business environment, where even individual law enforcement officers can act.

Another story concerns the situation with the Main Prosecutor’s Office in Kyiv region.

“We filed a complaint against the arrest of our company. And it turned out that in a few weeks the case was closed because there was no crime. But at the same time, we faced a new wave of attacks through telegram channels,” Sokolovsky said.

Obviously, he states, the problem with manipulations in Telegram channels is systemic and requires attention from the state.

What are the main threats posed by Telegram?

During the discussion “Telegram Wars in Ukraine: How to Survive Cyberbullying and Save Your Company. Business Stories and the State’s Position” organized by Kommersant Ukrainian, Detector Media journalist Yulia Lavryshyn raised important issues regarding the security and impact of Telegram channels on the media space during the war. Lavryshyn spoke about the convenience of this platform, but also pointed out the significant threats it poses.

“Telegram is undoubtedly very convenient, and I objectively recognize this. But it is the anonymity of the platform that is becoming one of the biggest problems. Anonymity makes it easy to manipulate public opinion and facilitate information attacks,” she said.

As a media relations expert, she noted that although not all Telegram channels have a negative reputation, it is important to distinguish between anonymous channels that often resort to manipulation to make more money.

“We’re not saying that all Telegram channels are bad, but we urge people to be careful with anonymous channels. It’s not just a matter of trust, it’s a matter of security,” emphasized Lavryshyn.

She also discussed the risks for business associated with advertising attacks carried out by Telegram channels.

“During the war, these channels can not only harm business but also be used for political manipulation. For example, a fake channel that is attacking businesses or officials today may receive funding from Russian special services and launch a campaign against our candidates in the elections,” the journalist warns.

Lavryshyn emphasized that the authorities, in particular, are not always aware of potential threats when they cooperate with anonymous Telegram channels.

“There are cases when high-ranking officials give interviews to anonymous channels, which can lead to serious problems. If these channels support the authorities now, tomorrow they may become a tool for attack,” the journalist said.

When did Telegram start gaining popularity?

In Ukraine, the growth of Telegram’s popularity has been recorded by experts since the ban on Russian social networks.

“Since 2017, when Russian social networks were blocked, Telegram has become one of the main channels for receiving news. In times of war, it proved to be very convenient for receiving up-to-the-minute information. However, this popularity should not obscure security issues,” explained Lavryshyn.

She also shared her personal experience with media attacks. In particular, she recalled a case when a campaign was organized against the Detector Media publication using anonymous Telegram channels that accused journalists of using paid Russian services.

“It was a planned attack. No one checked the facts, and it shows once again how easy it is to manipulate through anonymous channels,” she said.

In addition to media attacks on large businesses and individual officials or opinion leaders, the issue of tax payments by Telegram channel owners remains unresolved. Most channels that make money from advertising do not pay a penny to the state budget.

“Normal media outlets have editorial offices, and you can always contact their managers. With Telegram channels, everything is much more complicated,” summarized Lavryshyn.

How much does advertising on Telegram cost?

First of all, the price of advertising on Telegram largely depends on the channel’s reach – the number of subscribers who can see the ad.

According to the Telegator ad placement system, the most expensive advertising is on channels with a million followers. In particular, one advertisement on the main channel “Trukha Ukraine” (over 2.5 million subscribers) in 2023 cost from 93 thousand UAH, and in the regional channels of “Trukha” the cost ranged from 1500 to 14000 UAH. Accordingly, the cheapest advertising is on channels with 10 thousand subscribers and a reach of 1.5-4 thousand. On such channels as “Watermelon INFO”, “Irpin Life”, “Sumy Region”, advertising will cost about 400 UAH.

Another important factor that affects the price of advertising on Telegram is the level of user engagement, or ERR. This indicator reflects how many of the subscribers actively interact with the channel’s content. The higher the ERR, the more users actively respond to posts, which makes the ad more effective. For example, the Ukrainians in Poland channel, with an ERR of 41.6%, has an ad cost of 1,300 UAH, while the World of the Carpathians with an ERR of 21.1% has a price of 1,000 UAH. The price of advertising can also vary depending on the subject matter of the channel. For example, channels specializing in popular topics such as politics, business, or cryptocurrencies often have higher costs because they attract advertisers from a wide range of industries.

The largest Telegram channels in Ukraine are

• Труха⚡️Україна, which has an audience of 2,660,804 million. Topics: Ukrainian news, politics.
• Mykolaiv Vanyok. Audience: 2,638,760. Topics: shelling, politics, news.
• Times of Ukraine with an audience of 2 million subscribers. Topics: news, politics
• Lachen writes. Audience: 1,528,100. Topics: politics, news.
• Ukraine Now. Audience: 1,287,290. Topic: news, war.
• Real War | Ukraine News. Audience: 1 377 098. Topic: news of Ukraine and Russia.
• Insider UA. Audience: 1 413 024. Topic: news, politics.
• Real Kyiv | Ukraine. Audience: 1 357 258. Topic: news of Kyiv and Ukraine.
• All Seeing Eye 🇺🇦 Ukraine. Audience: 1 144 800. Topics: news, politics.
• Ukraine Online. Audience: 1,110,713. Topic: political news.

The most active channels are those covering political events and military news. Most of them still maintain a mixed language content, although posts in Ukrainian are more frequent, indicating a trend towards national identity.

Telegram channels have become an important tool for communication during the war, but they can also pose serious threats to society. Advertising on Telegram channels can bring huge profits to their owners, but at the same time, it creates new opportunities for manipulating public opinion and even for conducting media attacks.

As platforms like Telegram are often outside of legal control, the fight against manipulation is becoming increasingly difficult.

Author – Daryna Glushchenko