Channels on Whatsapp, 5 ways to make the most of them

THE channels of WhatsApp, the latest news of the world’s most used chat, are a communication tool that allows companies and users to send messages to a large number of people at the same time. It is a service based on sending messages in the so-called mode broadcast – that is, from one to many, therefore different from groups where there is a dialogue between members – which can be used to send notifications, information and content to a large group of recipients.

In addition to companieseven ordinary users can use WhatsApp channels to communicate with a large number of people at the same time, for example for events planning or share information with friends and family. They are similar to what happens on Telegram, which owes a good chunk of its popularity to the channels, and so far the closest functionality was that of broadcast lists (where, however, administrators add contacts). A channel can be visited to then choose whether to join or not and the history will remain available for 30 days. Admins will also be able to block screenshots and forwards from their channel.

The contents (text, images, videos, stickers and other contents but also polls) will be visible in a new section called «Updates», in a separate space from the conversations with your contacts: it will be found, when the function is also available in Italy (for now, starting with Singapore and Colombia), in the lower menu of the application for Android and iPhone, next to the icon that gives access to the Community section.

here are the five ways through which to use the channels more effectively.

Group communication

WhatsApp channels can be used to communicate with a large number of people at once, for example to update on major events. In any case, don’t worry about privacy: if you are an administrator of a channel, your phone number and profile picture will not be shown to followers. Likewise, if you follow a channel your phone number will not be shown to the admin or other followers.

Content sharing

WhatsApp channels allow you to share content with a large number of people at the same time, such as videos, images or promotional messages. This under all points of interest: journalistic, parodic, comic, informative, popular and of course commercial.

Sending notifications

WhatsApp channels allow you to send notifications to a large number of people at the same time, for example to inform them of an emergency, the latest news or – in the case of companies – to launch a special promotion. It is no coincidence that WhatsApp focuses heavily on employment by local authorities, law enforcement agencies or institutions.

Automation

WhatsApp channels can be integrated with automation tools to simplify and optimize communication with a large number of people and on perhaps trivial or boring actions, for example using chatbots to answer recipients’ questions automatically.

Networking

WhatsApp channels can be used to create and maintain a network of contacts, for example to connect with people who share the same interests or perhaps with very large professional communities where communication is predominantly top-down.