This summer, we launched closed testing of a new ad space — Telegram channels. During this period, over 2,000 advertisers conducted ad campaigns in Telegram using Yandex Direct, and the number of active Telegram channels connected to YAN exceeded 1,400 with more than 2 million active subscribers.

Now, the first performance advertising ever available in Telegram channels is open to all Yandex Direct advertisers. To try it out for yourself, simply select Telegram Ads β as the placement when creating Text & Image ads in expert mode.

New features after closed beta

During the first stage of testing, we gathered advertiser feedback and implemented the features people requested most often.

Excluding specific channels

You can now exclude specific Telegram channels where you don’t want to show your ads. This helps avoid impressions in places you don’t want your brand associated with, but it also reduces coverage. Keep this in mind if you decide to exclude any channels.

You can add channels to the blacklist in campaign editing mode after launch.

Managing Telegram channel geography

You can also specify which regions you want to display ad posts in. Regions are determined based on channel content. Channels aren’t usually linked to a specific location and are included in targeting throughout Russia. This means selecting specific regions will exclude most channels and can significantly reduce the number of impressions. We recommend choosing targeting throughout Russia unless it’s absolutely critical that impressions are in certain regions. Unnecessary regions can be added to the exclusions.

Excluding Telegram channel topics from targeting

Choosing topics helps you find the optimal channels to show your ads in. If necessary, you can opt out of topics where you prefer not to place your ads. As with geography, choosing specific topics significantly narrows the number of ad channels. As a result, your ad may not be shown at all or may only be shown very rarely. The list of topics is available in the interface when setting up a campaign at the group level or in Help.

Option to format text

When creating ad copy, you can now divide the text into paragraphs, add a list, and even format it. For example, you can highlight headings in bold, and underline or italicize important fragments. This way, you can draw users’ attention to certain places in the text. You can check out how the ad will appear using the preview feature.

Automatic deletion of posts after 48 hours

Ads in Telegram are most effective in the first few hours after posting. To ensure that ads don’t disrupt the user journey, that clicks are targeted, and that content is always relevant, we started deleting ad posts automatically after 48 hours.

Read more about new advertising opportunities in our Telegram channels and in Help.