Telegram has become a dominant channel for many domestic businesses. Russians increasingly turn to Telegram to reach companies directly. According to the Calltouch platform, the volume of user inquiries via Telegram grew dramatically in 2023, rising by 197% across Russia and 265% in Moscow. Socialbites.ca reviewed the study results to understand this shift.
Meanwhile, the share of Russians receiving real estate information through Messenger surged by 374% in December of the previous year. Online store visits rose by 118%, and interest in medical services climbed 88%.
There are also voices against registering for certain services. In the past year, applications to car companies dropped by 87%. Political and news channels gained traction since early 2022, with Russia’s major media outlets cited among the most quoted sources. Beyond federal channels, Russians show strong interest in regional news and topics tied to specific cities, regions, or housing complexes.
Analysts note that omnichannel strategies have been embraced by many big brands. It is now common practice to offer customers convenient contact options: calls, emails, and social networks. Telegram remains a trusted channel for many brands, enabling them to reach a broad and active audience. At the end of 2023, Calltouch reported that 65% of Russians use Telegram, 19.5% favor WhatsApp as the second choice, nearly 10% use Google Messenger, and about 5.5% rely on other services, according to Calltouch’s commercial director Arthur Sargsyan.
About 23% of respondents identified the main Telegram audience as highly active individuals who respond to useful, unique content. In terms of formats, users favored groups for discussions (22%), information cards, surveys (17%), and voice notes in podcast form (15%). This highlights a preference for original, engaging content over polished but generic posts. Real-life photos and longer voice narratives resonate more with Telegram users than heavily edited images or lengthy textual essays on various topics.
Telegram is viewed as a more private messaging platform compared to others. Consequently, 21% of participants expect posts to offer meaningful and personal themes. Visual complexity and ornate design are less important than substantive content. Among younger viewers, there are groups focused on marketplace discounts (18%), promo codes and sweepstakes (15%), computer games and anime content (12%), and free music (11%). Middle-aged Telegram users, typically aged 30–50, mainly subscribe to news channels and join professional, topic-specific communities.
In March 2023, Telegram’s daily Russian audience surpassed 50 million, a figure that surpasses the Russian segment of YouTube. The platform quickly emerged as a key channel for customer engagement: brands establish official channels and chats to enable rapid conversations with users. Many companies deploy chatbots for 24/7 support, and this is another major advantage of the messenger. On Telegram, bots operate in a natural way, allowing customers to complete simple tasks or obtain information without leaving the app.
There were initial discussions in the State Duma about Telegram’s challenges, highlighting the reasons behind the platform’s perceived regulatory and operational hurdles.