It was 2016 and our crowfunding campaign had just ended when, together with the incorporation of PostPickr, we proudly announced that we were the first social media tool in the world to have integrated Telegram. The recent update of Telegram is about 8 New Super Publishing Features!
It was a fairly risky choice, since at the time Telegram was still a little known app, particularly in Italy. But over time it also proved to be a far-sighted choice, immediately attracting the interest and curiosity of many professionals and users of this new communication channel.
In the following 4 years we have introduced some improvement updates, but we admit that we have not done what we would have liked, favoring the development of features for the social networks most used by our community.
Today we finally remedy this gap, so, dear Telegrammers, make yourself comfortable and get ready to discover one of the richest and most complete updates ever introduced, which will make PostPickr the best assistant to manage your communication on Telegram!
Publication in Groups
The first important news is that from today you can program and publish through PostPickr even in Telegram Groups and Super Groups of which you are an administrator!
The first step is to connect the Group to PostPickr following the same procedure used for the Channels: just create a bot on Telegram using @BotFather (or use one already created previously), take the authentication token and then make the Bot administrator of the Group you intend to connect.
From the PostPickr channel connection window, then click on the Telegram icon and then on the “Connect Telegram Group” button:
On the next screen, enter the authorization token and the public link of the Group in the appropriate fields and finally, click on the “Add” button:
The Telegram Group badge will be added to the other channels already connected to the Project and you can thus complete the connection procedure.
In this regard, another small but useful novelty is the automatic association of the Channel / Group cover image with the icon displayed in PostPickr (instead of the generic Telegram icon, as was the case in the past).
The Telegram Group badge will be added to the other channels already connected to the Project and you can thus complete the connection procedure.
In this regard, another small but useful novelty is the automatic association of the Channel / Group cover image with the icon displayed in PostPickr (instead of the generic Telegram icon, as was the case in the past).
Multi-photo publication in Album format
Finally it will be possible to publish multi-photo posts also on Telegram and attach up to a maximum of 9 images per post.
Once published, the images will be shown in the typical mosaic format:
New Advanced Options
Let’s now move on to the heart of the release, which includes the introduction of 6 new Advanced Options, as well as the improvement of the existing ones:
Audio and Video Upload
For files in .mp3 format it is now possible to set the name of the author and the title of the audio:
Remember that:
- the functionality has no effect for voice messages in .ogg format
- any images or videos attached to audio posts will be ignored and will not be published
As for videos, in addition to the recently introduced ability to customize the preview image, we have extended the maximum file size that you can upload with PostPickr to 50 MB, aligning it with the new API limits made available by Telegram. This function is available in Telegram Update Publishing Features.
File Upload
The first of the new features introduced in the Advanced Options will allow you to attach any type of file to your content, up to a maximum size of 50MB:
You can then share pdfs, text documents, spreadsheets, graphic files, vector files and any other format in your channels and groups.
Link/Call to Action Button
Telegram Update Publishing Features
Alternatively – or in addition – to the classic hypertext links, you can now attach to posts a Button with a Call to Action that refers to an external link on the web or to any Telegram content (in this case the destination content will be opened directly in the ‘Telegram app). This function comes with Telegram Update Publishing Features.
Enter the text that will be displayed in the button and the related destination link in the appropriate fields of the Advanced Options:
Once the post is published, the Button will be displayed with this aspect (with slight differences between the desktop and mobile versions):
Reactions
Telegram Update Publishing Features
If you know or have already used the Telegram @Like bot, you already know what we are talking about. From today also with PostPickr you can add Reactions to posts and thus measure the interest generated by your content.
To enable the functionality, click on the checkbox “Add Reactions to the post” and then, choose one of the 3 available sets:
Here is an example of how Reactions will show once posted:
Quizzes and Polls
Telegram Update Publishing Features
This release could not miss the possibility of creating and programming Surveys and Quizzes directly from the PostPickr editor, another useful tool for stimulating interactivity with your subscribers.
The creation procedure is similar to that available natively in the Telegram application: after opening the Quiz and Surveys section, activate the “Enter a Quiz or Survey” check-box and then choose one of the two modes:
Click on the “Add other answers” link to view other fields and add up to a maximum of 10 options.
For Surveys, you can enable multiple answers by activating the relevant check-box. While for Quizzes you will have to select which of the answers is the correct one. Optionally, enter the comment that Telegram will show in case of correct answer:
Pin the Messages Above
Telegram Update Publishing Features
The ability to pin posts at the top of the chat had actually been available in PostPickr for some time. Although we took the opportunity to improve it further. In fact, now you can activate this setting in the programming phase. So it makes sure that the messages fix automatically at the top immediately after their publication.
To activate the function, simply check the item “Pin the message at the top after publication” in the relevant section of the Advanced Options:
Forward Messages
Telegram Update Publishing Features
The ability to automatically forward the programmed message to another channel or Telegram group. Although among those connected to the current Project. This function comes with Telegram Update Publishing Features.
The available destination channels will displays in the relevant section of the Advanced Options. To set automatic forwarding, simply select them (exactly as in the Post Editor):
Additional information
We conclude this long roundup with some useful information to make the most of the new features. This features are available in Telegram Update Publishing Features.
1) Only one of the following types of media files can attaches to posts:
- single photos / gallery
- video
- audio
- generic files
2) Attachments uploaded through the advanced options have priority over those uploaded through the Post Editor. It’s for photos and videos which will be ignored during publication.
3) If multiple features / options combine in the same post, they publish and displayed in the following order:
- Media attachment (photo, video, audio or file)
- Message text
- Link standard
- Reactions
- Button with link
- Quiz / Survey
EasySocialPost offers a full suite of tools to help you manage every aspect of your social presence.
From a single dashboard you can easily:
- Plan, create, and schedule posts to every network
- Track relevant keywords, topics, and accounts
- Stay on top of engagement with a universal inbox
- Get easy-to-understand performance reports and improve your strategy as needed