Instagram opens Channels to all creators: How to make the most of it

Instagram just rolled out Channels to all users. All Instagram creators can now create a broadcast channel to share messages with their followers.

These one-to-many communications can include text, photos, video, voice notes, and polls. Followers can also react to content and participate in polls, with more features coming soon.

Instagram says that Channels has already increased engagement for many creators.

How To Use Instagram Channels

Channels is exactly the kind of fan communication tool that creators have been demanding, and the many musicians who are already growing large fan bases on Instagram will benefit.

It’s the perfect vehicle for both behind-the-scenes content and time-sensitive announcements – like ticket drops and new releases.

You can find instructions on how to create a Channel here, and the first time the creator sends a message, all of their followers will receive a notification inviting them to join the channel.

Creators can also invite people to join by:

• Sharing an invite link to the channel. Note: “The invite link to your broadcast channel can’t be turned off. However, you can reset it to generate a new link at any time.”
• Adding the channel to stories. “As the creator and admin of a broadcast channel, you can share your channel to a story. Learn more about what admins of broadcast channels can do on Instagram.”
• Sharing a message from the channel to a story by tapping and holding a message in the channel, then tapping Share to story. People that can view the story can tap the image of the message to find and join the broadcast channel.

Meta also launched the Channels feature on WhatsApp earlier this month.

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.