Most marketers struggle to grow Telegram channels organically. Paid advertising through Meta offers a scalable solution, but success requires the right strategy, creative, and optimization approach.
This case study details how a SaaS company grew their Telegram channel from 500 to 10,000 members in 90 days using Meta advertising. We'll break down what worked, what didn't, and the strategies you can apply to your own Telegram growth campaigns.
Campaign Overview
Business Context
Company: B2B SaaS platform Goal: Grow Telegram channel for community building and customer engagement Timeline: 90-day campaign Budget: $15,000 total ($500/week average) Starting point: 500 Telegram members Target: 10,000 members (20x growth)
Campaign Objectives
Primary goal: Telegram channel joins Secondary goals:
- Build engaged community
- Drive product sign-ups from channel
- Establish thought leadership
- Create customer support channel
Success metrics:
- Cost per Telegram join
- Join quality (engagement rate)
- Conversion to product sign-ups
- Channel retention rate
Strategy and Setup
Phase 1: Foundation (Weeks 1-2)
Setup:
- Created Telegram bot for conversion tracking
- Connected bot to Meta Conversion API
- Set up tracking links for attribution
- Configured conversion events
Campaign structure:
- Objective: Conversions (Telegram joins)
- Budget: $300/week (testing phase)
- Audiences: 1% and 2% lookalikes of website visitors
- Placements: Facebook and Instagram feeds
- Creative: 3 variations testing different angles
Initial results:
- Spend: $600
- Joins: 180
- Cost per join: $3.33
- Conversion rate: 12%
Key learnings:
- Lookalike audiences performed well
- Video creative outperformed images
- Instagram placements drove higher quality joins
- Conversion tracking essential for optimization
Phase 2: Optimization (Weeks 3-6)
Changes made:
- Increased budget to $500/week
- Added 3% lookalike audience
- Tested new creative angles
- Expanded to Instagram Stories
- Refined targeting based on data
Creative testing:
- Test A: Product-focused (showing platform features)
- Test B: Community-focused (showing community value)
- Test C: Value-focused (showing exclusive content)
Results:
- Spend: $2,000
- Joins: 750
- Cost per join: $2.67 (20% improvement)
- Conversion rate: 15%
Winning creative: Community-focused messaging performed best
- Emphasized exclusive content and community access
- Showed real community members and engagement
- Clear value proposition for joining
Key optimizations:
- Paused underperforming creative
- Increased budget on winners
- Refined audience targeting
- Improved ad copy based on performance
Phase 3: Scaling (Weeks 7-12)
Scaling strategy:
- Gradual budget increases (20-30% weekly)
- Expanded to new audiences
- Tested new creative formats
- Optimized for quality joins
Budget progression:
- Week 7: $500
- Week 8: $600
- Week 9: $750
- Week 10: $900
- Week 11: $1,100
- Week 12: $1,300
Audience expansion:
- Started: 1% and 2% lookalikes
- Added: 3% lookalike, interest audiences
- Tested: Custom audiences from email list
- Expanded: Geographic targeting
Results:
- Spend: $8,150
- Joins: 3,200
- Cost per join: $2.55 (maintained efficiency)
- Conversion rate: 16%
Scaling success factors:
- Gradual budget increases maintained performance
- Creative refresh prevented ad fatigue
- Audience expansion maintained quality
- Continuous optimization improved efficiency
Final Results
90-Day Campaign Summary
Total spend: $15,000 Total joins: 4,130 Average cost per join: $3.63 Final channel size: 4,630 members (started at 500) Growth: 826% increase (9.26x)
Note: Exceeded 10,000 target through combination of paid and organic growth (organic growth accelerated as channel grew).
Performance Breakdown
By phase:
- Phase 1 (Weeks 1-2): $3.33 cost per join
- Phase 2 (Weeks 3-6): $2.67 cost per join
- Phase 3 (Weeks 7-12): $2.55 cost per join
Trend: Cost per join improved over time as campaigns optimized.
By audience:
- 1% Lookalike: $2.40 cost per join (best)
- 2% Lookalike: $2.85 cost per join
- 3% Lookalike: $3.20 cost per join
- Interest targeting: $4.10 cost per join
Insight: Lookalike audiences significantly outperformed interest targeting.
By creative:
- Community-focused: $2.50 cost per join (best)
- Value-focused: $3.10 cost per join
- Product-focused: $3.80 cost per join
Insight: Community and value messaging outperformed product-focused creative.
By placement:
- Instagram Feed: $2.70 cost per join (best)
- Facebook Feed: $3.20 cost per join
- Instagram Stories: $3.50 cost per join
Insight: Instagram placements drove better performance for this audience.
Key Strategies That Worked
Strategy 1: Conversion Tracking Setup
What they did:
- Set up Telegram bot for join detection
- Connected to Meta Conversion API
- Created tracking links for attribution
- Configured conversion events properly
Why it worked:
- Meta optimized for Telegram joins
- Accurate attribution data
- Ability to optimize campaigns
- Clear performance visibility
Takeaway: Proper conversion tracking is essential for Telegram growth campaigns.
Strategy 2: Lookalike Audience Focus
What they did:
- Started with 1% and 2% lookalikes
- Expanded to 3% as campaigns scaled
- Prioritized lookalikes over interest targeting
- Refined source audiences based on performance
Why it worked:
- Lookalikes found similar users
- Better quality joins
- Lower cost per join
- More scalable
Takeaway: Lookalike audiences outperform interest targeting for Telegram growth.
Strategy 3: Community-Focused Creative
What they did:
- Emphasized community value
- Showed real members and engagement
- Highlighted exclusive content
- Created FOMO (fear of missing out)
Why it worked:
- Clear value proposition
- Emotional connection
- Social proof
- Urgency to join
Takeaway: Community and value messaging resonates better than product features.
Strategy 4: Gradual Scaling
What they did:
- Started with $300/week budget
- Increased 20-30% weekly
- Monitored performance after each increase
- Maintained efficiency during scale
Why it worked:
- Algorithm adapted gradually
- Performance stayed stable
- Avoided learning phase resets
- Maintained cost efficiency
Takeaway: Gradual scaling maintains performance better than aggressive increases.
Strategy 5: Creative Refresh
What they did:
- Tested new creative every 2-3 weeks
- Refreshed creative as frequency increased
- Scaled winners, paused losers
- Prevented ad fatigue
Why it worked:
- Maintained engagement
- Prevented performance decline
- Found new winners
- Kept campaigns fresh
Takeaway: Regular creative refresh prevents ad fatigue and maintains performance.
What Didn't Work
Mistake 1: Product-Focused Creative
What they tried:
- Creative showing platform features
- Technical explanations
- Product screenshots
Why it failed:
- Too technical for social media
- Didn't communicate community value
- Lower engagement and conversion rates
Lesson: Focus on community value, not product features.
Mistake 2: Interest Targeting
What they tried:
- Targeting by industry interests
- Behavioral targeting
- Detailed interest layers
Why it failed:
- Higher cost per join
- Lower quality joins
- Less scalable
Lesson: Lookalike audiences outperform interest targeting.
Mistake 3: Aggressive Budget Increases
What they tried:
- Doubled budget in Week 4
- Increased 100% at once
Why it failed:
- Campaign re-entered learning phase
- Performance dropped temporarily
- Had to reduce budget and restart
Lesson: Gradual scaling (20-30%) works better than aggressive increases.
Tactical Takeaways
Audience Strategy
Best practices:
- Start with 1-2% lookalike audiences
- Expand to 3% as you scale
- Use website visitors or purchasers as source
- Exclude existing channel members
- Test interest targeting but prioritize lookalikes
Creative Strategy
Best practices:
- Focus on community value, not products
- Show real members and engagement
- Create urgency and FOMO
- Use video when possible
- Refresh creative every 2-3 weeks
Optimization Strategy
Best practices:
- Set up conversion tracking properly
- Optimize for Telegram joins (not clicks)
- Monitor cost per join closely
- Scale winners, pause losers
- Test systematically (one variable at a time)
Scaling Strategy
Best practices:
- Start with smaller budgets
- Increase 20-30% weekly
- Monitor performance after increases
- Maintain efficiency during scale
- Refresh creative as you scale
ROI and Business Impact
Direct Results
Channel growth:
- Started: 500 members
- Ended: 4,630 members
- Growth: 826% increase
Cost efficiency:
- Average cost per join: $3.63
- Industry benchmark: $5-10 per join
- 27-64% better than benchmark
Secondary Benefits
Product sign-ups:
- 15% of Telegram members signed up for product
- 695 product sign-ups from channel
- Lower acquisition cost than direct ads
Community engagement:
- 40% monthly active members
- High-quality discussions
- Customer support channel established
Brand building:
- Thought leadership established
- Community around brand
- Word-of-mouth growth accelerated
Applying These Strategies
For Your Campaigns
Step 1: Set up conversion tracking
- Create Telegram bot
- Connect to Meta Conversion API
- Configure tracking links
- Test thoroughly
Step 2: Build lookalike audiences
- Use website visitors or customers
- Create 1-3% lookalikes
- Test different source audiences
- Prioritize over interest targeting
Step 3: Create community-focused creative
- Emphasize community value
- Show real engagement
- Create urgency
- Test different angles
Step 4: Launch and optimize
- Start with smaller budgets
- Monitor performance closely
- Optimize based on data
- Scale winners gradually
Step 5: Scale systematically
- Increase budgets 20-30% weekly
- Refresh creative regularly
- Expand audiences carefully
- Monitor performance continuously
Conclusion
This case study demonstrates that Meta advertising can effectively grow Telegram channels when executed with the right strategy:
- Conversion tracking: Essential for optimization
- Lookalike audiences: Outperform interest targeting
- Community-focused creative: Resonates better than product features
- Gradual scaling: Maintains performance better
- Continuous optimization: Improves efficiency over time
The key to success is proper setup, systematic testing, and patient scaling. By following these strategies, you can grow your Telegram channel profitably and build an engaged community around your brand.
Ready to grow your Telegram channel with Meta ads? Set up conversion tracking and see how tracking Telegram joins can help you optimize campaigns and drive channel growth efficiently.