Creating communication channels for your Bitcoin community

Create and configure a Telegram channel, group or supergroup

How to Create a Bitcoin Community

Create and configure a Telegram channel, group or supergroup

Create a Telegram channel
Create a Telegram group
Create a Telegram supergroup

Before creating your community's communication space on Telegram, it's important to know the difference between:

a Telegram channel;
a Telegram group;
a Telegram supergroup.

It is strongly recommended to start with a Telegram Group. If needed, you can later convert it to a Supergroup.

For the tutorials below, we originally used the "Telegram+" APK, which allows for more advanced configuration. However, you don't necessarily need it, as the official Telegram app is enough for creating and managing groups, even through your phone:

Create a Telegram channel

If you want to create a place where your members can talk to each other directly, respond to each other, etc., then you might want to create a Telegram group, and not a Telegram channel!

Go directly to the next section, entitled Create a Telegram group.

Indeed, a Telegram channel is more like a one-way broadcast tool for admins. Members cannot freely chat, they can only react with emojis (or leave comments in separate threads, which fragments conversations).

Because communities need interaction and collaboration, a Telegram channel is not recommended if your goal is to build relationships and share knowledge.

Tutorial for creating a Telegram channel:

Create a Telegram group

On the other hand, a Telegram Group is ideal for communities: Just like messaging applications such as Messenger or WhatsApp, members can chat and reply to each other in a single shared conversation.

What You Can Do as an Admin:

Post and pin important messages.
Create polls (useful for deciding meet-up dates when your community is new).
create custom invitation link (Only if the group is "public" and not "private", which is defined in the settings. It's also handy to have your own Telegram invitation link, such as: t.me/Bitcoin[CITY]);
Manage member permissions, roles, and moderation.
Add a profile picture (your community logo) and update the group's name.

Tutorial for creating a Telegram group:

Note: This tutorial was made using Telegram+, but you can do everything directly from the standard Telegram mobile app.

Create a Telegram supergroup

Why a Supergroup? As your Telegram group grows into hundreds of members, conversations can become chaotic. This often leads to members missing important announcements, like the date of the next meet-up.

Several solutions are available:

Pin important messages so all members receive a notification (press once with your finger on the message in question, then select "Pin");
Consider using Discord for multiple communication channels, each of which users can mute if needed.
Convert your Telegram group into a Supergroup.

What is a Telegram supergroup?

A Supergroup is essentially a Telegram group with topics (sub-channels) inside it.

Example topics:

"Important Information": only key updates and event announcements.
"General": for all member discussions.
Specific Topics: e.g., mining, project development, upcoming conferences.

Tip: Adapt your topics to your community's needs. Example: Abidjan Bitcoin Meet-up successfully uses this format.

Keep in mind that Telegram supergroups can be a bit tricky for some members to use. For example, not everyone knows how to access the different topics (they just need to tap the group logo in the main Telegram menu to see the full list of topics). Sending a quick screenshot can help clear up any confusion.

There's no strict rule for when to switch from a regular Telegram group to a supergroup, it really depends on your members' needs. The good news is, you can easily switch back and forth: simply create a topic to convert to a supergroup or delete all topics except "General" to return to a regular group.

Tutorial for creating a Telegram supergroup:

Quick note: as mentioned earlier, the tutorial above was made on a computer using the "Telegram+" APK. Today, however, creating a Telegram supergroup on your phone is simple.

Just create a Telegram group, go to its settings, and tap the "Topics" button to add topics. Once saved, you'll see a list of topics that you can edit as you like.

So, there's no need to download "Telegram+" anymore, unless you want access to more advanced privacy settings for your supergroup.