Creators 
CHANNEL
Open a direct line to your closest audience
Start a channel to engage with your fans and build a community around your creativity on Instagram.
FIND OUT MORE
Everything to know about channels
Use channels as a quick, casual way to connect directly with your followers.
Share authentic content and behind-the-scenes moments through versatile formats like text, video and voice - you can even invite another creator to chat live in your channel!
Engage your fans through polls and question prompts to crowdsource feedback or ideas.
Build community by connecting your engaged fans in a shared real-time space.
CHANNEL TIPS
Getting started with channels
Share voice notes
Say “good morning” or sing a tune; voice notes are an easy way to add a personal touch
Share your channel
Once you create a channel, share to your stories and pin to your profile to make it easy for all your followers to join.
Personalize your channel
Give your channel a descriptive title, add a welcome message, and set your intention for the channel.
Collaborate with others
Collaborators can message and moderate, but they can’t modify any channel settings.
Use interactive features
Connect in real time through interactive features like polls, replies and prompts.
Direct line to different audiences
You can create more than one channel to talk to different groups within your follower audience or cover new topics. Use insights to see what content resonates with your different audiences.
How to get started with channels
Start a channel
Start a channel from your Instagram inbox or from the create button on your profile. Your followers will receive a one-time notification to join the channel. Only followers who join will receive subsequent notifications for new updates. You can also encourage followers to join by using the “join channel” sticker in Stories or by pinning the channel link to your profile.
Join a channel
Access the link to the channel via a creator’s Story sticker or the link pinned to their profile.
- Tap “Join channel.”
- After joining the channel, it will appear in the Instagram inbox next to your other message threads.
- Followers can react to content and vote in polls, but cannot send messages. They can also share a link to a channel so friends can follow and join.
- Find all your channels (and discover new ones) in your inbox under the channels tab.
Offer a channel to subscribers
- Use channels to reach your audience in multiple ways. Creators with Subscriptions can also start a channel limited to paid subscribers to share exclusive content.
- Learn more about subscriptions here.
NEW FEATURES
More ways to connect
Creators and their fans exchange over 1.5 billion messages on channels every month. Now there are even more ways to interact, co-create and collab.
Hear directly from your fans
With replies, you can hear from your fans and have a back-and-forth conversation with them on your channel.
Replies give your fans a way to respond to your messages and one another. But don’t worry– replies are nested within your original message, which keeps conversations organized.
Just like comments, you can delete or report any reply so you continue to maintain control over your channel.
Pro tip: Replies can be viewed by tapping the arrow icon below a message in the channel.
How to turn on replies:
- Tap your channel name at the top of your channel
- Select “Channel controls”
- Enable “Allow members to reply to messages”
When your fans reply, you’ll see them in your direct messages.
Kickstart a conversation with prompts
Use prompts to get the conversation rolling in your channel! Choose from suggested topics or create a custom one that fits your channel’s vibe.
Fans can respond to the prompt with text or photos for up to 24 hours, and like their favorite responses.
Pro tips:
- Keep tabs on the more popular responses to continue creating an engaging environment for yourself and your fans!
- Stay consistent! Prompts are a great way to keep your channel collaborative and engaging.
Get inspired
Here are some prompts you can try to spark a conversation:
- What are you grateful for today?
- Any new fashion trends you’re liking? Drop a fit!
- Current vibe? Emojis only edition.
How to create a prompt:
- Go to your channel
- Tap +
- Select “Prompt”
Learn what's resonating with insights
We’ve rolled out new metrics to help you track how your content performs. You can now access data like total number of interactions, story shares, poll votes and more.
How to access insights:
- Tap your channel name at the top of your channel
- Select "Channel performance"
- To view detailed insights, tap "See all"
Take action with best practices
If you’re trying to improve your channel, let us help with personalized guidance and best practices. Set a goal for your channel and receive recommended actions to take each week.
Choose from these goals:
- Increase engagement: Tips for sending unique, real-time content to create an authentic experience for members.
- Drive participation: How to use interactive features to get feedback from members beyond reactions.
- Maximize growth: Ways to share your channel content more broadly to reach new audiences and encourage others to join.
How to access best practices and insights:
- Tap your channel name at the top of your channel
- Select "Channel performance"
- Set a channel goal or view best practices
Bring more fun to the chat
When words aren’t enough, connect with stickers. Now available are 300+ new stickers to share, or you can create your own custom stickers with cutouts.
Pro tip: You can favorite your go-to stickers and share them in your channel to express yourself quicker.
And when you create and share a custom sticker using cutouts, your channel members can favorite it and share it with their friends on Instagram.
CREATOR SPOTLIGHT
@karenxcheng
Karen created her “Creator Chat” Channel to share in-depth tips and updates for aspiring part-time, or full-time creators.
Questions?
How do I create a channel?
How do I join a channel
What if I have more questions about privacy and safety in Instagram channels?
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