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Connect a Telegram bot

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A Telegram bot is a separate Telegram account for your salon that you create yourself in a few minutes. Povidomlyaka sends messages on behalf of the bot. The main limit: a bot cannot write to a client first. The client must open the bot and tap Start first.

Bot or personal account

  • A personal or business Telegram account can write to any client who has Telegram. Choose it for appointment reminders. See Connect Telegram (personal).

  • A bot writes only to clients who have already tapped Start in your bot. A bot does not put your personal number at risk and always shows your salon's name and logo.

  • A bot is good for chat replies and for broadcasts to clients who subscribed to the bot. A bot is not suitable for reminders to new clients.

Create a bot in @BotFather

  1. In Telegram, open @BotFather. This is the official Telegram bot for creating bots.

  2. Tap Start and send the command /newbot.

  3. Enter the bot name that clients will see, for example "Kvitka Salon".

  4. Enter a username for the bot in Latin letters. It must end with "bot", for example kvitka_salon_bot.

  5. BotFather sends a message with a token. The token looks like this: 1234567890:AAH... Copy it.

Do not share the token: anyone with the token can control your bot. You can change the bot's photo and description in @BotFather with the commands /setuserpic and /setdescription.

Connect the bot in your account

  1. In your Povidomlyaka account, open Channels.

  2. Click Add a channel + and choose Telegram bot.

  3. Paste the token into the API key field.

  4. Click Connect.

  5. Wait until the channel status turns Online.

How clients find your bot

  • Share the link to your bot: t.me/bot_username, for example t.me/kvitka_salon_bot.

  • Add the link to your website, Instagram or messages to clients, or print a QR code for the reception desk.

  • After a client taps Start, the bot can send them messages.

  • A bot does not see the client's phone number. In the bot channel settings, you can turn on a phone number request: the bot asks the client to share their phone number, so you can match the client to a contact.

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