• by Colin Kirkland , June 15, 2023

On Thursday, Meta announced the global expansion of Instagram's broadcasting messaging service with the intent to further connect creators with their followers and fans. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement via his own broadcast channel.

Broadcast channels were introduced this past February as a “casual, quick way” to keep creators' followers in the know, like more interactive public-service announcements.

“Creators can use text, photo, video and voice notes to share updates and behind-the-scenes moments and even create polls to crowdsource fan feedback,” according to Meta.

Until now, the feature has only been available to select creators and users.

With the expansion of broadcast channels, Meta says global availability will bring new and upcoming features that creators can utilize for further fan engagement. Meta is currently testing question prompts for follower feedback and responses, as well as a dedicated channels tab in users' inboxes to make it easier to access joined channels or discover new ones.

Instagram is also exploring new creator controls aiming to make it easier for creators to promote their broadcast channels, including the ability to set a channel expiration date and time, add a moderator, and share a link or preview to Stories.

In May, Meta rolled out a “Collaborators” tool to broadcast channels, allowing select U.S. channel hosts to invite outside participants to join their chat channel as official guests and more seamlessly conduct expert interviews and Q&As. Shortly after, the social giant launched the Channels feature on its encrypted messaging app, WhatsApp.