Telegram Links for Business: t.me Formats, Pre-Filled Messages, Bot Deep Links and QR Codes
· 7 min
Telegram links for business: username and phone links, pre-filled messages, bot start links, invite links, QR codes, and how to track where each lead came from.
A Telegram link is a t.me/... address that opens a specific chat, bot, group or channel in the Telegram app. For a business the point is simple: a customer who taps your link writes to you first. You never message a stranger, so you avoid the spam reports that get accounts limited.
Every format below is defined in Telegram's official links documentation. This guide covers what each one opens, where to put it, and how to tell which link a lead came from.
Link types at a glance
| Link type | Format | What opens | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Username | t.me/username | Chat with an account, bot, group or channel | Website, Instagram bio, email signature |
| Phone number | t.me/+15551234567 | Chat with the account on that number | Accounts without a username |
| Pre-filled message | t.me/username?text=... | Chat with the message box already filled | Product pages, ads, campaigns |
| Bot start | t.me/botname?start=code | The bot with a Start button | Source tracking, automated greeting |
| Add bot to group | t.me/botname?startgroup=code | A group picker | Getting your bot installed in customer groups |
| Invite | t.me/+hash | Join screen for a private group or channel | Communities, closed channels, campaign groups |
| Business chat link | t.me/m/slug | Chat with a server-stored draft message | When you want a click counter |
Username links
The simplest and most durable option is t.me/username. Set the username under Settings → Username. The same format works for bots, public groups and public channels. According to the docs, username.t.me resolves to the same place.
Add ?profile and the link opens the profile page instead of the chat, which is useful if your profile shows opening hours and an address.
Phone number links
No username? Link to the number instead: t.me/+15551234567, with the country code and no spaces. Telegram resolves the number to the account and opens the chat.
Pre-filled message links
Username and phone links accept a text parameter. The chat opens with the message already typed, and the customer only has to press send:
t.me/yourshop?text=Hi%2C%20I%27d%20like%20a%20quote%20for%20the%20blue%20jacketA few things to know:
- The text must be URL-encoded: a space becomes
%20, and punctuation and non-Latin letters are encoded too. Any URL encoder will do it. - Nothing is sent automatically. The customer can edit or delete the draft.
- Keep it short and put something identifiable in it, such as the product name or a campaign code. When the message arrives, you know which page it came from.
Bot deep links: start and startgroup
If you run a bot, t.me/botname?start=code shows the customer a Start button. When they press it, your bot receives the message /start code. The docs limit the parameter to 64 characters, using only letters, digits, _ and -.
This is the cleanest way to track a source, because the customer never sees or edits the payload:
t.me/botname?start=instagramt.me/botname?start=window_qrt.me/botname?start=nov_promo
Your bot's code reads the payload and stores it, and can send a different greeting for each source. Handling the payload is your bot's job. Telegram only delivers it.
t.me/botname?startgroup=code works differently: instead of opening a chat with the bot, it asks the user to pick a group to add the bot to. Use it when customers install your bot in their own groups. If you are new to bots, start with our BotFather guide.
Group and channel invite links
Public groups and channels are shared by username link. Private ones need an invite link: t.me/+hash (older links look like t.me/joinchat/hash).
Admins are not limited to one link. Per the invite links documentation, each additional link can have:
- A name, visible only to admins, such as "Instagram" or "Trade show".
- An expiry date, after which the link stops working.
- A member limit, so the link closes after a set number of uses.
- Join requests, where people who tap the link wait for an admin to approve them.
Telegram counts joins separately for each link. Create one named link per channel and you can see which source brings members without any extra tooling. If a link leaks, revoke it and issue a new one.
Telegram Business chat links
Accounts with Telegram Business can create links of the form t.me/m/slug under Settings → Telegram Business → Links to Chat. They differ from a ?text= link in three ways: the draft message is stored on Telegram's servers rather than in the URL (so the link stays short and you can edit the text later), the draft can carry formatting such as bold and italic, and each link shows how many times it was opened. According to the Business API docs, creating these links requires the Business subscription included with Premium. Customers who tap them need nothing. The rest of the feature set is covered in our Telegram Business guide.
QR codes: taking links offline
Any link above can be turned into a QR code by pasting it into a QR generator. The Telegram app also gives you a ready-made code for your own profile (the QR icon on the Settings screen).
Places where a QR code earns its space: product packaging and parcel inserts, the shop window and the counter, a trade show stand, business cards, printed menus and flyers.
Where to place your links
- Website: header, contact page, and a pre-filled link on each product page that names the product.
- Instagram bio: with one link slot, use the username link or a Business chat link.
- Email signature: the short username link. Long encoded links look messy in a signature.
- Ads: a different start payload or pre-filled text for each ad set.
- Channel posts: a "Message us" link in the button under the post.
Which link did the lead come from? Tracking it in a CRM
Telegram does not tell a personal account which link opened a chat. There are four practical ways to know anyway:
- Different pre-filled text per channel. The first message tells you the source.
- A different number per channel. One account goes in ads, another on the website.
- Bot start payloads. Your bot records the source.
- Named invite links and Business chat links. Telegram keeps the counters.
MyCRM does not detect the source automatically. Your team records it, and the panel makes that quick. The shared inbox shows which connected number each chat arrived on and can be filtered by number, so method 2 works out of the box. You can add colored labels to chats ("Instagram", "Window QR"), define a select-type custom field called "Source" in Settings, and then filter the inbox and the sales pipeline by label.
FAQ
Do I need Telegram Premium to create links? No. Username, phone, pre-filled, bot and invite links are free. Only t.me/m/... Business chat links require Premium to create.
Does a pre-filled link send the message automatically? No. The text is only placed in the message box. Nothing reaches you until the customer presses send.
Why does my phone number link not open? Most likely the account only lets contacts find it by number. Change the privacy setting, or set a username and share that instead.
What happens to my links if I change my username? Old t.me/oldname links stop pointing to you. If you have printed QR codes or running ads, account for them before changing it.
Related: Telegram Business features · Building a sales pipeline in Telegram · Inline buttons and BotFather