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Adding a New Channel

Walk through the general flow for adding any messaging channel to an Octopods workspace, from modal to first active connection.

Written by Tarek Khalil

Before you start

Make sure you have:

  • A workspace already connected to Intercom or HubSpot. If you don’t, connect one first from the Connected Workspaces page.

  • The credentials or assets required by the channel you want to add. For example: a bot token for Telegram, Account SID and Auth Token for Twilio, admin access to a Facebook Page for Messenger or Instagram, and so on. Each channel article lists its specific prerequisites.

  • Admin access to the Octopods workspace.

Step 1: Open the workspace

  1. Sign in to Octopods.

  2. On the Connected Workspaces page, click the workspace card you want to add a channel to.

  3. You land on the workspace’s channels page. If this is a brand-new workspace, the list is empty.

Step 2: Open the Add a Channel modal

  1. From the channels page, click the option to add a new channel. This opens the Add a Channel modal titled “Connect a new messaging channel to your workspace.”

  2. The modal groups channels into sections so you can find what you need quickly.

The sections are:

  • Popular Channels — the most common ones (WhatsApp, Twilio, Slack, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, LINE, Viber, WeChat).

  • Additional Channels — additional options supported by your workspace type.

  • Legacy Channels — older integrations still supported for existing customers.

Only channels supported by your workspace type (Intercom or HubSpot) are shown. For example, HubSpot workspaces do not display channels that aren’t supported on HubSpot.

Step 3: Pick the channel

  1. Click the tile for the channel you want to connect.

  2. The modal replaces its content with a setup form tailored to that channel.

What you see next depends on the channel — for example:

  • Telegram asks for a bot token.

  • Twilio SMS asks for an Account SID, Auth Token, and a phone number or alphanumeric sender.

  • WhatsApp Cloud API, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram send you through a Facebook Business authorization flow.

  • Slack sends you through a Slack authorization flow and asks you to pick a Slack workspace and channel.

  • LINE asks for a Channel ID and Channel Secret.

  • Viber asks for a bot token.

  • Viber Business Messages (VBM) asks you to submit a setup request; Octopods provisions the channel after review.

  • WeChat asks for AppID, AppSecret, Token, and EncodingAESKey.

See the individual channel articles for step-by-step setup.

Step 4: Fill in credentials or authorize

Follow the channel-specific prompts:

  1. Enter any required fields (tokens, IDs, phone numbers).

  2. If the channel uses a third-party sign-in (Facebook, Slack, HubSpot), click the authorization button. You are taken to the provider’s site, asked to pick the account or page, and then returned to Octopods.

  3. Review any permissions the provider asks for, and approve them.

Note: Some providers (notably Facebook’s Business login for WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger) require admin access to the underlying Page or Business Manager. If you don’t have that access, ask a teammate who does to complete the authorization.

Step 5: Activate the channel

  1. After credentials are accepted, Octopods registers the necessary webhooks with the provider so inbound messages can flow in.

  2. For most channels this happens automatically, and the channel appears in the channel list with a Connected status.

  3. For some channels, you need an extra activation step. HubSpot channels prompt you to select which HubSpot inbox should receive the messages, and to click Activate. VBM channels wait in a pending state until Octopods confirms the activation on the provider side — expect several business days while the request is reviewed.

  4. Send yourself a test message on the channel to confirm both directions work. You should see the message appear in your Intercom or HubSpot inbox, and any reply you send from there should arrive back on the original channel.

What to expect after activation

  • The channel is immediately available for inbound messages, outbound replies, proactive messaging, and broadcasts.

  • Your team can reply to the channel’s conversations from your Intercom or HubSpot inbox with no extra setup.

  • Channel settings — welcome messages, out-of-office replies, signatures, and any channel-specific options — can be configured from the channel’s detail page.

What’s next

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