Whether you’re communicating with people to work on a school project or raiding a high-level dungeon with your gaming guildmates, having a reliable way to keep in touch can spell the difference between success and failure. While there are countless group communication apps available online, some are simply better than others. This is why you should consider your options carefully or you’ll miss out a few big benefits.
How do you tell if a particular group communication app is a good choice? The answer lies in its versatility. Only the best apps offer as much features as possible while still being streamlined enough that you avoid the pointless clutter. If you’re already on the search for your a group communication app, you should look for the following essential features.
- Multiple Communication Options
Instant messaging is a standard feature in any group communication app, but the real good ones offer other options to help group members stay in touch. Ideally, you should look for an app with the following options:
- Message Boards – People can’t always be available for instant chat, but having a message board that have announcements or reminders can help bring offline people up to speed once they log in.
- Chat Rooms – Messaging one person at a time isn’t optimal for coordinating with a larger group of people. Having one or more chat rooms for tackling different things that the group talks about allows members to interact with multiple contacts simultaneously.
- Group Calls – Just like chat rooms, group calls are great for situations where coordinating a group through text simply isn’t fast enough. Group calls are the perfect solution to this problem.
- Poll – Polls are great for quickly getting the feedback of team members as a whole, allowing group leaders to get everyone’s opinion with ease, or to make changes and implement new rules with fewer issues.
- Multiple Alias Feature
Some groups such as fan communities or gaming clans don’t really require a lot of info about the members. Using your real name for these groups could put your identity at risk. If you want to get a good communication app, you should check if an app allows you to use an alias when participating in a group.
If you’re the type that uses a group communication app for more than one kind of group, having to set your alias every time you switch groups can be a hassle. This is also why you should look for a group communication app that lets you have pre-set aliases for each group to keep things convenient.
- Privacy and Group Management Features
Many groups tend to have multiple levels of authority to make sure people are always on the same page during activities. In most cases, those in a higher positions have access to information that regular members do not. If you’re a manager of an online community, a group communication app that allows you to set privacy levels for different groups makes it possible for you to create a smaller group that is exclusive to your group’s officers. Here, you can safely discuss important matters without revealing information to other members.
A good communication app should also allow you to change a member’s status quickly and easily. Group admins and co-admins should be able to invite, block, or promote members depending on the amount of authority they have over the group.
- Support for Multiple Devices
Every now and then, you may want to check how things are in your group even if you’re away from a computer. Most of the time, a single smartphone is more than enough to give you instant access to your group, but what if you need a bigger viewing area to check on messages or if your smartphone ran out of batteries?
The best answer would be to have a backup device, and a good communication app will allow you to use that backup device efficiently. Having cross-platform support allows you to use the app and your account in more than one device. This gives a good communication app excellent versatility. The more devices are supported by an app, the better it is.
Choosing a group community app may look difficult especially when you see the sheer number of options available to you, but sticking to the essentials should help you narrow down your search and bring you closer to the best app for your needs.
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