Image: TONL
Being a part of a group is not always an easy task. You know how it goes. You all try to find a place to meet up and then suddenly, that place is too far for some of the members while others may all of sudden become sick (ahem, we won’t judge). In all seriousness, communication amongst members can be the hardest thing for groups to accomplish and, sometimes, can unfortunately cause a group to split up.
Luckily, you can avoid that devastating fate by enlisting the help of social media apps. Social media apps are a great tool for establishing a steady flow of communication between members. These apps allow groups to stay in touch over their computer, phone, or tablet without the hassle of finding a meeting place.
In the vast world of social media, it can be hard deciding on one specific app to fit your group’s needs. Nevertheless, the right social media app is out there to serve your group and its purpose! Here’s a list of some of the best apps that can help make communicating, decision making, and planning easier for your group.
1. Google Docs
If you’ve ever written a research paper, joint memo, or any type of shared writing assignment, chances are you’ve used Google Docs. Google Docs lets you share and export documents with others and gives you the ability to decide what those people can do to your document (either edit or view). You can effectively work on a writing assignment with actually having to meet! As an added bonus, Google Docs automatically saves your work, so you don’t have to worry about you or your group mates accidentally deleting any important info.
2. Slack
This collaboration tool is essential for writers and working professionals alike. Slack is designed to enhance workflow and communication with its chat room feature that allows you to create as many groups as you want with the option of making them invitation-only. More than just easy communication via your phone, computer, or tablet, Slack allows you to attach and send spreadsheets, pdf files, word documents, and more to the other members of your group (and you can receive attachments as well!). You can even jump on a voice call over Slack or share your computer screen with group members.
3. Facebook Messenger
You may think Facebook is just a place for writing on people’s timelines and posting cat videos, but it’s way more than that. Facebook’s Messenger app allows people to communicate privately and even attach videos and photos to a message. In Messenger, you can create groups just like in Slack, but you also have the option to do group video chats. Not to mention, you can do all of this from the comfort of your phone and get all of your group discussions done with ease.
4. WhatsApp
WhatsApp is another great tool for communicating with your group and is especially beneficial to rather large groups. In fact, the WhatsApp group chat lets you chat with up to 256 people at once (we’re not kidding!). Nevertheless, WhatsApp also allows you assign an unlimited number of admins in your group (so if you want to make 256 people admins, go right ahead).You can also change group subjects, your group icon, mute group notifications, or leave a group (ouch).
5.GroupMe
Similar to WhatsApp, GroupMe is another app that lets you create groups, make and change group icons, mute group notifications, and leave a group. You can invite whomever you want into your group and chat in a designated group room. You and your members can also change your photos and usernames, but note, you can only have one admin (unlike WhatsApp). GroupMe also allows you to send documents, photos, gifs, videos, links, and more and you can also tag people in a message. With the word “group” in its name, this social media app is great for keeping your group engaged.
