Slack transforms the way that organisations communicate by bringing people together to work as one unified team. In this guide, we’re breaking down the key features of Slack and how we will be using it with all of our clients as the main contact channel alongside our calls.
To fully utilise Slack and make the most out of your experience, we have put together some essential tips to help you get started with the platform and ensure that no questions are left unanswered:
If you need to find a previous conversation, simply use the search bar located at the top of your Slack account. By searching for a specific keyword or phrase, you can easily access the relevant conversations and select the appropriate thread.
Please ensure all messages are responded to within threads not individual messages within the main channel. To do this, simply select ‘reply to thread’ when responding. This helps to ensure that all responses to that subject are within one thread.
Kindly make sure to respond to all messages within the appropriate thread and not as individual messages in the main channel. You can easily achieve this by selecting the “reply to thread” option when responding. This approach helps to keep all responses related to a specific topic in one consolidated thread. To ensure that everyone receives notifications, it is crucial to use the @name feature when mentioning all clients and Absolute staff in messages. Each message should specifically mention the relevant individuals, even if it’s within the same thread.
Configure notifications to ensure that emails are sent to all members within the channel, which helps to prevent any missed mentions.
To discover more helpful tips and tricks, please keep reading.
From the sidebar, you can access your conversations in Slack. You’ll see a list of channels that you’ve joined and your direct messages, notifications for specific conversations and the option to compose new messages.
You can use the compose button to write and send a message to any conversation. Messages automatically save as drafts in the Drafts section of your sidebar until you’re ready to send them.
In Slack, work comes together in dedicated spaces called channels. Channels bring the right people and information together for any project, topic or team. Unlike email, discussions in channels are focused around specific topics, so you can join and leave them as needed.
Notifications in Slack are different from email or other tools that you may be used to – they’re designed to make it clear where you’re needed by showing you a badge if a teammate ‘mentions’ you. When there’s new activity, conversation names appear bold in the sidebar.
Direct messages (DMs) allow for focused, one-off conversations that don’t require an entire channel to weigh in. Use DMs for ad-hoc messages or tasks, such as asking your manager a question or coordinating a call with a teammate.
Channels are fundamental to working in Slack – they bring the right people and information together in one place, and make it possible to organise work around a common purpose.
From the channel header, you can access details about the channel that you’re in. Click on the channel name to see details such as the channel topic and description, plus any added files. Use the other tabs to see who’s in the channel and view other conversation settings.
Channels provide a dedicated space to write messages and add files. With everything related to a particular topic, project or team in channels, you can scroll up to see the conversation history any time you open or join one.
Emoji reactions are a quick way to respond to any message in Slack. They’re both fun and helpful for getting work done – a simple reaction can often replace the need for a follow-up message.
When working in Slack, you have a variety of messaging options available from the message field to help you communicate and connect with your team.
Add files to your messages to share important information alongside your team’s discussions.
Use mentions to get the attention of specific people in a conversation, whether you need to ask for feedback or follow up on action items.
Format your messages to add a little clarity or pizzazz – bold the most important items, break out thoughts with bullet points and more.
Use the navigation icons to go back and forth in your history (just like you would in a web browser) or view recent conversations, search for information or get help with Slack.
The history icons provide quick access to recently viewed items. Use the left and right arrows to go backwards and forwards in your history, or click on the clock icon for a list of your recent channels, DMs, search results, threads and more.
Search your team’s conversation history in Slack to find the relevant messages, files, channels and people that you need to get work done.
Click on the question mark icon to the right of the search bar to access help and learning resources, or visit the Slack Help Centre from your browser.
Tip:
Press Cmd K (Mac) or Ctrl K (Windows/Linux) and type the name of any channel or person to quickly jump to a conversation.
It can be difficult to stay up to date and reach the right people when your email inbox is a jumble of conversations and reply-all threads.
In Slack, conversations happen in channels and direct messages (DMs). Channels are spaces where you can work with your co-workers on specific topics. DMs work well for one-off conversations that don’t require an entire channel to weigh in. At Absolute Digital Media, we recommend ensuring all communications are in the main channel so that anyone involved in the campaign can be aware of the work being completed.
Conversations in channels are transparent and accessible to people in your company. If you want to stay up to date with a specific team, you can find and join their channel and scroll up to see past messages.
Say that you have a question about a project. Send a message to the dedicated project channel to get an answer from the right people.
On Desktop:
On Mobile:
To keep the channel organised, we recommend using threads for each topic that is being discussed.
Threads help you to create organised discussions around specific messages. They let you discuss a topic in more detail without adding clutter to a channel.
Desktop
Mobile
You’ll be notified of new replies to a thread if you started the thread, replied to it or were mentioned.
Desktop
Mobile
Desktop
From your Threads view, you can do the following:
Mobile
From the Home tab, tap at the top of your screen to see all the conversations that you’re following. Threads with unread replies will appear at the top of the list. From your Threads view, you can do the following:
Finding the right information is key to working smarter and faster, and being more productive. In Slack, you can quickly find messages, files, channels and people, all in one search.
Top Tip
Search for a topic in the search field, then add search modifiers to narrow your results.
Access messages & files you use most
You can save messages and files that you often reference so that they’re easy to access. Let’s say that a teammate shares a report that you’ll need to revisit often as part of an upcoming project. Instead of repeatedly searching for the file, you can save it and access it quickly from the Saved items section in your sidebar.
Notifications in Slack are designed to keep you informed, whether you’re at your desk or on the go. Read on to learn more about Slack notifications on your desktop and mobile devices and how they work.
You’ll receive desktop notifications when you’re using Slack on your computer. When you’re away from your desk, you’ll receive notifications by email or from your Slack mobile app. Here’s when you’ll receive desktop and mobile notifications by default:
These defaults apply to both desktop and mobile notifications, unless you configure your preferences.
Desktop Notifications
Whether you’ve downloaded the Slack app for your desktop or use Slack in a browser, you’ll receive banner, sidebar and badge notifications to let you know about unread activity in Slack.
Banner Notifications
Banner notifications alert you to new activity in Slack, including who sent a message and in which conversation. From your preferences, you can choose a sound for banner notifications and whether to include a preview of messages.
Sidebar Notifications
When there’s unread activity in a conversation, the conversation name will appear in bold in your sidebar. You’ll also see a numbered badge if someone mentions you. When you open the conversation, the mention will be highlighted in the message so that you can easily see what needs your attention.
Badge Notifications
You’ll receive badge notifications on the Slack icon when you have unread activity. The appearance and placement of these notifications varies by operating system:
Mac
By default, any unread activity will display a red badge on the Slack icon.
Windows
On Windows, you’ll see badge notifications in two places: in your taskbar and in your notifications area.
Taskbar
In your taskbar, a red badge means someone sent you a direct message, mentioned you or used one of your keywords. If your taskbar is set to small taskbar buttons, badges on the Slack icon will not be visible.
Notifications Area
When Slack is running, you’ll see a Slack icon in your notifications area.
A blue badge means that you have unread activity in one of your workspaces.
A red badge means a teammate has sent you a direct message, mentioned you or used one of your keywords.
Linux
On Linux, you’ll see badge notifications in your notifications area when the Slack app is running.
A blue badge means that you have unread activity in one of your workspaces.
A red badge means a teammate has sent you a direct message, mentioned you or used one of your keywords.
Email Notifications
By default, you’ll receive email notifications when you join a Slack workspace and haven’t enabled mobile notifications. When you’re not active in Slack, you can receive email notifications to alert you of mentions, DMs and replies to threads you’re following. These notifications are bundled and sent once every 15 minutes or once per hour, depending on your preferences.
Adjust Your Notification
By default, only direct messages (DMs), mentions and keywords will trigger notifications in Slack. You can change your preference to either be notified about all new messages sent in conversations that you’re part of, or nothing at all.
Desktop
iOS
To receive mobile notifications, download the Slack app to your mobile device and sign in to your workspace. Then, follow these steps to configure your notification triggers:
Android
To receive mobile notifications, download the Slack app to your mobile device and sign in to your workspace. Then, follow these steps to configure your notification triggers:
Set Up Keyword Notifications
You can set keywords to trigger notifications about topics that are important to you. Whenever someone uses one of your keywords in a channel that you’ve joined, you’ll receive a notification and see the keyword highlighted in yellow.
Desktop
iOS
Android
Set A Notification Schedule
If you only want to receive notifications during certain hours or on certain days, you can set a notification schedule. Outside the days and hours that you set for your schedule, your notifications will be paused.
Adjust sound and appearance
You can choose whether or not to display message previews in banner notifications and select the notification sound that alerts you to:
Service Description & Account Manager Details
Within your dedicated Slack channel, you can find further information about your campaign, including services, and the relevant Account Manager for each department within the description of your channel.
