This month, we’ve turned our attention towards creative businesses and have chosen an app that has proved popular with creative types (according to our recent Apple in business survey). Our app of the month for this month is Slack, an app that is compatible with iOS and Mac, making it a great choice for businesses using multiple devices.
What is it?
A chat tool and alternate method of communication for teams within businesses to use instead of email. You can use Slack for realtime messaging, file sharing, and supporting one-to-one and group conversations.
How does it work?
Slack is essentially like a fancy Facebook Messenger, but you can pass it off as work. Once you’ve downloaded the app, created a Slack account and signed into it you’ll be greeted by Slack's cheerful and smart opening window. From this window, you can access and set up your Channels (group conversations), Direct Messages and Private Groups (for when you’re feeling secretive). Channels can be accessed by all of your team, so you can set them up for all of your projects, and use them to gain visibility and keep tabs on your work.
Slack can be integrated with many of your other popular apps including Dropbox, Asana, Google+, Twitter and Google Drive. Unfortunately for us, Slack doesn’t integrate with our most popular day to day apps like Salesforce and Traffic, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t still enjoy using it and find it useful.
Who is it for?
Slack is for any business looking for an alternative method of communication and file sharing which is compatible across devices. We like using Slack within our copywriter team for brain storming and being able to keep visibility over shared projects.
What’s the best feature?
The cross-platform ability is great (Slack syncs between the iPad app, desktop app and browser version, so you're never away from your projects), but the best feature has to be the joyfully whimsical Slackbot. You can use Slackbot as your own personal support, so if you need to query something or don't understand a feature (which is rare – it's a very simple app to use) you can put your questions to Slackbot. To use Slackbot, all you need to do is go into the Slackbot Direct Meesage and start typing "/" to see the list of Slackbot commands. You can use Slackbot to set up reminders for yourself, send feedback to Slack, invite members to join your Channels and change your preferences.
How much is it and where can I get it?
You can get Slack for free on the App Store (for both iOS and Mac). It’s free to download, create an account and use – there’s no hidden costs.
Want to know more about making the most of iPad in business? Give our team a call on 03332 409 306 or email B2B@Jigsaw24.com. To find out more about app development and our b7 scheme visit here. For all the latest news and tips, follow @WeAreJigsaw24 on Twitter or ‘Like’ us on Facebook.