Group Chats
One of the standout features of Movement is the ability for your community to interact within your app in Group Chats.
Group chats are a great way to foster communication and engagement within your community. This article will run you through how to set up the two different types of group chats in your Movement app, and the use cases for each.
Setting up a Private Group Chat
You can set up private group chats from the Messages section in the Movement admin, or the Messages section when logged into an app. This feature lets you search and multi-select users to create a group chat with.
Navigate to Messages
In the Movement admin, go to Engage > Messages. A messages window will be displayed. Alternatively, if you’re logged into the app itself click on “Messages” (accessible from the Main Navigation bar by default).
Select Members
Click on the "Search to start a chat" input field to view a list of your app's members. You can use the search box to find specific members or scroll through the list. Select the members you want to include in the chat by clicking the checkbox next to their names. Selecting a single user will open a 1:1 message.
Start your conversation
Once you've chosen the members, click the black "Chat with x Members" button (where x represents the number of selected members). Send the first message to create the group chat.
Notifications
Members added to the chat will receive notifications through push notifications or email whenever a message is sent.
Actions Menu
Clicking the Click the ‘…’ icon in the top right of the chat window will open the “Actions” menu. From here, members in the chat can view a list of the participants and also leave the group. Owners and admins also have the option to rename the group from this menu.
Private Group Chats enable members to engage in conversations without the necessity of a Group Chat Block on a page, creating a more personalised chatting environment. Private Group Chats are excellent tools for organising or making plans regarding a particular event, discussing subjects that might not be relevant to the whole community, or simply providing an enjoyable space for members to socialise with each other.
Note: At present, only app owners or those with administrative privileges can create a private group chat. Private group chats are available on our Pro plan and above.
Setting up a Group Chat Block on a Page
Select the Appropriate page
Navigate to the page within your app where you want the group chat to appear. Keep in mind that the chat will be available to anyone who has access to this particular page.
Add the Group Chat Block
Once you’ve navigated to the page you want to add the group chat to, click on the “+ Add Block” in the top left. Click on “Group Chat” located towards the bottom of the lefthand “Add Block” menu. Choose from either a simple group chat, titled group chat or a group chat with a header image.
Customise your Group Chat
If you chose a titled group chat or group chat with a header image, you can customise the title, description, and image however you would like. After making sure everything is set up as you desire, hit Save & Publish. The group chat is now live and accessible to your members that have access to the page that it’s on!
Notify your Members
Share the page with your members so they’re notified of the new group chat functionality on the page and encourage them to join the conversation.
Get chatting
Members can now send messages, reply to messages in a thread, and like messages in the group chat. Once they’ve sent or replied to a message in the group chat, they will be notified via push notification or email when a new message has been sent in the chat.
Add the page to Main or Sidebar Navigation
If you want the Group Chat to be easily accessible and discoverable, consider adding the page the Group Chat block is on to your Main Navigation or Sidebar Navigation. To add the page to your Main navigation bar, scroll to your ‘App Pages’, just below your Sidebar Navigation section. Hover over the page name and Click the ‘…’ icon then click the + Add to Navigation.
To add the Page to your Sidebar Nav, simply click and drag the page into the “Sidebar Nav” section.
Embedding a Group Chat block on a particular page is a great way to encourage contextual group discussions among your members. Members of your app can discuss how they’re going with particular programs, workouts, meals, meditations, guitar lessons, or anything else your community is about, right on the same page as the content they’re interacting with.
This creates a space on your app where members with common goals can come together. These types of Group Chats are a great way for you to gain valuable feedback from your members, helping you to get to know your community better and allowing you to create content that is more targeted to their needs.