10 Tips to Use Slack Like a Pro

When Slack launched to the public in 2014, it revolutionized workplace collaboration and productivity. Its use took off during the pandemic, and Salesforce acquired the company for $27.7 billion in 2020. According to the company, over 200,000 organizationsOpens a new window , including 77 Fortune 100 companiesOpens a new window , use Slack or Slack Connect.

As the company celebrates its 10th birthday, most people only use the basic features: they’ll send a chat, respond with an emoji, view a co-worker’s profile, and occasionally share files. But Slack (which stands for Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge) can do much more. If you want to supercharge your productivity, these ten tips can ensure the productivity tool is really making you more productive. 

10 Must-Try Slack Hacks

From 2019 to 2023, Slack’s monthly active users have seen a consistent uptrend, growing from 14.6 million to 54.1 million. If your company has adopted the tool as a replacement for email or simply as a handy way to connect with a global team, these tips should be right up your alley. 

1. Use Slash Commands to Speed Up Actions

2. Create Auto-Responses for Frequent Questions

Is Election Day an official holiday at your company? What’s the guest Wi-Fi network? If you’re tired of asking (or answering) the same questions, Slack has a handy auto-response feature for precisely this scenario. If your administrator has enabled Slackbot, head to my.slack.com/customize/slackbotOpens a new window , or the “Customize Your Workspace” setting, where you can configure the built-in bot to respond to phrases with predefined answers. (Note: this feature may require elevated privileges).

3. Group Conversations with Threaded Messaging

Not every communication requires a standalone post – threadsOpens a new window let you append a message to a previous post, continuing the conversation without clogging the channel. This can be particularly helpful in announcement channels, where only the most relevant posts should be highlighted. Simply hover over a Slack message, tap the chat bubble icon, and a thread will appear on a separate pane. You can even mark entire threads as unread or set a reminder to review them later.

4. Get Notified of What Matters Most

You’re probably bombarded with updates if your Slack environment has multiple channels, threads, and workspaces. You don’t need to do a mass “mark all as read” to clear that pesky notification icon. Slack lets you choose which keywords will trigger a notification. You will know whenever someone mentions the keyword, in whatever context. You can also mute entire channels or direct messagesOpens a new window .

5. Automate Workflows

Third-party apps like IFTTT (If This, Then That) or ServiceNow can help you set up automated reminders, send live social media updates, share articles with a channel, create a new ticket or incident, and perform a host of other tasks without leaving Slack. In July 2023, the company updated the Workflow Builder feature with templates so you can automate tasks, including scheduling recurring messages, performing weekly check-ins, and helping new hires join the right channels during onboarding.

6. Use Emojis to Solicit Feedback

Slack lets users respond with an emoji, and the tool indicates exactly how many people selected which graphic. This opens up a world of possibilities for voting, prioritizing tasks, and status updates. For example, you could quickly discern the priority of outstanding tasks. Simply offer three different emoji options, and depending on how your colleagues respond, you can make a decision. 

You can do the same thing to run internal polls or surveys. Simply assign a different emoji to each poll option. You can also install dedicated poll apps Opens a new window from the Slack Marketplace for more advanced poll functionalities. 

7. Send Custom Memes and .GIFs

Memes are now a popular part of our workplace vocabulary, and it’s not uncommon for them to be used in chats. The Giphy app has a secret menu of slash commands that allows you to customize your image results. For example, you can add a caption to a gif by typing:

/giphy #caption [“caption text here”] [image link] 

You can also ensure you get the most popular image, show some snark, or get an answer to a burning question with the Magic 8 Ball image generator.

Adapted from giphy.medium.comOpens a new window

Editor’s Notes: Remove the brackets [ and ] — they indicate where your custom text should go. In addition, some of these commands do not work consistently, which users have already reportedOpens a new window to Giphy. 

8. Maintain Your Work/Life Balance with DND

A Do-Not-Disturb (DND) feature is essential to any collaboration tool. It helps you stay focused and maintain a work/life balance. The status indicates to others that you are not available for chatting and can help you minimize distractions. In Slack, do-not-disturb mode will pause all notifications and @mentions, and your status will automatically update to reflect this. You can also set up a notification schedule to ensure you don’t receive anything during specific hours. Simply click on your profile icon and select “Pause notifications.”

You can choose from default options, or set a custom schedule. You can also use the DND feature to protect your focus time to ensure distraction-free work.

9. Turn Conversations into To-Dos

In June 2024, Slack introduced the Slack lists featureOpens a new window to help teams manage projects, collaborate on tasks, and capture action items in a single location, all without leaving the Slack workspace. Build your list from scratch, upload via a .csv file, or choose from a variety of built-in templates. You can also integrate your list with the Workflow Builder to create dynamic lists with automatic updates or alerts.

10. Go Beyond Chat with Audio and Video

You don’t have to switch to a different app if you realize you need to share your screen, or it’s easier to say something than type it. Using the “Huddle” feature, you can instantly connect with colleagues, have an informal meeting, or work together on a document. Any messages you share during the Huddle, including links or documents, are saved, but the meeting itself is not recorded.

If your team tends to work asynchronously, you can also record a short audio or video clipOpens a new window (up to five minutes) so your colleagues can view it on their schedule.

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