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Slack for Downtown Businesses

 

Downtown Santa Cruz-

Getting connected on Slack 

Slack is a messaging app that allows for real-time collaboration and communication. It’s a tool that you can use on your computer and your mobile device to stay in touch with a group, and keep everyone up to date with important news and goings-on. Users can receive pop up notices when there are urgent messages posted by other members of their “Slack Channel” (topic-specific virtual chat room). 

If you are interested in receiving Slack messages for Downtown businesses, general and/or specific to your industry (full list below), please email sonja@downtownsantacruz.com to let us know. You will receive an email inviting you to join the "Downtown Santa Cruz Members" workspace on Slack. (If you don’t already have a Slack account set up, in that email click the Green “Join Now” button. Follow directions to create a login for yourself.) You will be added to the "Downtown Santa Cruz Members" #general workspace and any other channel applicable to your business if desired. You will then be able to view and post messages to the group. 

Current Industry Channels Available: #general #retail #restaurants #wellness_beauty #healthcare #professional_services #tech

Once you are set up on Slack communication channels, here are some things to keep in mind to make the most out of this communication tool: 

In order to see messages, you will need to add the Slack App to your desktop or mobile home screen, or log into the “Downtown Santa Cruz Business Members” workspace on the Slack Website

To post an urgent, time-sensitive announcement to the whole group (ie. shoplifter alert), always begin your message with @channel. This will notify all members on the channel and send a desktop or mobile alert to those who have selected in their preferences to receive those. * Please note that this is not an official reporting mechanism, you would still need to call the appropriate service i.e. police or ranger, if trying to report a crime.

*For example, in the retail channel, you would post: @channel We just had a shoplifter in our store. He is mid 20s, blue shirt.... 

  • For more information about how to notify the channel, visit this article in their help portal
  • For information about enabling desktop and/or mobile device pop-up notifications for Slack messages: click here
  • To download Slack for iOS (iPhones) click here
  • To download Slack for Android click here
  • If you have any questions about how to use Slack, their Help center is full of great support info.