Why use a group chat platform in website forums?

Engagement is the main reason why you use a group chat on your website. Group chats increase engagement by 20%. When website owners add a group chat, users stay longer. Forums often add group chats to their page.

This is an interesting idea, but to understand this, we must first compare the two.

Group chats vs forums

Both forums and group chats are methods to communicate with other users over the Internet but are used differently. Group chat conversations are real-time, whereas forums are discussion-oriented where not all participants need to be logged in at the same time.

In a forum, discussions are separated into “threads”. So, this makes it more organized and people will be able to search for a topic immediately. Alos, posts take longer to answer in a forum. The reason behind this is not all participants are active at the same time.

In a group chat, conversations are real-time. Therefore, when a participant wants to get an answer immediately, he can direct his question in the group chat.

Using a group chat in a forum

audience interaction

To get both types of communication and benefits in one place, using a group chat in a web forum is ideal. There are two places of discussion. 

  1. Forum threads – Add questions and answers anytime. No need to be online everytime.
  2. Group chat – Answer questions immediately. Real-time conversations only.

Visitors of a forum can answer questions even after days it was posted. In a group chat discussion, this is not possible. A group chat happens in real-time and takes place at a much faster pace.

Forums also stick to one topic, whereas group chat conversation can rapidly change, depending on the participants.

Using a group chat within a forum can lead to faster answers to urgent questions. As opposed to a forum, the group chat can be online only when the moderator is active to prevent non-relevant discussions and spam. Or, leave it open to let participants talk freely.

How to add a group chat to a forum

To add a group chat to your forum, all you need is to copy and paste a line of code. RumbleTalk will be providing this.

forums
  1. Login to your admin panel and click Embed.
  2. Choose from Embedded or Floating. You can also set the chat size.
  3. Copy your code by clicking Get Code.

You’re done! You can now use the group chat in your forum.

You can choose what chat type you want to use for your forum and see which works best.

chatting platforms

Currently, there are four chat types. They are as follows: group chat, expert’s chat, moderated chat, and private chat.

We recommend using the group chat for open, social conversations. Then, if you want more moderation, you can use the moderated chat.

If you’re using Wix, WordPress, or other websites with plugins, then you can check out the Plugins page. There are specific instructions for each plugin.

The use of group chats in forums

It’s all about time and efficiency. If you need immediate answers, then go to the group chat. If you want to gather more input for your topic, then go to the forum.

However, if you combine both, then you can use the strengths of each platform. Embed a group chat on your forum with RumbleTalk.

Export your chat transcript in three ways

Exporting your chat transcript should come with every group chat you use. Why do you need to export your chat transcript? There are several reasons, but we’ll give you the top ones.

The first reason is SEO. Website owners want to be able to add the chat transcript to their website.

It’s because the chat transcript consists of highly targeted keywords, it is perfect for SEO. This is one of the easiest ways to target an audience and let your site take the first spot through SEO.

transcript chat room

The second reason is websites have communities. These communities have members that have different log-in times. Therefore, they will not be able to read all the messages in the group chat.

If they can export the chat transcript, members that were not able to participate in the conversation can catch up and keep updated about the various topics.

With that, let’s talk about how you can do it.

How can you export your chat transcript?

export

You can export your chat transcript via three options.

  1. To export your chat transcript, you must first log in to your account.
  2. Then, on the admin panel, click History.
  3. Choose Export.
  4. After, you will see the three options in which you can export your chat transcript. They are as follows.
  • HTML
  • CSV
  • Doc

When you export your chat transcript, it will export the messages sent in the chat. This means that it will export the chat transcript from the day itself. You can see the messages that will be exported below. 

If you want to export older messages, then choose the date range from the date that you want to start exporting. When you export your chat transcript from the admin panel, the files’ export will differ in some ways.

For example, when you export it into a Doc file, it will show the users’ avatars. However, in the HTML and CSV file, it will only show the text and URLs.

You can discover it for yourself and see what works the best for you.

Another way that you can do that is directly in the group chat.

Just open the chat settings and you will see the Export transcript button. When you click that, it will automatically export the transcript in an HTML file.

freelance work

Then, it will only export the messages that are loaded in the group chat. If you wish to export older messages from the group chat, you will need to scroll up in the chat area to load older messages.

Can I hide the export chat button?

export

You can hide the export chat button if you wish to do so. There are two ways that you can do this. The first one is doing it on your admin panel.

  1. First, click Menu Options.
  2. After that, you will see the menu options. Choose if you want to hide or show only for admins the button.

The second option is doing it via CSS. If you have a developer, then you can ask him to do this for you or simply paste the code into your CSS editor. To do this, follow these simple steps.

  1. Go to your chat settings and click Visual Design.
  2. Copy this code into the CSS editor.
#options #export { display: none !important; }

Additionally, there was a trash icon in the group chat previously. This was used to clear the screen temporarily. When chatters wanted to clear their messages easily, they can use this. The purpose of this trash icon was only for making it easier to read messages in the group chat. However, it did not actually delete messages in the group chat.

Here’s the CSS code for the trash icon if someone needs it.

#options #clear { display: inline-block !important; }

Showing your chat archive

export

The chat archive is not usually enabled in the group chat. A chat owner must enable it in the admin panel. You can find it in the History tab.

When you choose to show archived messages in the chat, older messages can be loaded. This means that a user can scroll up and more messages will be shown. The user can then include these messages when he exports the chat transcript.

NOTE: This option is only available for the group chat.

Enjoying features like this

When you sign up for RumbleTalk group chat, you can enjoy features like this. Aside from exporting your chat transcript, you can also export the users’ list, private chat, and chat names.

So, what are you waiting for? Register now to enjoy the group chat platform to its fullest.

Group Chat Platform for Business Group Chat and Collaboration

Not so long ago, companies needed to talk in face-to-face meetings. Now that group chat platforms have come along, you can make a business group chat easier.

Before the introduction of chat platforms, we were all reliant on emails and text messages. Of course, this was a good form of communication back then. But now, it’s a hassle since you’re not always checking your emails. Text messages also get delayed.

In this traditional era, chat platforms are all the rave. You get messages immediately and you can use them anywhere. For example, companies can have employees from the other side of the world. Now, they can just send a message through the business chat room. From there, the team can instantly read them.

Using a group chat can have all kinds of advantages for remote teams, meetings, and more. Let’s talk about them.

What are the advantages of having a business group chat?

Having a business group chat makes teams more efficient and makes it easier to communicate with different groups and teams. Here are some reasons why you should add a business group chat.

  • A business may have different employees from different countries, building floors, or locations.
  • There may be time differences between the employees.
  • A business needs to communicate for projects, meetings, and other necessary plans to achieve a certain goal.

You don’t need to see your inbox flooded with emails, CCs, and attachments. If you can talk about a project when it’s needed or just answering a simple question, then it’s a waste of time to have it all redirected to your inbox. You can just use a business group chat for that.

With that said, here are some reasons why you should add and utilize one as your form of internal communication.

Share documents and files

Working within a team means you need to share documents and files. Therefore, the business group chat must have a sharing feature for this.

When a user sends a file, the chat detects it automatically. Then, it’s presented as an inline image or attachment.

Let’s say that one user sends a Word document. So, it will show as a Word icon. Another instance would be sharing a YouTube video. It will show in the chat as an embedded video and members can watch it directly in the group chat.

chat platform

Send short video and audio messages

When you need to send messages to the team, recorded audio and video messages are very helpful. For instance, a video message can show a process or instruction. In turn, this can serve as a guide for newbies who are not yet familiar with the process.

online learning chat

Recording audio and video messages have the same process when sending attachments. Just click the attachment button and choose to record messages. Then, click send.

Share important information through a private chat

There are some things that we need to talk about privately. In case this is needed, a team member can start a private conversation with another member.

Live calls between team members

virtual meeting

Live video and audio calls are available only on the private chat. Two members can talk to each other and discuss plans, the next steps to be taken, and other information that might be between them.

Talking with your team in a business group chat

chat platform

Having a business group chat makes company-wide communication easier. If you have a small business, then you can efficiently send notices to your colleagues and have everybody read them.

This also makes your team more productive as you can send files directly in the group chat. Want to talk to someone privately about their promotion? You can. What about addressing a message to a colleague? You can do that with a simple mention. It’s all there when you have a business group chat.

Register now and create your business chat.