Most communication apps have an instant messaging feature, but what sets a team messaging app apart is the multitude of group chat options like:

Your team members need not always be online for instant chats, but having a message board will help you in making announcements or notes for meetings. It may bring to notice important announcements that people who were offline might have missed.

When you want to target a group, messaging one person at a time won’t work. The app must allow for multiple chat rooms. It’ll enable your team members to participate in different discussions simultaneously.

With VoIP, it is now possible to make group calls within the app. They do away the need for face to face meetings and are appropriate for situations that require greater interaction than chats.

Some group communication apps include opinion polls. They are simply an excellent way to get the feedback from the team members as a whole. It allows the group leaders to see what their team members’ take on a particular issue.

You can create channels, and they are an excellent way to organize the project's communication. A public channel is open to all team members. They’re searchable, discoverable and members can join at the click of a button. Private channels are meant for more confidential information.

It is one feature that comes in almost every app intended for group communication. You can share documents relevant to the discussion amongst team members.

A good group communication app has privacy options. It allows the team manager to set privacy levels for different groups.

This feature allows you to search for keywords across the entire team archive, or within specific documents, images and other files.

Your needs define the features you require in a group communication app. While not all apps come with every feature you fancy, you can zero in on an app that satisfies most of them, is cost effective and vouched for by many.