Microsoft Teams Communities launched today

Communities in Microsoft Teams is an entirely new experience that enables people to come together, connect, share, and collaborate. Communities in Teams is available for all iOS and Android customers using the free version of Microsoft Teams.

Groups ranging from recreational sports teams, event planning committees, parent-teacher associations, or even small businesses, can now access the digital space to stay connected before, during, and after gatherings.

How to get started: Using suggested community types on the home screen, you can create a community, and even add branding elements to it such as a cover image. Group members can then be invited via their email address or phone number, or by sharing a link or QR code so they can join directly. 

Community owners can easily manage settings to oversee guidelines, moderate content, and add/remove participants as necessary.

How to keep communities in sync: You can now create a space for community groups to come together, organize, and share ideas. Here are 4 ways to do it:

1. Easily post messages to everyone in the group; 2. Organize events and add them to the community calendar for everyone to see; 3. Share and store documents dedicated to group activity; 4. Filter content to quickly access photos, videos, events, and links

How to organize and host community events: Communities in Teams includes a new events experience for organizing virtual, hybrid, or in-person events. For instance, you can add new events or meetings to your community calendar, invite guests, track attendance, and follow up with attendees through direct private chats. 

When it comes to online events, you can easily add dial-in details and a link so your participants can join seamlessly. For in-person events, you can add a location and give attendees precise directions with a visual map.

Hybrid and virtual guests can join events from any device via audio or video. 

Features such as adding an event cover image, together mode, and screen sharing can help you foster a sense of unity and engagement during meetings—no matter where everyone’s located.