You might be surprised to learn that hi and hello are not the only chat greetings in the world. There are lots of chat greetings you can use, some with hidden meanings and some with regional variations! In this post, we’ll explore the best 10 chat greetings so you can choose what’s right for you next time you engage in online conversations.
1) Good morning
An all-time classic, good morning is a solid bet for any chat greeting. It might be basic, but it’s polite and will get you out of sticky situations with plenty of time to spare. Be wary that some people consider good morning a purely nighttime greeting and respond in kind if you say it during daylight hours. You can avoid controversy by only saying it between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Morning – Before Noon: Although there are those who consider morning to mean anytime between midnight and noon, most people identify morning as anything before noon. Use these greetings in that time slot with care. If you’re just getting started in business for yourself or you work as a freelancer or independent contractor, use morning greetings throughout your day. You might be at home, but your contacts might not understand that.
Morning – After Noon: From noon to 6 p.m., afternoon is your time to shine. Use afternoon greetings with abandon during these hours, and you’ll stand out from your competitors without standing out too much. They’re a little different than morning greetings, but they follow all of the same rules and will likely be ignored unless they sound completely ridiculous or offensive.
2) Good evening
The UK-based greeting good evening is recognized as a polite way to start a conversation. It can be used any time of day and can also be substituted for hello. To create a more personalized chat greeting, use your name or nickname instead of saying good evening. This personalization makes it clear you’re addressing one person rather than just firing off an automated response.
It’s becoming a trend to include emojis in your chat greetings, and you can consider it a more modern way of saying hello. The letter combination hw, when turned into an emoji, has come to represent goodnight or good evening.
While good evening is a traditional greeting for using in business settings, you may want to consider swapping it out for a more inclusive and fun greeting like hello or welcome. The first thing your visitors see on your website or social media page is your greeting, so be sure to use one that makes them feel welcomed and appreciated.
Another option is to personalize your chat greeting by using a subscriber’s name. This way, you can address each visitor by name and it shows you’re familiar with their interests.
3) Welcome!
The standard greeting for a chat service, including social media networks. It’s polite, shows that you value each user who takes time out of their day to visit your site, and sets a positive tone. This greeting is appropriate for most brands or businesses and can be used as needed. Make sure to include an emoji if possible! While many of your customers may not notice it, it’s always nice to add a personal touch.
4) All good?
Have you had a good day? and How are you doing? are both questions that have been answered hundreds of times before. Instead, use a chat greeting to set yourself apart from all those copycats out there who use these overused phrases.
The opposite of all good is bad, and to chat about being bad means you’re in trouble. Use words like great or awesome instead.
Emoji are a great way to engage in chat and make a good impression on your friends, family or work colleagues. They can be used to convey almost any emotion, and should be part of your toolkit when it comes to chat greetings.
5) What can I do for you?
If you’re a customer service rep, you’ll have to deal with different kinds of customers every day. It’s best to maintain a cool, professional attitude—but saying Hello! as soon as someone walks into your chat is certainly better than nothing. This friendly greeting should also include a brief explanation of how you can help: I can answer questions about payments today, if that’s what you need.
If your company has a new product or service, you can let them know. Of course, make sure that you check out their account first to see if they’ve already signed up for what you’re offering! This might be a good time to let them know about any promotions you have going on.
If your customer is in a rush, you might want to suggest that they follow up at a different time if you’re not able to help them immediately. Instead of offering them another chat window, direct them towards your Help page or Contact Us page. This way, they can fill out any forms and submit their questions without losing valuable time in line.
If you’re helping a customer who’s already signed up for your service, don’t forget to ask how they liked it! This is a great way to strengthen your relationship and learn how you can make things better. If they didn’t like it, let them know that you understand and ask why. The more information you have about what could be done better, the better able you are to implement improvements in the future.
6) How can I help?
As a general rule, keep your greetings in line with your customer service policy. Saying How can I help? is a good greeting because it signifies that you’re committed to helping your customer—and it doesn’t presume to know what they need. It’s also a good option if your business offers multiple products or services, since it gives customers room to respond in whatever way seems most appropriate.
If a customer has a problem with a specific aspect of your product or service, you can ask what it is. Try saying something like I’m sorry to hear that. May I ask what part of our service was unsatisfactory? You might want to follow up with Are you currently experiencing any other issues? This way, customers know that you’re committed to addressing their concerns and helping them resolve their problems.
If a customer has been dissatisfied with your product or service in general, you might try saying I’m sorry to hear that. Tell me more about your experience and then offer an apology. Asking what part of your product or service wasn’t satisfactory can also help you avoid making assumptions—and it may help you uncover issues that aren’t visible on first inspection.
This greeting is also useful when a customer wants to use your service in a way that’s not outlined in your official product or service policies. For example, if a customer wanted to cancel their subscription despite having auto-renewal enabled, you could offer an apology and then ask them what part of your policies was unsatisfactory. Saying I’m sorry to hear that. May I ask why you want to cancel? can help prevent misunderstandings from escalating unnecessarily.
7) Chatting with you is my pleasure
If a close friend or loved one is greeting you, it can be an especially nice and intimate way to start a conversation. It’s a safe choice because it’s natural and comfortable, so use chatting with you is my pleasure with someone who means something special to you.
I love chatting with you is also a sweet choice for your closest friends and loved ones. It shows that you enjoy spending time with them, which is why it’s a great greeting for someone special.
Love chatting with you is also a great greeting for someone who means something special to you. It can be more personal than Hi, and it shows that you enjoy spending time with them.
8) Hey bro/sis
This might be one of the oldest chat greetings still floating around, but for a reason—it’s fun. If you feel like someone is being over-familiar with you, just ask them to refrain from calling you bro or sis. If they reply in an equally familiar way and refuse to take no for an answer, then I would suggest unfriending them.
9) What’s up?
This is a simple and informal greeting that’s pretty universal among IM users. No matter what you’re doing online, if someone sends you what’s up? it signifies that they want to chat with you. Unless there are multiple people in your conversation (for example, an instant message conversation with friends or family), using what’s up? is fine.
If there are other people in your conversation, then it might be better to use something else. For example, if you’re chatting with a friend about dinner plans for Friday night, saying what’s up? could be awkward because you wouldn’t really be asking what’s going on—you’d just be interrupting their story about how she wants sushi for dinner again. In cases like these, consider saying hello instead.
10) Yo there!
The ever-casual Yo there! is a classic chat greeting—and it’s used most often between friends and family members who don’t usually use email to communicate. Yo there tends to be more informal than other greetings, so it might not be appropriate in all professional settings, but some companies have made its use part of their official social media policy.
In its strictest form, Yo there is a one-word greeting that doesn’t include any punctuation or capitalization. It’s a very casual, conversational way to start a chat conversation with someone you know well. People tend to use between friends and family members who don’t usually use email to communicate. You might also see it used in some company social media policies as an official chat greeting for employees using social media accounts on behalf of their company. Some people capitalize Yo (or YO) when they are using it as a proper noun—as in Hi, YO!
is a casual greeting that’s becoming less and less common on social media and online chats, but it’s still heard occasionally, particularly in older circles or among people who are already old friends or colleagues. It can also be used in some social media policies as an official greeting for employees using social media accounts on behalf of their company.
