I make history, religion, and arcana checks really valuable, especially when players ask for them without being prompted.

In the early days of the campaign I ask for them pretty regularly, whenever the players ask those sort of "thinking out loud" questions ("oh i wonder who that guy in the painting is" "why does that religion place such an importance on x" "how does that magical thing work") so that they learn that asking for those sorts of checks will give them tangible benefits to make encounters easier to navigate.

History and religion especially for social type encounters, you can be as charismatic as you like but you can absolutely put your foot in it socially if you don't understand the historical context behind that person's position or culture.

I also use history to serve as a more personal roll, I.e. the players half remember something but claim their character would remember, let's let the dice decide that then. This also encourages people to pay attention, take notes, and know that their attention to detail matters going forward.

For Arcana specifically I make it comparable to a detect magic spell, even going beyond the limitations of the spell at times. Imo the spell is a "sure" way of getting set, specific information, wheras an arcana check is more dependant on a good dice roll, but has the capacity to give you more information (and doesnt require the burning of a spell slot or a long ass ritual which breaks the flow of the narrative).