Content Channels organize content for users. Channels help users discover relevant content and form their own personalized My Feed by following their channels of interest.
Content in channels is ordered by publish date. The most recently published content will appear at the top of the channel.
The experience of following channels is consistent across all devices. When a user follows or unfollows a channel on the web or mobile app, the same channel will be followed or unfollowed in the user's mobile app or web experience.
You can also automatically add users to channels that they may not discover on their own with Auto Follow.
To open the Channels page, select the menu in the top left and navigate to Publish > Channels.
The Channels page displays three tabs of channels by state: active, hidden, and archived. The Channels page shows all your channels, the number of Channel Contributors assigned to each channel, users following each channel, the audience, the recommended status, and a preview image pulled from the most recently published post in that channel.
This preview image displays behind the channel title on the Explore tab in your web and mobile app.
Create a Channel
- While on the Channels page, select Create Channel in the top right. This opens the Create Channel dialogue:
- Set at least a Channel Name and Description before clicking Save. For details on all of the fields, see below.
Edit a Channel
- While on the Channels page and under the Active tab or Hidden tab, click on the three dots to the right of the channel's name and select Edit.
- Modify any channel settings, including the name.
- Select Save to save changes.
Note: My Feed edit options are limited and My Feed cannot be archived because My Feed serves as the default starting point for all users in the mobile and web experience.
What Do the Channel Settings Mean?
Channel Name
Use up to 30 characters to name the channel. The Channel Name and Description will be displayed under the Explore tab. The Channel Name should be descriptive enough for both Studio users and members to understand what content belongs in the channel.
Channels are ordered alphabetically by name. You can push channels to the top of the Explore tab by using special characters (e.g. @ or #) at the beginning of your Channel Name. Alternatively, you can push channels to the bottom of the Explore tab by using an emoji at the beginning of your Channel Name.
Description
Use up to 150 characters to describe the content in greater detail than the Channel Name. Channel Descriptions are visible to members in the web experience and mobile app 3.3.0 and newer.
Target Channels to a Group(s)
If no groups are selected, the channel would be visible to all users. To target the channel, start typing in the name of a group and select the group from the dropdown. For more details about targeting channels to groups, refer to How to Target a Channel.
Channel Contributors
Channel Contributors can publish and manage content only in specific, assigned channels. If you have already assigned a user the Channel Contributor role, you can add Channel Contributors directly to channels from the Channels page.
In the Channel Contributor section of the channel editor, type in the name of the user. Select their name and click save. This assigns the user to the channel they will have access to. Repeat this step to grant a specific Channel Contributor access to more than one channel.
Publish Status
When you create a new channel, you do not have to immediately make the channel visible to members in your program. By selecting Visible, the channel will be published and visible to members in the web and mobile experience. By selecting Hidden, the channel remains hidden from members but is visible to program managers under the Hidden tab. Hidden is extremely useful if you are still editing the content that will appear in the channel.
Auto Follow
Automatically add new and existing users to specific channels. When set to Enabled, existing users in the targeted group(s) will immediately be opted into following the channel. New users will be auto-followed into public channels and the specific channels they are targeted to. Users will also receive notifications via Assistant when channels are auto-followed. Users can unfollow channel(s) at any time by visiting the Explore tab and selecting Unfollow.
Once the toggle has been enabled, disabling the toggle does not unfollow users who have already been opted into the channel. Disabling Auto Follow will prevent any future users from auto-following the channel.
User Submissions
This toggle supports non-submittable channels. When set to Disabled, users cannot submit content from the mobile app or web experience to this specific channel. Disabled channels are only visible in the channel submission list to users who have the Channel Contributor, Publisher, Program Manager, or Administrator role.
When enabled, users are able to submit content to the channel. Depending on the Auto-Publish Submitted Content setting and the user's role, the content may need to be reviewed before publishing.
Note: This feature is only enabled for programs that have mobile app version 3.7+. If you do not have this feature and are on the newest mobile app version, please email support@socialchorus.com.
Auto-Publish Submitted Content
When set to Enabled, content submitted to the channel by users will be published automatically. This means that user-submitted content will go directly to the Published tab and members with access to the channel will be able to see the content almost immediately. When set to Disabled, content submitted to the channel by users will be sent to Needs Review so that a Program Manager or Publisher can review the content before publishing the content.
Recommended
Only available with non-targeted channels, this setting will create a call to action for your users. More details in the Promote Channels article.
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