Content Channels organize content for users. Channels help users discover relevant content and form their own personalized feed (My Feed on mobile, Latest on web) 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 background image.
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 (called Latest on web).
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 Discover. 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 Discover tab by using special characters (e.g. @ or #) at the beginning of your Channel Name. Alternatively, you can push channels to the bottom of Discover by using an emoji at the beginning of your Channel Name.
Channel Names can be edited at any time without any impact to the already published content or number of followers.
Renaming a channel
If you decide to change the name of a channel entirely, we recommend publishing an update (via content card) about the upcoming channel name change in your program. The post should include why you're changing the name and when the change will be made, so your users know to look for it and understand where to go for this channel's content moving forward.
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.
Background Image
The background image displays next to the channel name on the Channels page in Studio, behind the channel title under Discover on mobile, and next to the channel name in the web experience. Upload a background image to customize the preview image that is associated with the channel.
Upload an image file (JPG or PNG) into the box following the recommended ratio of 1:1.1 to reduce unwanted cropping. If the image does not fit, it will be cropped as needed.
If no image has been directly uploaded, we will display the existing auto-generated image (pulled from the most recently published post in the channel).
Note: if you do not see the background image when creating or editing a channel, the feature has not yet been enabled for your program. Please email support@socialchorus.com for more information.
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. Each channel can be assigned up to 100 Channel Contributors.
Publish Status
When you create a new channel, you do not have to immediately make the channel visible to members in the web and mobile app experience. 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 users in the employee experience but is visible in Studio for users who can access the Channels page. Hidden is extremely useful if you are still editing the content that will appear in the channel.
Note, this visibility status in the web and mobile app affects both Members and Studio users that are signed into the employee experience.
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 begin following the channel upon joining the program. Users will also receive notifications via Assistant when channels are automatically followed. Users can unfollow channel(s) at any time by visiting the Discover 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 stop future users from being automatically opted into following the channel.
User Submissions
Use this toggle to simplify the list of channels that Members see when submitting content from both the web and mobile experience.
Disable user submissions to hide the channel from the list of channels Members can see when submitting a post. Studio users with access to the Planner page in Studio will still see the channel when submitting content through the employee experience.
Enable user submissions to make the channel available to Members when they are submitting content. Depending on the Auto-Publish Submitted Content setting, 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 Auto-Publish is enabled, content submitted to the channel by Members will be published automatically. This means that other Members with access to the channel will be able to see the content in the employee experience almost immediately.
If Auto-Publish is disabled, content submitted to the channel by Members will be set to Needs Review so that a Studio user can review the content and then manually publish the post. This can cause Members some concern when there is a delay in publishing, but allows for a review and approve process.
Studio Users Note: Depending on your program configuration and your Studio user's exact role and channel assignments, your Studio users will either have the same auto-publish experience as Members or they will experience direct publishing.
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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