New Content Sources Dashboard with Drag and Drop, Collapsing Panels
The main entry screen has been improved to provide a better content dashboard for selecting and publishing your messages. You will now see the Sources tab selected by default. In this tab we have created a multi-column dashboard that contains one or more content panels. You can have many panels in the same column. Click on the header of a panel to expand or collapse it. If you click and drag the top of the panel, you can move it above or below any other panel or place it in another column. If there are multiple users sharing the same account, each will have their own dashboard configuration.
Add or Remove Columns
By default, the Sources tab will display 3 columns. You can add or remove columns to fit the amount of sources you intend to use and the manner in which you would like to organize them. To add a column, click the Add Column icon on the upper left of the dashboard. To remove a column, first make sure you remove (or move) any panels from the column and then click the X icon at the top when the column is empty.
Show or Hide Panels
The panels correspond to the Sources you define for your account. When you define a new Source, a source panel will be added automatically to the dashboard. You can hide a panel without deleting a Source. Or, you can remove a panel and its Source at the same time. To hide or remove a panel, click the X icon on the panel header. You will then be asked if you would like to Hide or Delete this panel and its corresponding source. Choose Hide to keep the panel off your dashboard but maintain the Source definition. Otherwise, choose Delete to remove the Source from your account. To add a hidden panel back to your dashboard, click the Restore a Panel icon on the upper left of the dashboard.
Refreshing Content in a Panel
To refresh the content in a panel manually, click the panel header to collapse and then expand the panel again. The content of each panel will also be refreshed automatically (usually every 10 minutes or so) if the dashboard is left open.
Sending Email
The Butterfly Publisher platform is a robust communications system. In addition to the ability to post and maintain social messages, Butterfly Publisher also has the ability to effectively manage email communications.
Adding Leads/Subscribers
A lead or subscriber is a person who has opted-in to receive email from your organization. You add these email addresses to an Email Network. These addresses can be entered through a subscription form, they can come from a promotion, or they can be imported into Butterfly Publisher through copy and paste of an import file. To import a list of contacts, click the Import Leads/Subscribers button on the left side menu appearing under the Settings tab.
Composing an Email
To send an email to an Email Network, first choose the Email content type. You can send other types of content to your email network, but only the Email content type can be formatted as a customized message.
First specify a subject line to use for your email campaign. Then, using the WYSIWYG editor, you can compose your formatted message. You can also click the Source icon at the top of the editor to copy and paste any HTML email content that you would like. Note: When adding your own HTML make sure it is compliant for use in email.
When your message is done, select the Email Network containing your email list and then click the Post button.
Emailing a Digest
A digest is a collection of the messages that were previously posted through your account. These messages can be collected together and sent as an email message to your customers and prospects. This provides a way for you to reach out and push your social content to your email list on a regular basis. Links within this digest can lead back to the social sites where these messages have been posted. This helps drive awareness of your social marketing efforts and also will drive engagement.
Creating a Default Digest
A digest is built and distributed through the Email content area. First, make sure you have some content that has been recently published so that it can be used in the digest. Then, to create a digest, make sure you are on the Message Entry page and then click the email icon above the short message area. The prompts will change and you will see a Generate Digest button next to the Subject Line field. When you click this button, you should see the digest appear in the Email Body editor. You can then make manual modifications to this text if necessary.
When you are ready to distribute the digest to your subscribers, you can choose to send the digest once (at the time you post it or schedule it to be posted) or you can have it sent automatically every week or month.
Sending and Repeating the Digest
To send the digest you created just once, specify the date and time to schedule the posting or leave it blank to post immediately. Then, select the appropriate email network(s) and click the Post button.
To send the digest automatically on a weekly or monthly schedule, click the Set a Repeating Schedule link first. You will then be asked to specify the interval to use for the repeating schedule – which can be set to Hourly, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly schedules. Once, the repeating schedule has been set, choose the email network(s) and click the Post button. Your digest will always be sent to the active subscribers in the email list at the time the new digest is generated.
Using a Content Series
When posting status updates to places like Twitter and Facebook, these messages can be lost in the crowd. They can also be “short lived” as new messages push them down the time line. For this reason, it is good practice to post multiple versions of a message over the course of a few days or even weeks. This keeps your message out there, giving more opportunities for people to see your message as well as reminders to the people who already have.
To help address this issue it is now possible to have collections of messages and media put together into a Content Series. A Series starts with one message which when selected from a content library will automatically schedule the posting of other messages in the series. For example, suppose there is a Series that has been created to promote a webinar scheduled for the end of the month. When the user goes to the library and selects the first message of this Series, the system will post this message and at the same time it will also schedule all of the other messages in that series across several days and even weeks. If the firs message is posted on a Monday, the following messages could be posted one day later, three days later, and then five days later. Only one item is selected from the library, but a total of four messages will be posted over the coming week.
When you select an item that is part of a Series, you will see this clearly indicated next to the item in the library. When the item is posted you will have the ability to review these messages and determine which ones are actually scheduled for posting. When completed, the pending messages will appear in the Scheduled Messages area. If you change your mind, you can always delete or modify any scheduled message in the Series just like any other scheduled item.