Finalsite Messages and Messages XR are being upgraded with a new user interface and experience (UI/UX), speeding up and improving your process of sending out messages. Fewer clicks means faster communication! Enjoy the new features you’ve requested, such as the automatic prefilling of your message into all channels as you go and a live preview screen while composing your channels.
You may see options in this article that are not visible on your individual platform. Messages XR is an add-on to Messages, providing SMS, voice, and social media channels. Contact your Client Success Manager or email clientsuccess@finalsite.com to learn more about how to get started.
In this Article
- Simplified recipient selection
- Prefilled message screens
- Automatic translation as you go
- Speedy channel selection
- Single-scroll preview panel
- Confidently schedule, review, and send
New interface coming soon!
We're excited to roll out this new user interface and experience. Stay tuned and subscribe to our Software Blog to learn more about when it will arrive!
Simplified recipient selection
The ease-of-use that’s been applied to the process of selecting recipients for your messages speeds up the time it will take for you to get your messages out. We've upgraded to a simplified selection process.
Add from Saved Lists (Lists created in Messages), Groups (Group Manager), and Constituent Manager. Why three areas? The way you segment your recipients is different in each area so that you can better target your recipients.
In Messages > Lists, create lists named by the type of messaging (community engagement messages such as "Weekly Newsletter", "Athletics updates", and "Summer Learning"), making it easy for recipients to unsubscribe from the content they don't want without missing the communication they need. Populate your lists with pre-created Groups from Group Manager. Your community can "opt-in" or subscribe to a list, as well as unsubscribe, as they wish.
Group Manager allows you to create dynamic groups that are continually updating anytime your data changes. Select Groups when sending out operational or urgent messages which override all subscription preferences. Group names are based on demographics such as "10th Grade Parents" or "Lower School Faculty". Groups can even populate Lists.
Sometimes, it's helpful to add a handful of constituents that live in Constituent Manager but don't exist in groups or lists. Use the Constituents tab to add them directly to your message.
Prefilled message screens
The Default Content area helps dramatically reduce the time it takes to create messages. Simply write once and watch it populate across all of your chosen channels! No more copying and pasting your message into each channel. Start by clicking the pencil icon to create the Default Content that will prefill and auto populate your other channels once selected.
- Type or paste your text into the Content area.
- Once you have drafted your Default Content message, click the Save Content button at the bottom of the screen.
Automatic translation as you go
- No more waiting until the preview screen to view your translation! Languages you wish to translate into are based on your chosen recipients and will appear right away.
- Chosen recipients determine the languages available for immediate and automatic translation.
- Enable and disable languages easily by clicking on the language without the need to select languages one-by-one! This ensures fast, equitable communication with automatic translation.
Speedy channel selection
Choose the channels to include in your message send.
Click on the Email tab and toggle on to include this channel in your message send.
- The Title and Message Content will prefill from your Default Content area.
- Enter an Address To Reply. Consider the options to Add bcc and Add from label if you’d like.
- Choose a Template:
- Regular pulls in your Simple Template / basic header and branding color to add to this message content.
- Custom design allows you to select a template to use.
- Check out the Preview Panel on the right as you go to see what your Email message will look like to your recipients.
- Save Content to save configurations in the Email tab.
Click on the Page Pop tab and toggle on to push a message to your website via Page Pop.
- Click Create a Page Pop to be directed to the Page Pop module where you can configure your message to display on your website.
Click on the SMS tab and toggle on to include this channel in your message send.
- Edit the English version in the box. Shorten it to 160 characters or less
- The following message will display until you have truncated your message, "You've reached the SMS text limit. Shorten your message."
- Include link to full message button will create a clickable link in the SMS for the reader to view the full email message that was sent, displaying the message in a browser window so the reader can avoid searching in their email app for the message.
Important Note
The link to the message will not work until after the message has been delivered.
- Click Save Content once message is rewritten / shortened.
- Click Languages to select which languages will be included.
- Choose between Text-to-Speech or Record Message as a way to prepare your voice message.
- Text-to-Speech pre-fills from Default Content. Edit text as you’d like.
- Record Message provides a button where you can click and a pop up will ask to Block or Allow your microphone. The prefilled message will display in the Scratch Pad window for you to change your wording to be more appropriate for a voice message, if you wish.
- Title: Add a title. Note: Merge tags don’t apply in the Mobile App channel.
- Similar to the SMS tab, the message will need to be shortened to 160 characters or less. You can copy the message that you shortened in the SMS tab and paste it into the Mobile App content box.
- Target Location(s) is an optional feature where you can choose the locations who will receive a notification to view this message.
- Toggle on Open email in mobile app (on tap) if you'd like your visitors to be able to more conveniently view this message in their mobile app, allowing them to view the entire message instead of being redirected to their email account.
- Click Please select a Facebook page to view and select from a dropdown list of all connected Facebook accounts.
- Adapt the prefilled text in the Message Content window as needed to be more appropriate for a Facebook post remembering to stay below the 3000 character limit.
- Click No Image Set to select one image to serve as the thumbnail for the post. If no thumbnail exists, select your folder in Resources to Add a resource.
- Click Please select an X (Twitter) Account to view and select from a dropdown list of all connected X (Twitter) accounts.
- Similar to the SMS tab and Mobile App tabs, the message will need to be shortened to 140 characters or less. Copy the message that you shortened in the SMS tab and paste it here, shortening it further to allow for the lower limit of 140.
- Click No Image Set to select one image to serve as the thumbnail for the post. If no thumbnail exists, select your folder in Resources to Add a resource.
Single-scroll preview panel
Preview the way your recipients will view all channels of communications in a single scroll panel displaying at the right as you prepare your channels. No need to wait until after you draft your messages! As you scroll, look in the top right corner to see which preview belongs to a particular channel. This helps eliminate errors and provides a speedy review before sending, allowing for a quick and easy comparison of messages in each channel.
Confidently schedule, review, and send
Schedule your message by selecting the Date and Time before confirming by clicking the green button which will display the date and time of the future scheduled send.
Confirm your information one last time before sending!
- Confirm your Recipients.
- View your Title and which Channels will be included in the message send.
- Test send email - once clicked, choose up to 20 email addresses where you can send this message. Add Instructions for those to read to understand the scenario of your test send.
- Schedule Send - choose a Date and Time when your message will be scheduled to go out.
- Send Now - Send your message immediately when clicking the Send Now button.
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