Announcements Guides Overview
Announcements allow portal Admin to target granular cohorts based on roles. It is an omni-channel communication function that allows institutions to deliver Announcements to specific user cohorts via modern notification channels.
The Announcements Guides Overview provides information that is essential to utilizing Announcements. It is advised to begin with The Announcements Guides Overview before proceeding.
In this article:
Guide Overview
Goal
Create Announcements that are concise and clear and sent to the appropriate audience using effective channels.
Objectives
- Portal Admin must decide the importance and urgency of information.
- Portal Admin must decide roles and users to receive specific information.
- Portal Admin may consider role permissions for sending and receiving Announcements.
Outcome
- Clearer communication of important information to target audience
- Receipt of important information in a timely manner via appropriate channels
Guidelines for Writing Announcements
Announcement content should be relevant to the audience. Sending Announcements to too wide of an audience can result in users turning off notification channels and avoiding the platform.
By sending Announcements that target a narrow audience, users are more likely to rely on the Announcements feature for important information.
Announcement content should be clear and concise. Be sure to attach any needed information such as images/links.
A user should only ever have 1 Notice/Alert/Emergency at any point in time. They are designed to be unmissable, which means the following issues occur if overused:
- Multiple Announcements pinned at the top of the activity push relevant activity out of view
- Users start to ‘tune-out’ key communications because they become used to seeing a Announcement at the top of the screen
At present, you cannot edit an Announcement after posting, but you can delete it. Be sure your content, audience, and delivery methods are correct before clicking send.
Guidelines for Sending Announcements
Depending on the type and content of an Announcement, different delivery channels may be more effective.
| Type | Example Use | Delivery Channels |
|---|---|---|
| Notices | A Notice about new electives available in a specific program. A Notice about upcoming SGA elections. |
Activity & Email |
| Alerts | An Alert that the learning management system is down due to scheduled maintenance. An Alert about a downed power line on campus. |
Activity & Email |
| Emergency | An Emergency Announcement about the campus closing due to inclement weather. | Notifications, Activity, Email, SMS |
"Seen by" Analytics
"Seen by" analytics allow users with Announcement permissions to view how many users have seen an Announcement. Furthermore, it displays the percentage of users who have seen the Announcement from the Sent to: Target Audience.
It is important note, however, that an Announcement can only be "seen" once per user, even if a user sees an Announcement multiple times.
If there are multiple Target Audiences, hover over the "# more" text for a list of additional Target Audiences.
"Seen by" analytics are calculated in a few different ways:
- When the entire Announcement is displayed on an individual's screen
- With passive scrolling past an Announcement
- If an Announcement is displayed while a user refreshes their page
A notification bell does not count toward "seen by" analytics.
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