How To: Announcements

Overview

Announcements act as a Content Management System Blogging tool. Announcements are an effective way to communicate with Delegates before, during, and after an Event. Another way to look at Announcements is having the same functionality and purpose of a Blog Post.  

Task

Setup Announcements to show on the Event Home Page 

Pre-requisites

Instructions

  1. Access the functionality via the “Engagement” module and then "Announcements" which is found via the charcoal navigational bar on the left-hand side of the platform.

  2. At the bottom of the page, click "Create Announcement"

  3. Complete the following details for your Announcements:

    • Name

      • The name of the Announcement

    • Summary

      • Provide a summary of the Announcement, shown on the index page

    • URL Slug

      • Enter a URL for the item (i.e. a page name will become a-page-name). This cannot be changed after creation'

    • Announcement Categories (if this has been setup)

    • Announcement Status

      • Featured - Choose whether to Feature the Announcement on the Home Page

      • Status - Select Enabled or Disabled
        (Gives you the opportunity to create Announcements in advance, ready to switch on later if you like)

    • Add Section

      • Select your Section Type

      • Populate the section

    • Add a Featured Image

      • This will show as a the Index Image within the Announcements / Home Page

         

  4. Once complete, you can now submit your new Announcement.

    • If you have set this up to be Featured, you will need to ensure the Home Page Section is enabled, see "How To: Home Page Sections" for further instructions.

    • If you require a Menu Icon for your Announcements, you can create this via "Event Options". See "How To: Menus" for further instructions around how to create these. 

 

Below is an example of how the Announcements will show on the Homepage:

image-20240409-065816.png

 

Below is an example of how the Announcements will show within the /announcements URL:

image-20240409-065828.png

Notes:

  • Announcements are highly configurable, allowing the inclusion of Page Sections, exactly like a Custom Page. These various Page sections can allow for a combination of text, images, videos, and embedded content to provide a rich experience.

  • Announcements can be categorised using Announcement Categories to provide additional grouping and segmentation of the Announcements.

Announcement Categories

Overview

Announcement Categories are identical in function to Content Management Systems. An Announcement can be linked to one or more Categories. Each Category has an Index page, allowing Admin Users to provide direct access to Announcements in a specific category.

Configuring Announcement Categories

Announcements Categories can be configured (in the 'Announcement Categories” tab on top of the screen) with a name & description shown in the Announcement Category Index Page above all Announcements. The status can also be disabled as required.

Pre-Requisites

Key Items & Recommendations

  • While creating Categories can be useful, there should always be a number of posts in each Category. If you are only creating a few key Announcements, then potentially do not create Categories and just use the Announcements Index Page instead.

Outcome

Once complete, your Event will have Announcements for Delegates/Attendees to see and engage with.