Creating a Campaign


To create a Campaign, you may want to have created your Contact List. If you haven't, you will be given the option to add it later but will be needed before the Campaign can be launched. 


From the homepage, click on the Create Content icon at the top right of the page:


Click on Create Campaign:


You will be brought to the initial options screen, where you can choose from one of three options:

  1. Ocelot Library
  2. From Scratch
  3. From Previous



Ocelot Library


When implementing Campaigns for the very first time, it is recommended to start with a template from the Ocelot Library. To start with a template, choose from the applicable department that has been set up for you based on your institution’s contract. 


Note: Ocelot has created Alumni Campaign templates for your use. We recommend the use of these Campaigns be agent-backed since Ocelot does not currently have an Alumni 

                     


Once a department has been chosen, there are three ways to browse through the available templates:

  1. Browse through the main collection of templates to see what’s available.

  1. Choose an applicable Topic, Goal, or Population of interest.

  1. Use a keyword to search for related templates.


Once you’ve chosen a template, select a contact list so that the system will know which fields will be options to map to your Campaign.


From Scratch

Once you’ve used a few Ocelot templates to become more familiar with the process of creating a Campaign, you’ll be ready to start creating Campaigns from scratch.



Select a contact list that you have already uploaded or select I'll do this later.



From Previous


Once you’ve created and used your own Campaigns, you will have Campaigns ready to re-use.


Select a Campaign that you have previously created and run to re-use again.

Clone the Campaign with a new descriptive title.



Finish customizing/updating the General tab of your Campaign.


Important! Be sure to Save Draft prior to launching. If you don't save the new information after editing the cloned Campaign, your message will be sent to the contact list associated with the Campaign you cloned.


Setting up the Campaign

You will see a preview of the text that will go out to students. There are five areas to customize, as described below the image.



  1. Give your Campaign a title. Be descriptive so that it’s easy to find when you want to re-use it in the future. 

  2. Identify your campus and office to keep it organized for easy future reference.

  3. Edit the text as desired, using hashtags around the applicable column header labels from your contact list. The custom information in each row of the applicable column will populate that field when the Campaign is launched.

  4. Add a tag to your Campaign to help you search for it again when you’re ready to re-use it in the future. Consider keywords from your title and/or body of text (i.e. “FAFSA”, “Deadline”, etc.). Hit enter after each tag to save them.

  5. Assign Inboxes to any agents or offices to handle any end-user responses. 


SAVE CAMPAIGN: Once your Campaign is saved, you will be brought to the Active area to finish setting up and running your Campaign.


In the Active Campaigns area, complete the General Settings tab.



  1. Campaign Type - When a contact responds to your initial message, who will respond to their texts? Your chatbot, or an agent?

    • Bot - A bot-backed Campaign will utilize your chatbot to respond to contacts who send text responses to the initial message.

    • Agent - An agent-backed Campaign will allow staff admins to respond to contacts who send text responses to the initial message. Agent-backed Campaigns should consider the amount of staff available to converse with contacts who respond to your message.

    • Once the Campaign has been launched, the type can be adjusted for individual conversations in Active Campaigns. For example, a bot-backed conversation can be switched to agent-backed if an agent wants to jump into that conversation; An agent-backed conversation can be switched to bot-backed if an agent wants the chatbot to take over responding to a conversation.

  2. IDK Type - For bot-backed Campaigns: When the Chatbot does not know the answer to the contact’s question (IDK, which stands for I Don’t Know), how do you want the Campaign to respond?

    • Custom Response

      • Create a custom response that will be sent to the texting participant. 

    • Agent

      • Agents are notified of bot-backed messages that contain an IDK so that the agent can respond to the IDK.

  3. Launch the Campaign - Decide whether to launch the Campaign immediately or in the future.

    • If you choose 'In the Future', the launch button will change to Schedule Launch. When you are ready, you will be able to schedule the date and time the Campaign will be launched.

  4. Automatic Archive - Define the number of days after the Campaign launches in which the Campaign will automatically be archived.
    • Ocelot recommends archiving your Campaign 7 days after the Campaign has launched. However, you may need to take into consideration the audience and content of the Campaign.

  5. Choose a Provision Number - Provision Numbers are phone numbers that are available to use to send your Campaign and receive response texts from recipients (i.e. students).


    You can either use a reusable number that is available or provision a new number specific for this Campaign.


    Provision number:

    1. Type in your area code to see a list of available numbers to use. 
    2. The chosen number will remain active with this specific Campaign until the Campaign is archived (made inactive). 

Note: Ocelot recommends using a reusable phone number. This will allow for a better user experience. See the Managing Active Campaigns article Stop and Archive section for more information.