Building a Unified Marketing Campaign Timeline
Introduction
In this section, we delve into how a marketing agency is challenged by complex campaign management and limited technical resources. We outline the agency’s transition to a user-friendly, no-code system using Salesforce enhanced with the Avonni Calendar component.
This introduction paves the way for an in-depth look at this strategic technology integration and its impact on the agency’s campaign management efficiency.
Current Challenges:
The marketing agency faces the complexity of managing multifaceted campaigns.
Limited technical resources present a significant hurdle.
There is a pressing need to avoid accumulating technical debt.
Agency's Requirements:
A system that is easy to manage and operate.
Preference for a no-code solution that does not demand advanced technical expertise.
Chosen Solution: Avonni Components with the Avonni Calendar
Avonni Calendar offers a no-code, plug-and-play functionality.
It facilitates efficient coordination across Creative, Content, Digital, Social Media, and PR teams.
The Avonni Calendar is user-friendly and ideal for streamlined task scheduling and project management.
It ensures flexibility and ease of adaptation for future enhancements and changes.
Salesforce architecture setup
Our agency has enhanced Salesforce with custom objects and the Avonni Calendar component. This setup, aligning with our streamlined, user-friendly approach, improves team coordination and task tracking. We'll now explore the specifics of this efficient system.
Custom Objects Creation:
Marketing Teams Object: This object stores essential information for each marketing team. Fields include:
Description: A brief overview of the team’s function.
Marketing Team Name: Identifies the team (e.g., Creative, Content, Digital).
Lookup to Campaign Events: Links each team to its associated events, ensuring a clear connection between teams and their tasks.
Campaign Events Object: This object tracks all the campaign-related events. Key fields are:
Description: Details of the event.
Start Date and End Date: Defines the timeline of each event.
Status: A picklist indicating the progress (e.g., Planned, In Progress, Completed).
Owner: The team or individual responsible for the event.
Lookup by Marketing Team: Connects each event to its relevant team, creating an organized structure.
Purpose and Configuration:
Why These Objects?: These custom objects provide a structured way to manage the complex interdependencies in marketing campaigns. They help track which team is responsible for what task and the status of each task, all within a clearly defined timeline.
How They Work Together:
The Marketing Teams Object serves as a central hub for team-related information. It’s linked to the Campaign Events Object, forming a relational database.
The Campaign Events Object details the specific actions, deadlines, and responsibilities. This detailed structuring allows for easy tracking of each task's progress and effective coordination across different teams.
Utilizing Avonni Calendar:
With these objects in place, the Avonni Calendar component in Salesforce visually represents this data. Events from the Campaign Events Object are displayed in the calendar, color-coded by the team (linked through the Marketing Teams Object), allowing for a clear and interactive view of the campaign's progress.
Flow Setup
Step 1: Creating a New Flow
Begin by creating a new flow in Salesforce.
Choose the 'Screen Flow' option. This flow type will allow you to create a user interface interacting with Salesforce records.
Step 2: Setting Up Record Collections
This step aims to gather data from your custom objects, which will be used in the flow to display relevant information on the screen.
Get Events Collection:
Create a 'Get Records' element named 'Get Events'.
This element should be linked to your 'Campaign Events' custom object.
Configure it to retrieve all records from the 'Campaign Events' object.
This step fetches all the event details associated with your campaigns, which will be displayed or used in subsequent flow steps.
Get Team Collection:
Add another 'Get Records' element, called 'Get Team'.
Link this element to your 'Marketing Teams' custom object.
Set it to show all records from the 'Marketing Teams' object.
This is done to gather comprehensive information about the various marketing teams involved in your campaigns. This data can include team names, descriptions, and related campaign events, allowing for a detailed overview of team activities and responsibilities within the flow.
Detailed Explanation:
These initial steps in creating your flow are essential for establishing a solid base. By collecting records from the 'Campaign Events' and 'Marketing Teams' custom objects, the flow gains access to crucial data. This information is critical to guiding the flow’s logic and actions, allowing for effective management and display of campaign and team details.
Adding a Screen element
Next, we'll add a screen element to build our flow's visual interface, incorporating components for the Marketing Campaign Timeline interface.
Avonni Header Configuration
Begin your Salesforce flow by adding the Avonni Header, a key component for creating an attractive, professional header. It's customizable and easy to use, perfect for enhancing your flow screen with icons, titles, and captions.
Purpose of Avonni Header: We use the Avonni Header to give a clear, visually engaging introduction to the flow. It sets the context for users, guiding them through the flow quickly and clearly.
Configuring the Avonni Header: Here’s how to configure the Avonni Header for the "Marketing Campaign Timeline". To fully configure the Avonni Header, click the "Open Component Builder" button.
Title Configuration:
Set the title as "Marketing Campaign Timeline".
This title acts as the main heading on your flow screen, immediately informing users about the purpose of the flow.
Caption Setting:
Add a caption: "Schedule".
This provides additional context or a subheading, further clarifying the flow’s function.
IsJoined Option:
Check the 'IsJoined' box.
This option influences the header's design, typically by altering how it integrates with other components on the screen.
Pull to Boundary Setting:
Ensure 'Pull to Boundary' is checked.
This makes the header stretch across the entire width of the screen, creating a more cohesive and professional look.
Avatar Icon Customization:
Choose the avatar icon name as "standard:campaign_members".
Select the size as 'large'.
This icon visually represents the content or theme of your flow, in this case, highlighting the focus on campaign members.
Optional: Adding Button Actions to the Header
You can enhance the Header by adding actions like a 'New' button for creating records. To do this:
Go to the 'Actions' section to set up your buttons.
Remember to configure the button's functionalities by clicking on the 'Interactions' tab. This step is crucial to determine what happens when users interact with these buttons.
By carefully configuring the Avonni Header with these settings, you create a visually appealing and informative starting point for your flow. It not only enhances the aesthetic appeal but also aids in delivering a clear, concise message about what users can expect from the flow.
Avonni Calendar Configuration
1. Placing the Avonni Calendar Component
Next, drag the Avonni Calendar Component below the previously added Avonni Header. To customize it, open the Component Builder, where you'll find various settings.
2. Configuring Data Source
For our marketing campaign timeline, navigate to the Data Source section in the Avonni Calendar component to configure its data sources, which are crucial for the calendar's functionality. This includes:
Resources:
In the 'Resources' section, these represent your campaign's various teams (Creative, Content, Digital, etc.).
Select the appropriate 'Get Records' collection from the dropdown menu you previously set up for the marketing teams.
This step is crucial for indicating the availability and scheduling of different teams, enhancing resource allocation efficiency.
Events:
In the 'Events' section, list the tasks or milestones for each team, like content deadlines or digital launches.
Again, choose the corresponding 'Get Records' collection from the dropdown menu, linking it to the tasks and milestones you've established for the campaign.
This linkage provides a transparent view of the campaign timeline and how each team engages with assigned tasks over time.
3. Configuring Data Mappings
Data Mappings Overview: Data mappings are essential for integrating Salesforce data into the Avonni Calendar. This process aligns fields from the 'Get Records' collections in Salesforce with attributes in the Avonni Calendar, ensuring accurate data representation.
Resource Mappings:
Label: Select the appropriate field from your 'Get Records' collection corresponding to the team names in the Marketing Teams object.
Name: Use the
recordIdfield to identify each resource uniquely.Avatar Fallback Icon Name: Choose 'standard:groups' to represent your resources visually.
Event Mappings:
Title: Choose the field from your 'Get Records' collection representing the event name in the Campaign Events object.
Resource Name: Map this to the lookup field linking to the Marketing Team object. This is vital for associating each event with the correct team in the calendar.
From: Map to the 'Start Date' field of the Campaign Events object.
To: Use the 'End Date' field from the Campaign Events object.
Importance of Accurate Mapping: Correct data mapping ensures the Avonni Calendar displays events and resources correctly. This accuracy makes the calendar a reliable tool for visualizing schedules and managing resources efficiently within your campaign.
4. Enhancing the Avonni Calendar with Additional Settings
With the Avonni Calendar's basic setup for our marketing campaign timeline complete, let's explore other settings to enhance its functionality further.
Display Formats
Timeline: Offers a linear view of schedules over a selected period.
Calendar: The traditional grid-based calendar view.
Agenda: Lists events in chronological order with detailed information.
Time Span Selection
Depending on your campaign's needs, choose to display the calendar in days, weeks, or months.
Header Customization
The Header section allows for various modifications to the calendar's top header, tailoring it to your branding and aesthetic preferences.
Configuring Available Times
Customize time frames in the Available Times section to focus on specific periods relevant to your campaign.
Context Menu Actions
Enhance calendar interactivity with specific actions in the Context Menu Action section, allowing for more dynamic event management.
Event Display Options
The Event Display section offers customization for the visual appearance of your calendar events, ensuring they align with the campaign's theme.
Search Engine Integration
Enable a search feature to quickly find items on the Calendar, improving efficiency and user experience.
These additional settings in the Avonni Calendar provide extensive customization options, enabling you to tailor the calendar to your marketing campaign's specific demands and nuances.
Conclusion: Maximizing Campaign Management with Avonni Calendar
As we conclude this tutorial, your Salesforce environment is now equipped with a fully configured Avonni Calendar, specifically tailored for the needs of your marketing campaign. With its intuitive interface and customizable features, this powerful tool is ready to revolutionize how your team schedules, tracks, and manages various campaign tasks.
By leveraging the versatility of the Avonni Calendar, you have laid the foundation for more efficient and coordinated campaign management. The calendar's seamless integration with your custom Salesforce objects ensures every team member stays informed and engaged with real-time campaign events and milestones updates.
Remember, the Avonni Calendar is more than just a scheduling tool; it’s a dynamic platform that adapts to your campaign's evolving needs. As your campaign progresses, explore and utilize the various settings and features you’ve learned about to optimize campaign management further.
With this setup, you are better positioned to manage deadlines, allocate resources effectively, and maintain a holistic view of your marketing campaign’s progress. We hope this tutorial has been insightful and that the Avonni Calendar becomes a cornerstone of your campaign management strategy. Happy campaigning!
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