Messaging

The netFORUM messaging integration options are used for email and fax blasts or any other mass email opportunities.

Unlike the older integration options, new integrations are built directly into iWeb, giving you the ability to use Real Magnet, HighRoads, and Informz without leaving the client. Messages are sent more efficiently with better tracking and recording capabilities directly from Individual and Call to Action profiles. The integration option you choose to use is system option controlled.

Features

Real Magnet is a leading Email Service Provider. Its application, MagnetMail, is a comprehensive email marketing platform for attracting and engaging your audience.

Learn more at http://www.realmagnet.com/

HighRoad is dedicated to consulting non-profit organizations on the messaging solutions they need to communicate with their members and how to grow their membership using mixed marketing solutions.

Learn more at http://www.highroadsolution.com/

InFormz "offers a suite of integrated email marketing solutions built to meet the needs of associations and nonprofits, helping you deepen relationships with existing members, discover and reach new members, and work more efficiently." - InFormz.com

Learn more at http://www.informz.com/

Comparison of Integration Features

Feature Real Magnet High Roads Informz
Push List of Recipients Y Y Y
Send Personalized Emails using netFORUM Templates Y Y Y
Jobs are linked to an opt out category in vendor's system Y Y N
Link from Call to Action to Vendor's Job Page Y Y N
Track/Import Sent Emails Y Y Y
Track/Import Bounced Emails Y Y Y
Mark Repeated "User Unknown" Bounces as Invalid Y N Y
Track/Import Opened Emails Y Y Y
Track/Import Unsubscribes Y Y Y
Track/Import Opt Outs per Mailing Type Y Y N
Track/Import Link Clickthroughs Y Y Y
Track/Import Spam Complaints or Do Not Email Y Y N

Client Tasks

  • Client should have valid Real Magnet, HighRoad, and/or InFormz license with Username and Password.
  • Client will need to provide Avectra with the list of users who should have Real Magnet, HighRoad, and/or InFormz access, and the Real Magnet/HighRoad/InFormz Username and Password. If multiple usernames and passwords are being used, client will need to provide a mapping of which username and password to use for each user.

Abila Tasks

  • Configure Task Scheduler for Message Tracking Updater
  • Abila must enable MagnetMail (v2 or v3), HighRoad, or InFormz in the EnableMessagingIntegration system option.
  • Abila needs to setup each netFORUM User specified with the Real Magnet/HighRoad/InFormz Username and Password for any users who will use the messaging integration directly within netFORUM.

Usage Instructions

Messaging can be accessed from the Individual Profile page, List page, Call to Action, and Marketing Wizard.

Messaging handles individuals ONLY. netFORUM passes the individual data into Real Magnet, which in turn maps the fields and sends out the email or fax.

Notes:
  • The effects of messaging integration show up only if the logged in iWeb user has been set up with Magnet Mail/HighRoad access.
  • iWeb users that do not have Magnet Mail/HighRoad/InFormz set up still have the baseline functionality for Email to List and Call to Action.

From the Individual Profile

Sending an email from the Individual Profile

Beginning with Build 2011.01, email integrations such as Real Magnet, HighRoads, or InFormz will be fully integrated and you will no longer see the Real Magnet email icon on individual profiles if you are on version 3 of Real Magnet. Instead, use the Communicate icon to send email as you normally would including the use of netFORUM email templates.

  1. Select a message from the Select Message drop-down list.
  2. The Send To field will default to that individual's primary email address.
  3. Enter a valid email address in the From Field text box.
  4. Enter a Subject Line.
  5. Click the Send Message button.

The E-Mail to This List topic also details this functionality.

Sending a Fax from the Individual Profile

The Send Fax through Real Magnet link is in the Form Links menu in the upper right corner of the Individual Profile page. Ensure that you have a valid Fax number(s) before sending your message.

  1. Expand the Action Items tab.
  2. Select the Send Fax through Real Magnet link.
  3. Select a message from the Select Message drop-down list.
  4. Select the Send check box(es) in the recipients section.
  5. Select a Fax Resolution.
  6. Click the Send Fax button.

The Fax in Progress and Fax Sent Successfully pages will display in a similar manner as sending an email message (above).

Note: The Send Fax through Real Magnet link displays in the Form Links menu whether or not Real Magnet is enabled.

Important! You will not be able to use this functionality if you do not have a Real Magnet username/password enabled and set-up correctly.

Viewing Statistical Data

There is a nightly process that imports data back into netFORUM from Real Magnet*, HighRoad, and/or InFormz . This data is displayed on the E-Mail Integration tab on the Individual Profile page.

Note: The most recent Real Magnet integration version sends tracking back to Correspondence under a unified table called Messaging Activity.

There are four child forms within the E-Mail Integration tab:

email integration tracking
This tracks which emails that the individual received, the date they received them and when they were opened.
email integration link tracking
This tracks which hyperlinks were in what emails and which which ones the receiver actually clicked to view, and the date on which the link is accessed. This is a method to measure the success of an email campaign.
email integration fax tracking
This tracks which faxes that individual received and the date they sent them.
email integration unsubscribes
This tracks which emails the individual has requested that they no longer receive. It also notes the email group they are in, and the date they removed themselves from receiving that email.

This data is also saved into the following areas:

  • the communications child form on the correspondence tab to display sent messages
  • the bounces child form on the correspondence tab to display bounces returned from the integration vendor
  • the manage comm preferences page will be updated to opt users out of mailing types if the group name matches to the mailing type or based on the mailing type of the job sent from within netFORUM
    • opt outs which occur in netFORUM will be pushed in to High Roads opt out categories as part of the tracking updater
  • if link clicks are for links which exist in netFORUM under the messaging link setup, then a Customer Action record will be created on the scoring tab. The action type is Link Click.
    • if the link is related to interest codes, the customer will have implicit interest activity created on the misc tab
  • if a customer reports the message to the vendor as spam, the customer will be marked to not receive non-transaction emails (do not email flag on individual profile)

Invalid Email Address

If messaging integration tries, and fails, to send an email to a specific email address it will suppress that email address. Email addresses suppressed by MagnetMail (this happens only when an email address bounces for reason of "user unknown" 2 times over a 30 day period) will be marked as invalid in netFORUM and no other delivery attempts will be made.

Also, if an email message is flagged as spam by the recipient, it will also be suppressed and marked as invalid.

If an email is marked as invalid, it will be visible on the Edit - Individual Email form available from within the individual profile.

Note: If an email is used elsewhere in netFORUM (in an invoice, for instance), it can be marked as invalid, but it cannot be deleted.

To view whether an email address has been flagged as invalid, complete the following steps:

  1. Expand the module menu to view the complete list of netFORUM modules.
  2. Click the CRM link to launch the CRM module.
  3. Click the Individuals tab and locate the desired user's individual profile (using the find or list functionality.)
  4. In the child form section of the individual profile, click the More link to view the list of available child form categories.
  5. Click the Contact Info option.
  6. Expand the email addresses option to view the list of email address associated with this individual profile.
  7. Click the Edit General edit icon.png icon to open the Edit - Individual Email pop-up window.

If the invalid? checkbox is checked, this email address has been marked as invalid.

To remove the invalid designation for this email address, click the invalid? checkbox to remove the check.

Real Magnet Opt-Out Synchronization

When a message is sent from a netFORUM Call to Action via Real Magnet, it can be configured to always include an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the message.

When a user clicks this link, they are taken to a page that will automatically opt them out of further communications of that mailing type. The nightly process that brings data back from Real Magnet to netFORUM will then create the optout record in netFORUM based on the mailing type of the call to action that was used to send the message.

Additional Information

  • The Call To Action functionality also supports the integration with Real Magnet.
  • When e-mailing to a List, Real Magnet is also the engine used to Communicate through email.

Technical Information

System Options

System Options: NEW INTEGRATION System Options: OLD INTEGRATION
EnableMessagingIntegration

System Option Settings for Messaging: View EnableMessagingIntegration

  • Blank = No messaging integration is available.
  • Real Magnet V2 = This allows for the scheduled uploads from netFORUM to Real Magnet on an hourly, daily or weekly basis and allows for usage of Real Magnet's drag and drop editor. Compatible with marketing automation, you can also opt to send messages via an iFrame within netFORUM.
  • Real Magnet V3 = All email communications occurs through the netFORUM communicate page. The page automatically creates and sends messages using magnet mail. This is an obsolete version of the integration.
  • Highroads = All email communications occurs through the netFORUM communicate page. The page automatically creates and sends messages using Highroads blue hornet.
  • InFormz = All email communications occurs through the netFORUM communicate page. The page automatically creates and sends messages using the InFormz email application.
  • Custom = All email communications occurs through the netFORUM communicate page. The page automatically creates and sends messages using a custom messaging integration defined by the system options.

Process Flow for Communicate Page

Once a user has initiated a message to be sent from the communicate page using a messaging integration, netFORUM will perform the following steps to get the message sent:

  • The Communicate Page will collect the list of recipients with the necessary personalization data based on the template selected
  • An upload job for this list of recipients will be started with the messaging vendor
    • When using Real Magnet, the email message is also passed to the vendor at this point, instead of after the upload completes
  • A messaging job will be created to check the status of this upload job
  • When the upload job completes, the messaging job will copy the netFORUM template to the messaging vendor's system
  • The messaging job will then start the job to send messages in the vendor's system

Process Flow for Call to Action

Once a user has initiated a message to be sent from a call to action using a messaging integration, netFORUM will perform the following steps to get the message sent:

  • netFORUM will schedule a messaging job, similar to a regular call to action
  • This first messaging job will collect the list of recipients with the necessary personalization data based on the template selected
  • An upload job for this list of recipients will be started with the messaging vendor
    • When using Real Magnet, the email message is also passed to the vendor at this point, instead of after the upload completes
  • A second messaging job will be created to check the status of this upload job
  • When the upload job completes, the second messaging job will copy the netFORUM template to the messaging vendor's system
  • The messaging job will then start the job to send messages in the vendor's system
  • The vendor's message ID will be stored and a link will be provided taking the user to the vendor's system to see the job status

Troubleshooting

If you are experiencing issues Logging In to Real Magnet from netFORUM, go to your Internet Options and ensure that https://www.magnetmail.net as well as your netFORUM iWeb site are set up as a Trusted Site. Add the site in the Security tab.