MemberFuse Implementation

Important! Social Networking Account integration with NetForum is deprecated. Build: 2014.01

Once the Abila Implementation team has your MemberFuse social community set-up and configured through the CMS module, you now have the ability to activate 5 key items in NetForum that are associated with MemberFuse. Those are:

• Member Types

• Chapters

• Events

• Committees

• Demographics

• Queries

Six additional items may be linked as well by enabling the object through the toolkit. They are:

• Interest Code

• Mailing List

• Individual Type

• Relationship Type

• Product Purchase

• Custom Groups

Each of these items will have the ability to be activated in NetForum which will then create a matching group or user data within your MemberFuse Social Community. For example, if you create a member type and activate a Social Community group based on that member type, each time a membership is subsequently purchased, the individual purchasing that membership will also be added automatically to the Social Community group that was activated and created. In this manner, you can begin the process of creating the social groups that your members may use to collaborate and share information.

Enable and Disable Group Synchronization to NetForum

On the NetForum committee profile screen, you have the option to enable and disable the synchronization of groups from NetForum to MemberFuse.

• Enable Group Synchronization

To enable group synchronization between NetForum and MemberFuse, use the Activate in Social Community icon in the Committee Profile screen.

The Add - Social Media Group pop-up window will appear. You can specify the social community member to be owner of the group from the owner drop-down list. The group syncs immediately to MemberFuse and will continue to sync future edits.

Note: Only individuals who have a Staff role will be displayed in the Group Owner drop-down menu.

Disable Group Synchronization - Option to Hide in MemberFuse

To disable group synchronization between NetForum and MemberFuse without deleting the MemberFuse group, select the Deactivate in Social Community icon in the Committee Profile screen.

When the Deactivate in Social Community icon is selected, the Edit - Deactivate Group pop-up window will appear. To leave the group in MemberFuse, but stop synchronization with NetForum, leave the Do you want to deactivate in MemberFuse as well? check-box empty and click Save. The committee will still appear as a MemberFuse group, but changes and updates will no longer sync from NetForum to MemberFuse.

Hiding Groups Synced to MemberFuse: You now have the option to deactivate and hide committees that have been synchronized from NetForum in MemberFuse. To deactivate and hide a group in MemberFuse, click the Deactivate in Social Community icon. In the pop-up window select the Do you want to deactivate in MemberFuse as well? check-box and click Save. This causes the group in MemberFuse to be disconnected from sync to NetForum and hidden from view.

Important! You can reactivate the group in NetForum by clicking the Activate in Social Media icon again. This will restore the group just as it was when it was deactivated and restores the synchronization between NetForum and MemberFuse for that group. However, if you reactivate the group from MemberFuse, the synchronization will not be restored.

Creating Groups in MemberFuse Using Query Results

Query results obtained on the NetForum site can be used to automatically create groups in MemberFuse. As long as the NetForum query is set up to retrieve a list of individuals, the individuals in that list can be placed in a group in MemberFuse.

1. To activate a group from a NetForum query, navigate to the Query Profile. The query must meet certain rules to be used as a group in MemberFuse:
   • The query you select must be set up to pull a list of individuals.
   • The query cannot use user-defined SQL.
   • The query cannot use "ask at runtime" parameters.
2. Click the Activate in Social Community icon.
3. The Add–Social Media Group window will appear. Select an owner for the group from the drop-down field. Names listed in the owner field are those of customers who are also NetForum users and therefore are considered by the site to have staff permissions.
4. Click Save. The query is now set to synchronize as a group on the MemberFuse site. Once the overnight sync is complete, the query group will appear in MemberFuse. The name of the group in MemberFuse will reflect the name of the query in NetForum.

Activating a MemberFuse Membership Group in NetForum

Once your Social Community is set up and configured, you are able to activate a group based on a Member Type within NetForum. Once activated, a group is created in your Social Community based on this Member Type. This means that each time a membership is purchased, the individual will also be added to that group in Social Community immediately. A sample membership group home page is seen below.

A member type group in the Social Community may take advantage of collaborating with resource links or files, announcements, and discussions. Further, individuals may even take advantage of the Social Community’s Member Matching feature that provides the ability to match you with other members of the association community who have similar interests once you complete your profile questionnaire and enable it.

To activate a group based on a Member Type:

• Goto the Member Type profile

• Click the Activate Group button (this button will change to Deactivate once activated)

• Each membership purchased will now place the individual in this Social Community group when they log-in to the MemberFuse community for the first time.

Note that for those objects that do not have profiles (and even those that do), you may edit the object and click the Activate Social Community link there such as seen in the Member Type after the Edit button is clicked.

Activating a MemberFuse Event Group in NetForum

Once your Social Community is set-up and configured, you are able to create the events present in NetForum within your Social Community as well with the click of a button. This means that each time an event is set-up in NetForum, you can also choose to create an event group in your Social Community so that your members can interact with each other and the event itself as seen below.

Notice that in addition to displaying each event that is created in the Social Community, members can view event specifics and choose to attend the event by clicking the More Event Information button which will return them to NetForum and registration. Further, members can choose to interact with other association members attending the event by posting announcements, discussions, and resources.

To create a NetForum event group in your Social Community:

• Go to the Event profile

• Click the Create Group button (this button will change to Deactivate once activated)

• This will now create the event and all the specifics detailed in NetForum in your Social Community.

Important! This will create a group in MemberFuse based upon the event created in NetForum but will not display the event on the MemberFuse event calendar. You must make sure the Post to Web dates are set for that to occur (Enterprise) and Sell Online dates are set (Team/Pro). See the next section for more information.

Displaying Events in the MemberFuse Calendar

As you create or edit events in NetForum, you have the option to set that event to display on the MemberFuse community event calendar. Once added to the event calendar, MemberFuse users will have the option to register for the event and export the event to a web calendar. Events sync between NetForum and MemberFuse immediately, so users will be able to view the event in both locations as soon as it is saved.

To display an Event on the MemberFuse event calendar:

1. In the NetForum event profile, click the Edit Event Info button.
2. The Edit - Event Information screen will appear in a pop-up window. Scroll to the bottom of the window to the Event Date / Time & Other Information section.
3. Complete the Post to Web field and Remove Web field to also display the event in the MemberFuse community calendar. Click Save to preserve changes. Once the NetForum and MemberFuse sites have synced, the event will appear in the MemberFuse community calendar.

Activating a MemberFuse Committee Group in NetForum

Once your Social Community is set-up and configured, you are able to activate a group based on a Committee within NetForum. Once activated, a group is created in your Social Community based on this Committee. This means that each time an individual is added to a Committee, the individual will also be added to that group in Social Community. Initially, it will take 24 hours for the nightly synch process to run and populate the group with existing members, however as new members are added they will be synched between NetForum and MemberFuse immediately. All of the group benefits described in Activating Social Community Membership Groups are enabled for Committee Groups that are created as well. Activating a group for a Committee is beneficial, for example, for those Committees that desire to share information within the Social Community such as committee announcements or resources.

To create a group based on a Committee:

1. Go to the Committee profile

2. Click the Create in Community button (this button will change to Deactivate once activated)

3. Each member of this Committee will also be added to the committee group in the Social Community when they log-in to the community for the first time.

Include Individuals Receiving Member Benefits

If the Member Type has member benefit flowdown and you would like to include those individuals as well, then you should do the following:

• In the Toolkit module, go to the Find Object page and search for the Relationship Type object. Edit that object and select the social group object checkbox (if it's not already selected) and save.
• Similar to above, do the same for the Individual Affiliation object.
• Go to the Relationship Types that you would like to socialize. You must enable each relationship type separately.
• Finally, socialize the Member Type as described above.

Setting a Group Owner Upon Activation in MemberFuse

Use the Owner drop-down when activating your Group in NetForum to specify a different owner upon activation. If you do not specify an Owner, the person activating the group will become the owner by default. Only individuals with the Staff role will be available in the owner drop-down menu.

Important! You must activate the group to set a group owner. Activate the group by clicking the Social icon in the upper right corner of the profile. Activation is explained in the sections above beginning with Memberships.

Data Synchronization between MemberFuse and NetForum

A batch process is completed each night to reflect changes in the groups you have set-up (such as new members that have been added) and to synchronize the data between NetForum and your MemberFuse Social Community. Therefore, it may take 24 hours for some data to appear in MemberFuse. All individual and organization records are synced from NetForum to MemberFuse on a nightly basis. Please ensure that you have waited the allotted 24-hour sync time before contacting Abila support if you notice any data issues.

Note: Only individual and organization records with email addresses are synced.

For more information on the synchronization process, including the exact fields that are synced, view the MemberFuse Data Synchronization topic.

Troubleshooting

If the Activate in Community link is disabled on a profile, note the following:

• You must have a user account that is linked to the currently logged-in customer to NetForum
• That user account must also have a valid primary e-mail address

See Also

MemberFuse

MemberFuse Data Synchronization