Customize Channels, Tactic Types & Platforms

About Channels, Tactic Types, and Platforms

In Annum:

Channels are the different tools and media vehicles a business uses to communicate with its intended audiences. Tactics are color-coded by Channel.

Tactic Types are the types of actions a business takes to communicate/engage with its audiences in different Channels. Once you select a Channel, the Tactic Types under that Channel will be available for selection.

Platforms are third party websites, apps, and media where a business publishes content and advertises. Once you select a Tactic Type, the Platforms under that Tactic Type will be available for selection. Platforms are not needed for owned Channels.

For example:

Channel = website
Tactic Types = home page banner, blog post, case study

Channel = organic social media
Tactic Types = post, story, reel
Platforms = Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn

Instructions for Account Owners and Admins:

Customize Your Channel Set

Our integrated marketing planning calendar starts with a default set of channels which you will find in the channel dropdown list within the Tactic detail view and within Filters. To customize this list and your Channel settings, go to Plan Settings at the center top of the Plan you are working in and select Channels.

Add a Channel     Scroll to the bottom of the Channel list. Enter a name for the Channel and click (+) Channel. The Channel will appear directly above where you entered it.

A Channel must have at least one Tactic Type listed under it in order to enter a Tactic within that Channel into the Plan. A default Tactic Type with the same name as the Channel is automatically added to each new Channel. See below for how to edit and add Tactic Types listed within Channels.

Edit or Delete a Channel     Click on the caret icon “>” to the far right of the Channel name to open the Channel edit pane. Click on the pencil icon to edit the Channel name. Click on the check mark to accept the edit and the X to disregard it. Click on the red trashcan to the right of the Channel name to delete it. Note: when a Channel is deleted, all associated Tactics will be removed from the calendar.

Reorder Channel list     Click on the three lines to the left of the Channel name. Hold and drag the Channel up or down to reorder. This will affect the order Channels appear in the Tactic detail dropdown menu, in Filters, and the vertical order of Channels in the Flow view.

Change Channel Color     Click on the colored square to the left of the Channel name to select a new color.

Edit Channel Name     Click on the pencil icon to the right of the Channel name to change or edit it. Click the check mark to save your edit and the X to disregard it.

Configure Tactic Types

Tactic Types are the different vehicles used within a Channel.  Example: Channel = website, Tactic Types = home page banner, blog post, product detail page, case study. To customize the list of Tactic Types within a Channel, click on the caret icon “>” to the far right of the Channel name to open the Channel edit pane.

Add a Tactic Type     Scroll to the bottom of the Tactic Type list. Enter a name for the Tactic Type and click (+) Tactic Type. The new Tactic Type will appear directly above where you entered it.

Edit or Delete a Tactic Type     Click on the caret icon “>” to the far right of the Tactic Type name to open its edit pane. Click on the pencil icon to edit the Tactic Type name. Click on the check mark to accept the edit and the X to disregard it. Click on the red trashcan to the right of the Tactic Type name to delete it. Note: when a Tactic Type is deleted, all associated Tactics will be removed from the calendar.

Configure Platforms

Platforms are third party websites, apps, and media where a business publishes content and advertises. Examples: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn which, within the default Channel settings, you will find them in the Organic Social Media Channel.

Once in the Tactic Type edit pane, select from a list of existing Platforms and click (+) Platform to add it to the Tactic Type. If you do not see the Platform you want listed, you can add it within the Platforms module below the list of Channels.

Check the designated box for the ability to assign multiple Platforms per Tactic. This is useful for social media when, for instance,  you are planning on sending the same post out on Facebook, Instagram, and X. Instead of creating three separate Tactics, now you can create one with multiple Platforms selected.

Once set up, Platforms will show up in the Platform dropdown in the Tactic detail window. They will also appear in the Table view and Platform will take the place of Channel name in the Day and Month views and will appear above the Topic in the Flow view. Platforms are listed in alphabetical order.

When utilized, Platform takes the place of Channel in a Tactic’s label to provide more specifics within the Day and Month calendar views.

— COMING SOON —

Edit your Platform List     Scroll down below the Channels to add to and edit your list of available Platforms. Platforms will automatically be listed in alphabetical order.

Long-Running Tactics (e.g. Paid Media)

Long-Running Tactics with a duration over 21 days, such as paid media, are often seen as strategic investments and as such there is a desire to see them as part of a strategic annual plan and highlighted apart from daily and weekly activities.  

You can control their visibility in the Iniatives, Day, and Month Views.

INITIATIVES VIEW

MONTH VIEW

By highlighting long-running Tactics above you keep them from adding to the clutter of the day grid where they would show up across 3+ weeks.

FLOW VIEW

Hide Tactics in Flow View

The Flow view was designed to show a high level multi month overview of marketing plans. For Channels, such as Social Media, with multiple tactics per week or day, this feature gives you the ability to hide the Channel’s tactics in the Flow view.  These tactics will still be viewable in the Day, Month, and Table views. VIP tactics can be flagged in the Tactic Detail so they are still seen in the Flow view. 

When choosing to hide tactics in a Channel, we suggest adding a Monthly Channel Focus to provide a higher level summary of activity in the Flow view.

Monthly Channel Focus

A Monthly Focus can be added to a Channel to serve as a planning prompt or summary of activity in the Overstory of the Day and Month views and within the Flow view. The Monthly Focus is an opportunity to establish a cue for planners in a Channel. For example if you would like the Social Media team to share content related to “Business Loans” during the month of February.

Notes

The Notes feature is designed for entering planning information within the details of a Tactic or Initiative. It accommodates rich text which means you can format the text, add bullets and numbered lists, create links, and include graphics or images. Notes you’ve entered appear in a pop up when you hover over a Tactic or Initiative.

The Notes feature is on by default in all new Plans. On the right side above the list of Channels you will find controls to turn the Notes feature off or back on again. When this feature is turned on, the Notes field appears within all Tactic detail and Initiative detail views. When this feature is off, the Notes fields and all data within them are hidden.

Universal Tactic Fields

Universal Tactic Fields allow you to add fields of structured data universally to all Tactic Types for planning, tracking, and reporting purposes. Universal Tactic Fields can hold four types of data: text, number, link, or image.

Examples of Universal Tactic Fields:

1. Link to Published Content
2. Image of Final Creative Asset

Universal Tactic Fields:

• Appear in the Tactic detail
• Are seen in a column in the Table view
• Can be exported from the Table view as part of a CSV document (COMING SOON)
• Can be synced via an integration with a project management tool

How are Universal Tactic Fields different from the Notes field? 

The Notes field can be seen in the details for both Tactics and Initiative details and accepts unstructured data which encompasses a variety of data types including rich text, links, images, and numbers. Because the data is unstructured, it cannot be seen in the Table view (each column can only show one type of data) and cannot be exported as a CSV document or mapped for integration with another app unless only one specific type of data is utilized in the field, e.g. text. Universal Custom Fields appear in the details of Tactics and accept structured data of one specific type (text, link, image, or number) so they can be viewed in a Table, downloaded as part of a CSV file, and synced via an integration with another software app. Also, the Notes field can be viewed when hovering over an Initiative or Tactic in the calendar views. Universal Tactic Fields cannot. Scroll up for more information on the Notes field.

Instructions for our customers who have been provisioned > Tactic Type Custom Fields.

For more explanations and instruction, visit Guides where you will find a Glossary of terms, guides by role, and more. If you still have unanswered questions, contact us.

Annum's integrated omnichannel marketing planning software is patented. Patent Number: 12,079,779.