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Introducing ShoutOuts

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to identify common use cases for ShoutOuts.

What is a ShoutOut?

ShoutOuts are popup messages that capture users' attention and communicate important messages.

Watch the video to understand what ShoutOuts are.

Key Takeaways
ShoutOuts are popup messages designed to draw a user’s attention. They are the perfect way to communicate with end users within the platform where messages are relevant to them. ShoutOuts can include an Action Button that lets us initiate another WalkMe item when clicked.

ShoutOut Use Cases

An example of a ShoutOut to increase feature adoption.

The figure shows an example of a ShoutOut to increase feature adoption.

ShoutOut Use Cases include:

Announce site changes
Inform users of upcoming site maintenance or downtime
Promote new features, promotional events, or premium services
Remind trial users of time remaining in a free trial account
Prompt employees to complete assigned online tasks

ShoutOut Components

There are 5 main components of each ShoutOut.

Component	Description
Theme	Select a Theme from the ShoutOut Template Gallery as a starting point for the ShoutOut design.
Position	Where will the ShoutOut appear on the screen? In the middle, in a corner, or somewhere else?
Text	What does the ShoutOut say? Adjust the text for what needs to be communicated.
Action	If we want users to take a specific action after viewing the message, include an Action Button. This will trigger another WalkMe item, such as a Smart Walk-Thru.
Engagement	Where and when will this ShoutOut appear for users?

Engagement Options

Now that we have an understanding of the five main components of a ShoutOut, let's look deeper at the Engagement settings to ensure the ShoutOut shows up as expected to meet our business needs and solution strategy.

Auto Play Settings

In the Engagement tab, we select how the ShoutOut gets activated in the platform. There are 3 options here:

Off (not commonly used): ShoutOut is initiated by a Launcher click.
Auto play: ShoutOut gets activated whenever a user reaches your site, on any page.
Play according to a rule (most common): Set up specific conditions under which your ShoutOut will activate. Such as the user getting to a specific page or an element being visible.

Always consider the end user experience when setting these up! Add the message where it is most relevant for users.

The figure shows Auto Play settings.

The figure shows Auto Play settings.

Frequency

We can then adjust how often our ShoutOut will Auto Play.

Once a Day: Plays the first time the Auto Play conditions are true each day.
Once: Plays only once.
Always: Plays every time the Auto Play conditions are true.
Custom: Designate the specific dates when this ShoutOut will play and the frequency ranging from:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly

Always is the least recommended option, as the message will constantly be popping up for a user and could result in frustration.

The figure shows Frequency settings.

The figure shows Frequency settings.

Cancel Auto Play

In many cases, we might want our ShoutOut to keep playing until the end user takes an action. Then, we want to stop showing them the ShoutOut. That's what this section is about.

We can cancel the Auto Play once the user clicks the:

Action Button
Close Button
X Button

Example: The ShoutOut is set up to play once per day until the user clicks the Action Button.

The figure shows Cancel Auto Play settings.

The figure shows Cancel Auto Play settings.

Limit the Number of ShoutOuts

ShoutOuts can be incredibly effective, easy ways to get messages out to end users. However, we should be strategic and limit the number of ShoutOuts we have and how often they replay for users.

Numerous ShoutOuts popping up for end users or constantly replaying could lead to a frustrating user experience!

Use the Engagement settings to ensure these messages show up for the right users in a relevant place on the platform. We can match the autoplay settings to meet our business needs and content strategy.

Steps for Creating a ShoutOut

Let's put these five components into practice and see how to use them as we create a ShoutOut.

Step 1: Create ShoutOut
Click the + icon in the Editor, and select ShoutOut. Give it a name, and click Continue. Note The ShoutOut (Classic) option is the older version of ShoutOuts. Use "ShoutOut."

Step 2: Select Theme

Select a Theme in the Template Gallery. We'll customize this later.

Then, click Apply Template in the bottom right.

Watch the video to know more. Note that the video doesn't support audio.

Step 3: Define Position

Next, think about the placement of our ShoutOut on screen. Utilize the options in the Layout section on the right-hand side of the Editor.

Hint

We generally recommend ShoutOuts are placed in a corner to minimize end users automatically closing it.

Watch the video to know more. Note that the video doesn't support audio.

Step 4: Customize Text & Details

Fine tune the design by customizing the text, colors, and more .

Click on an element to edit it. For example, double click on a text box to adjust it. Use the formatting tools on the right-hand side as needed to edit the style.

Watch the video to know more. Note that the video doesn't support audio.

Step 5: Edit the Action

The buttons you see on the ShoutOut are Action Buttons. These buttons will initiate other WalkMe applications like Smart Walk-Thrus, Resources, and more.

Generally, button functions are defaulted to "None," so be sure to change this prior to moving forward.

Click the relevant button on your ShoutOut, and use the dropdowns on the right-hand side to select the button's action.

Watch the video to know more. Note that the video doesn't support audio.

Step 6: Set Up Engagement

Once the design is complete, we can't save until we tell WalkMe when and where this ShoutOut will show up for users.

Click Next in the bottom right to open the Engagement section.

By default, it will Auto play, which means it will play anywhere on the website. If you need the ShoutOut to play on a specific webpage (recommended), you can select Create an Auto Play Rule to use the Condition Builder and set this up.

Watch the video to know more. Note that the video doesn't support audio.

Exercise: Create a ShoutOut

Below is a software simulation that will guide you through how to build a ShoutOut for this scenario. The simulation will replicate what you will experience when you build in your own Editor.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Hands-On Practice: Add Entry Points

Disclaimer

Instructions

At this point, we have covered our three main Entry Points: the WalkMe Menu, Launchers, and ShoutOuts. Let's apply these concepts with a build activity.

In this activity, you'll be adding Entry Points to some existing content to make sure users can easily access your interactive guidance when they need it most. We'll also be adding some new content. Here's what we'll do:

Add Request Signature for Documentation Smart Walk-Thru to the Menu.
Create a Launcher for the Request Signature for Documentation Smart Walk-Thru.
Create a ShoutOut for a new feature.

KLAW Login Credentials

URL: https://klawsign.com/app/

Username: training@walkme.com

Password: WalkMe123!

Be sure to write this login information down somewhere! Do not reset the password for this account.

Introduction

We've already built a Smart Walk-Thru for the KLAW team, and we're learning more about their needs as we continue our conversations with them.

Let's make sure users can access our Smart Walk-Thru when they need help and then build additional content to address their pain points.

Step 1: Add Smart Walk-Thru to the Menu

We learned that all Smart Walk-Thrus should be placed in the WalkMe Menu so users can access them whenever, wherever they need help.

Add the Request Signature for Documentation Smart Walk-Thru to the Menu so end users can access it on all pages of the KLAW site.

Step 2: Create Launcher

From what the KLAW team has told us, users get confused about where to access different actions when they have a document open. They get a lot of support tickets with outreach asking where to go to request signatures.

We have our Request Signature for Documentation Smart Walk-Thru created, but we can increase visibility that help content is available directly where users need help. We'll add a Launcher for this.

Add a Launcher that activates the Request Signature for Documentation Smart Walk-Thru.
This Launcher should appear when a user opens any document.

Watch the video to know more. Note that the video doesn't support audio.

Step 3: Create ShoutOut

The KLAW team has just added a new feature to their Departments page!

Before, users had to contact the KLAW team to get a new department added to their account. They just added a + New Department button so users can self-serve and complete this on their own!

They want to announce this new feature to their users and ensure they adopt it.

Create a ShoutOut announcing the + New Department button.
This ShoutOut should automatically play when a user gets to the Departments page.

Watch the video to know more. Note that the video doesn't support audio.

Summary
By adding these additional engagement points, we help increase awareness of the help content so users can easily access them in their moments of need. We also are making sure we are communicating with our end users so they are aware of new, valuable features.

Answer Guide

Below are the answer guides for adding the Smart Walk-Thru to the Menu, creating the Launcher, and creating the ShoutOut.

Be sure to try to figure out the solutions on your own before looking at the answers!

Add Smart Walk-Thru to the Menu
Watch the video below for the answer guide on how to add the Request Signature for Documentation Smart Walk-Thru to the Menu.

Request Signature Launcher
Watch the video for an answer guide on how to build the request signature Launcher.

New Departments Feature ShoutOut
Watch the video below for an answer guide on how to build the ShoutOut announcing the add a new department button.

Summary

ShoutOuts
ShoutOuts are popup messages used to communicate with end users. The Action Button lets us initiate another WalkMe action when clicked. We can customize the look, text, colors, and more using out of the box tools.

Related Resources

ShoutOuts: Getting Started Guide Bookmark this resource on getting started with ShoutOuts.	View Article
Visual Designer Dynamic Layout Dive further into all the details of our dynamic ShoutOut design editing tools.	View Article

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