Action Builder ↔ Action Network Integration FAQs

Action Builder ↔ Action Network Integration Guide:

1. Overview
2. How to Create and Use Tags in Action Network for Integration with Action Builder
3. Setting Up the Action Builder and Action Network Integration
4. FAQs
5. FAQs Chart

Overview

The Action Builder (AB) to Action Network (AN) integration allows administrators to connect Action Network groups to Action Builder campaigns. This integration enables you to pull activists from AN into AB as entities and subscribe entities with emails or mobile phone numbers to your Action Network group. Additionally, it allows mapping AB responses to AN tags, facilitating seamless data transfer between the two systems. Once your integration is live, any entities in the connected Action Builder campaign will be matched to the Action Network group by email address.

Key Features:

1. Activist Sync: Pull activists from AN into AB as entities, and subscribe entities with emails or mobile phone numbers to AN groups.
2. Response Mapping: Map AB responses to AN tags for efficient data transfer.
3. Email Matching: Use the best AB email for matching entities. New activists are created in AN if no match is found, marked as subscribed if the email is marked as such in AB.
4. Ongoing Sync: Continuous synchronization of contact information and tags between AN and AB. Mapped AN Tags and AB Responses sync automatically.

Sync Behaviors:

• Removing Responses: Deleting a response in AB removes the corresponding tag in AN.
• Changing Assessments: Updates in AB assessments update targeting tags in AN.
• Petition Signatures: Sync petition signatures with your AB bargaining unit without adding new people. The magic tag adds people to AB but is optional. If an activist in AN does not have the magic tag and the email address does not exist in AB, nothing happens. If the email address exists in AB, it will sync responses.
• Subscription Status: Unsubscribing in AB does not currently affect subscription status in AN.
• Campaign Removal: Removing someone from an AB campaign does not unsubscribe them in AN.
• Email Changes: Changing an email address in AN does not update it in AB.
• Targeted Emails: Ensure workflows manage subscription statuses effectively for targeted emails.
• Adding Magic Tag: Adding the magic tag in AN adds the record to AB.
• Subscribed Marking: Marking phone/email as "subscribed" in AB adds the entity to AN.
• Bad Marking: Marking an email/phone as "bad" in AB unsubscribes the activist in AN.
• Merging Records: Merging records in AB keeps both activists active in AN and syncs them to the same record.

How to Create and Use Tags in Action Network for Integration with Action Builder

Tags in Action Network are crucial for managing activists and integrating with the sister toolset, Action Builder. This section will walk you through the process of creating and using tags, and how they can be strategically used to grow your Action Builder campaign.

What are Tags?

Tags are attributes you can assign to activist records in Action Network. They help in organizing and managing your members by allowing you to add or remove specific attributes easily. Tags can denote various statuses or interests, such as "Volunteer" or "Welcome Call," and can be used temporarily or permanently as needed.

Importance of Tags for the ANAB Integration

When you enable sync at the campaign level in Action Builder, a special "Magic Tag" is generated in Action Network. This tag automatically syncs activists to the connected campaign in Action Builder. You must add the Magic tag to the activist in Action Network in order for them to sync into your Action Builder campaign. There are various ways to assign a tag to an activist in Action Network.

Creating Tags

Method 1: Using the Start Organizing Menu

1. Navigate to Your Group: Go to the Action Network group where you want to create a tag (e.g., Your local/regional party AN Group). Click on DETAILS.
2. Access Tags: In the drop-down list, hover over Tags and click on the + symbol to the right.
3. Create the Tag: Enter the name of the tag you want to create and click on CREATE TAG.

Method 2: Using the Uploads Page

1. Navigate to the Uploads Page: When uploading a list of activists, you'll see an option to create and assign tags.
2. Create and Assign Tags: You can create a new tag and assign it to each activist you are uploading. Tags can be added via a CSV file by including a column named "tags" and listing the tags for each activist. Separate multiple tags with commas.

Assigning Tags

• Manual Assignment: Tags can be added or removed manually on the activist's record.
• Forms: Assign tags to activist when they submit a form and/or based on form field responses. For instance, a petition form can automatically tag activists with a specific Action Builder campaign Magic tag. Read more here.
• Bulk Assignment: Use the reports tool to add or remove tags in bulk, useful for retroactively tagging activists for your new sync.

Examples of Tag Usage

1. Welcome Call Tag: After speaking to a new member, tag them with "Welcome Call" to avoid duplicate calls.
2. Volunteer Tag: Tag activists who have shown interest in volunteering. This status can change over time.
3. Phonebanking Tag: Use tags like "October 2024 Phonebank" to indicate which members have been contacted during specific phonebanking sessions.

Best Practices

• Check Existing Tags: Before creating a new tag, ensure a similar tag doesn't already exist to avoid duplicates.
• Use Descriptive Names: Make tag names clear and descriptive for easier management.
• Regular Review: Periodically review and update tags to ensure they remain relevant and useful.

Setting Up the Action Builder and Action Network Integration

1. Become an Action Network Partner: Set up an API key. Learn more about setting up an API key for AN here.
2. Enable the Integration:
   • You must have an Admin User account
     • Go to the Admin Menu in Action Builder.
     • Find the Integrations option and select Action Network.
     • Click "Add Group" and paste the API key from AN. If successful, the group's name will appear after saving.
3. Connect the AB Campaign:
   • Go to the Action Builder campaign you want to link.
   • Select the Customize tab and choose Integrations.
   • Open Action Network and select the group to link. Note that AB campaigns can only be linked to one AN group, but AN groups can be linked to multiple campaigns.
   • A "Magic Tag" is created in your Action Network group and listed in Action Builder. Any activist with this tag in AN will be pulled into your AB campaign.
   • Map any Responses in Action Builder with Tags that exist in Action Network.

Use Case: Using an Action Network Form to Add People to a Specific Campaign in Action Builder

1. Magic Tag: Ensure the Magic Tag is set up in AN so that respondents are added to the corresponding campaign in AB.
2. Create a Form (or another Action) in Action Network: Set up a form in AN that includes a tag. Do this my clicking 'Edit Tags" on the form manage page. Or add a tag to a field question by clicking 'Edit Form'.
3. Additional Tags: Ensure the tags from the form responses are mapped to the corresponding AB responses.
4. Sync: When respondents complete the form, their information, including the tag, will sync to AB and add them to the connected campaign.

FAQs

Q: Can you sync activist custom field data from AN to an AB campaign?
A: Yes, you can select a note, number, or date response from Action Builder and sync the note, number, or date to a custom field from Action Network.

Q. How are assessments synced between Action Builder and Action Network?

A. Assessments are synced one way from Action Builder to tags created for each assessment level in Action Network.

Q: If you remove a response from a record in AB, does it remove the tag in AN?
A: Yes.

Q: If you change assessments, does it update the targeting tag?
A: Yes. It adds the new assessment tag and removes the old assessment tag.

Q: Can you sync petition signatures with your bargaining unit in AB without adding new people who are outside the unit to your campaign? What's the deal with the magic tag?
A: Yes. The magic tag will add people to the Action Builder campaign, but it is not required. If an Activist in AN does not have the magic tag and that email address does not exist for a record in AB, nothing will happen. If an Activist in AN does not have the magic tag but an AB record does have the same email address, it will sync the responses. You can set up a question to tag people with the magic tag based on their response (e.g., are you represented by the union or a solidarity supporter, then only add the BU members).

Q: When you unmark someone as subscribed in AB, does it unsubscribe them in AN?
A: Not at this time, but possibly in the future.

Q: When you remove someone from a campaign in AB, do they get unsubscribed in AN? If you do a delete upload in AB, does it unsubscribe them in AN?
A: No. However, you could have a response for removing people from the bargaining unit that you update before removing records from an AB campaign. This syncs to an AN tag, and you can then set up a ladder to remove those people. But we highly recommend that you do an unsubscribe upload in AN after removing people from a campaign in AB.

Q: If you change an email address for a person in AN, does it update their record in AB?
A: No.

Q: Can you target an email with targeting based on AB responses and feel confident that it's going to the correct universe?
A: Mostly. Assessments, other tags, and custom fields are correct. However, you may need to ensure that people who have been removed from your AB campaign are still subscribed in your AN group. This requires a solid workflow for managing such cases.

Q: What happens if you add the magic tag to an activist in Action Network?
A: Adding the magic tag to an activist in Action Network will add that record to Action Builder.

Q: What happens if you add a synced entity in Action Builder and mark the phone/email as "subscribed"?
A: It will add them to Action Network.

Q: What happens if you mark an email address or phone as "bad" in Action Builder?
A: It will unsubscribe the activist from Action Network.

Q: What happens if you merge two records in Action Builder?
A: Both activists will stay active in Action Network and both will sync to the same record.

FAQs Chart

What Happens When this Action is Taken?	➜	➜
Remove a response from a record	Removes corresponding tag in AN	N/A
Change assessment	Updates magic tag in AN by appending assessment number	N/A
Sync petition signatures with bargaining unit	Magic tag syncs responses from AB	Magic tag adds people (entities) to AB
Unmark someone as subscribed	Not currently synced	N/A
Remove someone from a campaign	Not unsubscribed in AN	N/A
Delete upload	Not unsubscribed in AN	N/A
Change an email address	No update	No update
Target an email based on AB responses	Mostly accurate, consider workflows	N/A
Add magic tag	N/A	Adds record to AB
Mark phone/email as "subscribed"	Adds to AN	N/A
Mark email/phone as "bad"	Unsubscribes in AN	N/A
Merge records	N/A	Both activists stay active, sync to the same record

If you have further questions pertaining to the sync please contact Action Builder Support at [e-mail].