Changing the display

You have some options about how you display assets in Content Builder. The light gray toolbar near the top of the app, shown in Figure 7-2, offers the following options:

• Sort By drop-down list: Choose whether you see content in order by Name, Type, Customer Key, ID, Modified Date, or Added Date.
• Ascending/Descending button: Click the button next to the Sort By drop-down menu to toggle the display order between ascending and descending.
• List/Grid View button: The next button has horizontal lines, indicating list view. Click it and the assets in your Content Builder library appear in a tidy, traditional list. Beside that is a button with a matrix of little squares that represent grid view. Click it to see a larger thumbnail of each asset in a more modern tiled display.
• Settings button: The last button on the toolbar controls what information you see for each asset. Click the button and select or deselect Type, Customer Key, ID, Modified Date, and Added Date.

If you access Content Builder from the Email app, a Use Classic Content link appears next to the app name. This link takes you back to the Email app's original content creation tools. Unless you've been using the Email app for a while and have become accustomed to those tools, there's no reason to go backward!

Finding content in Content Builder

The longer you work in Marketing Cloud, the more content you accumulate. It might not take long at all before you need help to find a particular piece of content. Fortunately, Content Builder contains several tools you can use to find what you're looking for. These tools are on the Content tab, the Filter tab, and the search bar, as shown in Figure 7-3.

Filters

Next to the Content tab in the navigation pane is a tab called Filters. Click this tab to set criteria for the filter. The content objects that appear in the canvas on the right are those that match the criteria you set up in the filter. For example, the filter in Figure 7-4 causes the system to display all templates and template-based emails in Content Builder.

You can filter with the following categories:

• Content Types: The following content types are available as filters. If an arrow appears next to the name of a content type, click it to expand the category.
  • Source File: Choose what kind of file was the source for the content items that you want to find. Examples include Image and Text.
  • Content Block: Choose the kind of content block you're looking for. Examples include Free Form and Dynamic Content. See more information about content blocks later in this chapter, in the “Creating reusable content blocks” section.
  • Template: Select the template that is the basis of the email you're looking for. Note that this filter returns not templates but emails based on the template you choose. More information about how you create emails from templates appears later in this chapter, in the “Templates” section.
  • Email: Narrow the list to emails that are template based, HTML based, or text only.
  • Code Snippet: Limit your content items to only code snippets. More information about code snippets is available later in this chapter, in the “Creating reusable code snippets” section.
• Tags: Select the check box next to a tag to limit the content items you see to only those with that tag.
• Owners: Select the check boxes next to one or more usernames to see only items with those users listed as the owner.

Organizing content in folders

One of the ways that you can find content in Content Builder is by navigating the folder structure. You collect a lot of content as you use Marketing Cloud, so having a good organizational strategy early can save you a lot of time and headaches later.

Use the following steps to create a folder:

1. From the Content Builder app, click the Content tab in the left navigation pane.

2. Right-click the Content Builder folder and choose Create Folder from the menu that appears.

   A dialog box appears, prompting you to enter a name for your folder.

3. Enter a name for your folder and click OK.

The system creates a folder that is a child folder (subfolder) of the Content Builder folder. You can also right-click another folder and the system will make your new folder a child of it. Regardless of where you create the folder, you can always move it to a new location.

When you create a folder inside another folder, the folder you create is called the child folder. The folder that contains the child is called the parent.

To move a folder, use these steps:

1. From the Content Builder app, click the Content tab in the left navigation pane.

2. Right-click the folder you want to move and choose Move Folder from the menu that appears.

   A window appears, prompting you to choose a new location for your folder.

3. Select the folder that you want to be the new parent and click OK.

Importing content from Classic Content

This section is relevant if you began storing content in the Classic Content tool in the Email app and now want to move it to Content Builder. If you don't have content in the old tool that you want to move, you can skip this section.

Any content you already have organized in the Classic Content tool of the Email app does not appear in Content Builder automatically. You have to import that content.

You don't have to import all the content at once, which is a helpful option if you've accumulated old folders in your content libraries that you don't want cluttering up Content Builder. In addition, you don't have to keep the previous organization structure when you import. You can map the folders from the Classic Content tool to new folders that you've already created in Content Builder.

The Content Builder folders to which you import must already exist, so be sure to follow the steps in the preceding section to create folders before you begin the import. After you begin the import, you can't stop or undo it; so it's worth your effort to put up-front time into the design of your folder structure.

To import content from the Classic Content tool, use these steps:

1. From the Content Builder app, click the Import button, above the toolbar on the right side of the screen.

   An Import Assistant window appears to walk you through the steps of importing content.

2. Follow the instructions in each step of the Import Assistant:
   • Introduction: Simply welcomes you to the Import Assistant. Read the content and click Next.
   • Select Method: Asks whether you want to import your old folder structure along with your assets. Either way, you have the opportunity to select the particular assets to import. Choose an option and click Next.

   • Select Content: Offers check boxes next to each folder in your Classic Content tool. Select the check boxes next to the folders that contain the content you want to import. If you selected Content Only in the Select Method step, this step also offers the ability to choose the destination folder. When you're ready, click Import.

     The system moves everything you import to the same folder, so if you want to import to multiple folders in Content Builder, you must execute the Import Assistant once for each folder.

   • Import Progress: Shows the progress of the import process. Depending on how many assets you chose to import, this process could take quite a while. You don't need to keep the Import Assistant open during the entire import. It will finish the import in the background and notify you when it is complete.

Uploading content outside Marketing Cloud

You create many kinds of content directly in Content Builder, as described in later sections of this chapter. But some kinds of content — especially images, videos, audio clips, and documents that you send as attachments — you create in other tools outside Marketing Cloud and then upload to Content Builder.

To upload a file, use these steps:

1. From the Content Builder app, navigate to the folder that will contain the uploaded file.

   You can move the file later if you need to.

2. Click the Create button (above the toolbar on the right side of the screen) and choose Upload from the menu that appears.

   A window appears to allow you to navigate your computer to find the files you want to import.

3. Select the file that you want to upload and click Open.

   As shown in Figure 7-5, a box appears as a preview of the file to upload. The box contains a Pending Upload and Publish message. Not coincidentally, an Upload and Publish button appears above the preview box.

4. Click Upload and Publish.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud uses a third-party content delivery service that specializes in delivering your assets quickly and reliably when your subscriber's email client requests them from the server. By clicking Upload and Publish, you're instructing Marketing Cloud to send your assets to that content delivery service.

Managing content in Content Builder

Content Builder enables you to perform several actions on a piece of content. One method is to use the Actions menu, which appears on the far right of the Content Builder toolbar, as shown in Figure 7-6. You use this menu when you want to move or delete multiple pieces of content at once. Select the check box on each item you want to move or delete, and then click Move or Delete on the Actions menu.

You can also use the down-arrow button on each piece of content to display a drop-down menu. This menu provides the Move and Delete actions plus a lot more. In the grid view of the content (see Figure 7-7, left), the button appears near the bottom of the icon for the piece of content. In the list view (see Figure 7-7, right), the button appears on the far right of the row.

The drop-down menu on a piece of content has the following options: Edit, View Properties, Share, Replace, Duplicate, and Delete.

Share

If your Marketing Cloud account has multiple business units, you can use the Share option to share a piece of content with other business units. Select the Shared radio button to display the tool you use for sharing, as shown in Figure 7-8.

To share the piece of content, follow these steps:

1. In the box on the left, click the business unit with which you want to share the piece of content.

2. In the Permissions drop-down menu, choose a value.

   You can choose All, Edit, Share, or View Only. The value you choose determines what the people in the business unit can do with this piece of content.

3. If you want to make the piece of content available to other business units for only a set period, select the Set Date Restrictions check box.

   A panel appears where you can choose the start date and time and the end date and time of the period when you want the content to be available to the business unit.

4. Click Add.

The business unit appears in the box on the right. The box on the right contains panels for All, Edit, Share, and View Only so you can see which business units have each level of permission with this piece of content.

Creating reusable content blocks

Email and email templates are comprised of content areas arranged in different layouts, depending on the template. You can drag content blocks to those content areas, as shown in Figure 7-10. Reusable content blocks store content that you want to use in multiple emails and email templates.

To create a reusable content block, use these steps:

1. From the Content Builder app, navigate to the folder that will contain the content block.

   You can move the content block later if you need to.

2. Click the Create button (above the toolbar on the right side of the screen) and point to Content Block.
3. Click the type of content block you want to create from the flyout menu that appears:
   • Free Form: Enter anything you want. This is a blank slate where you can feel free to include all kinds of content, such as text, HTML, or images.
   • Text: Type text only.
   • HTML: Paste HTML that you created in an outside tool.
   • Image: Choose an image. Using an image-only content block in an email or a template is similar to using an image, but you have more control. For example, you can add a hyperlink to the image in the content block.
   • A/B Test: Select two pieces of content to compare and determine which performs better. Marketing Cloud tracks the number of subscriber clicks for each piece of content.
   • Dynamic Content: Create rules to show a different piece of content based on information you have about the subscriber. For example, you could set up a dynamic content block to show an image from the subscriber's state of residence.
   • Social Share: Invite the subscriber to share the email on social media.
   • Social Follow: Encourage the subscriber to follow you on social media.
   • Button: Create a hyperlink that looks like a button.
   • Layout: Choose a mini template within the content block. For example, you can create a have a two- or three-column layout for the content block, and then enter text or images in those columns.
   • External Content: Pull information from your website or other external source. For example, you could create a web page that always has the latest headlines about your company. Then you can pull the content from that web page into your content area when you send the email.

4. Use the editing tools to create the content in your content block.

   See more information about the editing tools in Chapter 11.

5. Click Save, on the right side of the toolbar.

Creating reusable code snippets

When you're using the HTML editor tools to create an entire email, populate a content area within an email, or develop an email template, you have an option on the toolbar to Insert Code Snippet. When you choose this toolbar option, a drop-down list appears with several code snippets that were delivered with your Marketing Cloud account. The drop-down list also contains code snippets that you've created in your account.

Follow these steps to create a reusable code snippet that you can later insert using the Insert Code Snippet toolbar option:

1. From the Content Builder app, navigate to the folder that will contain the code snippet.

   You can move the code snippet later if you need to.

2. Click the Create button (above the toolbar on the right side of the screen) and point to Code Snippet.
3. Paste the code into the editor window or upload the code.
4. Click Save, on the right side of the toolbar.

How the Approvals app works

The Approvals app is a relatively uncomplicated tool. You can choose to create one of two kinds of workflow:

• A standard workflow incorporates three kinds of roles:
  • A submitter, who creates the content and submits it for approval. A submitter can perform test sends of emails before approval but not actual live sends.
  • One or more reviewers, who look over the content and then give it the okay or send it back with annotations to the submitter.
  • An approver, who looks over reviewed content and provides the final approval.
• A two-step workflow combines the reviewer and the approver functions so that the person doing the reviewing is also the one to give the final okay.

Throughout this process, the system generates notifications that pass back and forth among the submitter, reviewers, and approver. If approved content is edited, it goes back to submitted status, at which point the approval process starts again.

When you turn on this functionality in your account, every message must receive approval before it is sent. You cannot choose which emails are subject to the approval process.

After you turn on your approval workflow, you see the progress of your emails through the workflow on the Approvals dashboard. Emails that have been submitted but not approved appear on the In Progress tab, and approved emails appear on the Approved tab.

Setting up an approval workflow

After you contact your Marketing Cloud representatives to enable the Approvals app in your account, you have to set up the users, set up the workflow, and turn it on. Figure 7-12 shows an example workflow setup.

Don't forget to warn all your Marketing Cloud users before you turn on your approvals workflow. After you turn it on, it affects every single email in your account.

Use the following steps to set up your approval workflow:

1. From anywhere in Marketing Cloud, pause your mouse pointer over your name on the right side of the toolbar and click Administration.

2. On the Applications menu in the toolbar, select Approvals.

   The Approvals screen appears.

3. Click the Create a Team button.

4. Choose your approval process type.

   Decide whether you want a standard approval process (the one with separate reviewers and approvers) or a two-step approval process (the one where the approver does the reviewing as well).

5. Enter a team name.

   After you enter a team name and move on to the next field, the system saves the team and you can no longer change the type of approval process that you selected in Step 4.

6. Add members to the team.

   1. In the Assign a Workflow Role field, begin entering the name of a user. Then click the correct name in the list of suggestions that appears.
   2. Select one or more check boxes next to the role or roles you want to assign that user.
   3. Click these steps for each user involved in the workflow.

   The name of the user appears in the grid on the right side of the screen so you can see which users you've already assigned.

7. (Optional) After assigning roles, click the On button (on the right side of the screen) to make the workflow process effective for all emails in the account.

   You might want to wait to turn on the workflow if you need to update the user's permissions.

8. Click Close.

As you can see, the meat of the work to set up your approval workflow is assigning users to roles. A user must have certain user permissions to participate in the approval workflow. Use the procedures for editing users in Chapter 3 to make sure all users mentioned in your workflow have the following permissions:

• Approval ⇒   Approval Items ⇒   Add/Remove Users
• Approval ⇒   Approval Items ⇒   Create and Edit
• Approval ⇒   Approval Items ⇒   Delete

Who should use the Approvals app?

One of our clients is a national restaurant chain with hundreds of locations, most of them corporate-owned but many franchised. The chain hired a separate agency to design content for the franchised locations when they did local promotions.

The designs of the separate agency had to be approved by corporate before the emails were sent to subscribers. The Approvals app made it easy for the agency to submit its designs for approval and helped the restaurant chain keep an eye on all its messaging and make sure it reflected well on the brand.

The Approvals apps is helpful for large, dispersed companies that need technology to enforce rules about who has to see content before it arrives in subscribers' email inboxes. Approvals is not a tool for everyone, though, and it doesn't completely address the need for approval processes.

Shortly after the Approvals tool was introduced, we tried turning it on for a smaller client and quickly discovered that it can create an unnecessary bottleneck. You probably don't need the Approvals app if the following two items apply to you:

• Your marketing effort is small and centralized
• Just dropping someone a note to look over your message content before you send it has been working so far

Very importantly, the workflow in Approvals reviews only content. During the process of submitting content for review, the submitter does choose an audience, but the email is not limited to that audience after approval. The Approvals app does not have steps to ensure that the audience, the send date, or the send time are what you want.

Even if you decide to use the Approvals app, you'll still need a separate process to make sure your emails are going to the right people at the right time.