Great work by the immedia studio team to deliver the new enhanced Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation Radio station mobile App. SBC Radio App includes live streams of both Paradise FM and Radyo Sesel stations, podcasts, community messaging and chat, Leko subscription service to access a vast music archive of original Seychellois artists, and much more. Download the App

Fabrik celebrates Africa Day as a proudly African intellectual property and digital media service provider, delivering products and services to achieve the "Africa We Want" in the media space. For more on Africa Day visit: https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20230524/africa-celebrate-60th-anniversary-oau-au-africa-day

Podcast sharing from your Fabrik mobile app, now includes your logo and name above the shared podcast audio player.

Create a ‘Distribution Group’  to schedule and send updates across either multiple Twitter accounts or Facebook pages simultaneously. Tired of copy/pasting the same message to the many social media pages you administer? Smashboard has always been a great tool to view & respond to incoming messages from your app, Facebook page/s and Twitter mentions, and to post or schedule your social content. Super-users of Smashboard often manage multiple social media accounts simultaneously and have the need to post the same message on many Facebook pages, or send out the same tweet via many Twitter accounts. In this update, you now have the ability to create a ‘Distribution Group’  to schedule and send updates to all your Twitter or Facebook pages simultaneously, saving you precious copy/paste time. Here’s how it works: Step 1: Link your Twitter and/or Facebook Accounts First make sure all the social accounts you’d like to include in the Distribution Group are added as Providers within Smashboard. If you haven’t done so already, here’s how: a) Select ‘Provider Manager’ from the menu at the top-right. You should see the pop-up window that looks like this: b) Link each Facebook or Twitter account by entering the name of the account, and clicking the ‘+’ button. You will then be prompted to log in to that account to complete the process (make sure you have access or Admin privileges to the account first). Step 2: Create a Distribution Group Once you’ve added all the social accounts you’d like to include in the Distribution Group, you’re ready to create your first one! a) Switch to the ‘Distribution Group’ tab, as indicated below. b) Enter the name you’d like to use to identify the Distribution Group. c) Choose which provider you would like to use (either Facebook or Twitter), and then insert the names of each linked provider in the box that titled ‘Twitter Providers’ or ‘Facebook Providers’. d) Then click ‘Create Distribution Group’. Step 3: Schedule or post your Social Content Now that you’ve set up your Distribution Group, you’re ready to post or schedule an update, which will be shared across all the accounts you’ve added. a) Select ‘Compose Message’ from the menu at the top-right, and choose the social media type you’d like to use (Facebook or Twitter). Once you’ve done so, you should see the screen below: b) Choose your desired Distribution Group, type your message, upload attachments, and post or schedule!

Use Smashboard's updated campaign functionality to facilitate campaigns, search and filter entries, select winners and find content to play out on air! Your Smashboard engagement dashboard recently received a number of upgrades aimed at empowering you to facilitate campaigns and competitions more easily - all in one place! Here are a few new things you can do in Smashboard: Create an automated campaign response Once you've created your campaign using the Campaign Manager in Smashboard, you can now create a customised automated response that will be sent directly to all entrants via the Contact Us direct conversation within their app. In addition to using this feature to acknowledge the participant's successful entry into the campaign, your advertiser might like to book this Automated Response to send the participant more information about their offer, share their contact information, or prompt them to visit the advertiser's website. Pick a campaign winner You can now select your competition winner/s from a list of unique entries (the individuals who have successfully entered) or from a comprehensive list which may contain multiple entries per entrant. Once you've created the campaign, follow these steps: Find the 'Action' section of your campaign. Click the '...' symbol, which will give you a couple of options, then click 'Winners.' From there, configure your campaign to either 'allow multiple entries' from entrants or choose from a list of unique entries (one entry per entrant). Lastly, choose 'Pick Winner' and Smashboard will randomly select a winner for you! Exclude recent winners from your campaign Using the same process, you can also disqualify an entrant that has already won a competition within a specified timeframe by checking the box that says 'Disqualify previous winners' and then specifying the time period you'd like to exclude. Filter for competition entries Smashboard's new Campaign filter gives you the option to filter out all campaign entries or only show campaign entries. This is particularly useful when you're receiving many different kinds of engagement from your members to Smashboard, and you'd like to search for campaign entries which you can then select to play on air.

Use Fabrik to capture live radio content and immediately publish as a podcast or download a snippet of archived audio from any time in the past! Fabrik's Echocast application is an audio recording and publishing tool built for the live radio environment. The application is browser-based, making it accessible via any secure desktop computer or mobile device and, due to its cloud-based technology, processes and shares your audio within seconds. For many of our Fabrik operators, the real-time audio recording and podcasting capabilities found within the Echocast application have become an invaluable contribution to your daily workflows, allowing podcasts to be easily recorded and published in real time to your website and/or mobile app. Within Echocast, you are empowered with the following audio recording and packaging capabilities: Record real-time audio from your Live stream Echocast's most distinguishing feature is the ability to record your radio broadcast in real time from your live stream, and publish the clip as a podcast - seconds after the live on-air moment occurs. To access this feature, simply tap the button in the top-left of the screen labelled 'Start Recording,' where you'll be able to record in real time, pause and resume for ad breaks, and add searchable metadata to your new podcast right before publishing. Tag your content to make it more discoverable Within Echocast, you have the ability to tag and add metadata to your podcasts to make it easier for your audience to search and find. Go to the menu in the top-right of the screen to create Categories - which are similar to organisational ‘folders’ for grouping together related podcasts. Categories are typically created for regular features, news bulletins, and even regular shows eg. ‘Prank Call’, ‘News’ or ‘Breakfast’. Grouping recordings into Categories eases content discovery for your audience. Presets facilitate one-click recording, saving and publishing to further simplify and streamline the workflow of recording frequent/regular features. Access the Presets section at the top-right of the screen. When configuring a preset, you would add the metadata, category and other settings that all podcasts with this preset would need to have, eliminating the need for this to be entered every time. Good examples are ‘News’ and ‘Sport’, but presets can also be created for any regular programming feature. Create a featured podcast When you set your podcast as 'Featured,' it will be published right at the top of the Rewind section in your app or web page - as the very first podcast your listener sees. This is particularly useful if you're running an advertising campaign, or would like to elevate a certain podcast in your app or website. Upload existing audio File If you have an existing piece of audio you'd like to publish as a podcast to your app or website, upload it via Echocast, add metadata and publish! Download archived audio from any time in the past Echocast offers you the ability to download an audio clip from your archive, to play again on-air or even send to an advertiser for your post-campaign analysis. All you have to do is tap the 'Request Audio Archive' button, specify the exact time of the audio you'd like to extract, which will then be emailed to you within minutes.

One of the more challenging aspects of managing an online community is considering how to stimulate engagement, as well as creating ongoing opportunities for re-engagement. Fabrik offers powerful real-time Messaging functionality to bring your audience closer through easy-to-configure message groups called Conversations and Channels. What are Conversations and Channels? Each message group type you create can be categorised as either a 'Conversation' or a 'Channel' which empower you with different ways to engage your members based on your specific needs. What is the difference between a Conversation and a Channel? Channels are read-only message groups in which only 'Trusted' individuals (members who you assign the 'Trusted' status, such as administrators or moderators) can post content. Channels are especially useful for when you need to broadcasting information to a wide audience and don't require a response i.e. a Security channel in an emergency situation, or a dedicated Special Offers channel for adding value to your advertisers. Conversations are interactive message groups where anyone who is a part of that conversation can post content. A Conversation is a useful tool to have in your app when you're seeking active engagement or feedback from your audience, or would like to bring your community together around topics of interest. How can I set up a conversation or a channel? Log in to your Community Centre portal to administer your Conversations and Channels. Adding, editing, and removing a message group as simple as tapping a few buttons, uploading your image and presto! You're now ready to connect with your audience more meaningfully. When creating a message group, it’s important to know and understand the different options you have available to you. Here's a quick introduction to the various settings. Step 1: Set your group Name, Description and Image When choosing a name, try to be as concise as possible, as a long name i.e. name with multiple words, may run onto two lines. You'll also be required to add a description to each message group so your members know its purpose, as well as any guidelines that apply to that particular group. When creating images for conversations and channels, it's best to use a plain image with no text or logos, with a slightly dark colour, or overlay. Then, select the Settings tab to toggle your Conversation's/Channel's settings. Step 2: Depending on whether you're creating a Conversation or Channel, select your preferred message group type. Step 3: Set your Visibility. The Private option provides the opportunity to invite specific members to be a part of a hidden and secure Conversation or Channel which will not be visible to members who have not been added. Step 4: Options for Public message groups If you've created a 'Public' message group, the following options provide you with even more flexibility. Join by default All members will automatically be joined to this message group when they register their profile for the first time. They can choose to opt out afterwards. This can be useful when you'd prefer your audience to be part of a particular message group, but would still like to give them the option to opt out, i.e. in a Special Offers channel. Required If you set a message group as 'required,' all existing app members will be automatically added to this message group and will not be able to opt out. This is useful for Announcements or Security channels. Optional App members can join this message group if they’d like, and opt out whenever desired. Optional groups are useful when related to very specific topics like Gardening or Pets, that may only appeal to a certain subset of your audience. Step 5: Notify by Default Configure any message group to receive push notifications by default. Note that your members will still have the option to enable or disable push notifications on any Conversation or Channel if they wish to do so. Your direct messaging channel with each member While Conversations or Channels are to be created by your team according to the custom needs of your community, a standard conversation that you'll find within your app is the direct message space in which each individual can communicate privately with you. Messages received from this conversation land into your community's Smashboard for an administrator to see and respond to quickly. Messages sent via this conversation (often referred to as Contact Us but can be customised) are only visible to yourself and that particular member, and become an important part of the way that you're able to be of service individuals. This is a great solution for a helpdesk, control centre, or studio environment as it brings all your inbound direct messaging engagement into one place! Watch our Smashboard webinar to find out how to use this channel effectively. Content Moderation - coming soon! As any online engagement platform grows in size and chattiness, it's important that community administrators have a mechanism to review and moderate all content being shared to avoid content that contravenes community guidelines. Look out for new functionality coming to your mobile app and Community Centre soon to assist you in doing so, which you can read about in August's emailer. Further info Explore the features of Community Centre. Offer a Message group to your advertisers. Watch our walk-through of the Smashboard messaging management portal. And of course, get in touch with our Customer Success team if you'd like some help with setting up a new Conversation or Channel.

As any online community grows in size and chattiness, it's crucial that members feel that they are in a safe and respectful environment that upholds their values. At the same time, as a community administrator, it can be a concern when considering how to create a safe space where members within large, highly-engaged audiences behave respectfully. Engagement is important - the lifeblood of any online community - but it’s equally important that community administrators have a way to manage that engagement without lengthy additions to existing workflows. App stores like Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store also have strict requirements protecting app members from user-generated content they deem 'objectionable,' and require developers to provide a method for members to flag this content. In our aim to make sure your app is compliant and passes all requirements from the app vendors, Fabrik app members now have the ability to report content they deem inappropriate within a conversation, or block members they'd prefer not to see messages from in future. Your team as the community administrators will then be prompted to review the reported content and choose to either remove or retain that content based on your community guidelines. Here's how the planned changes will help you manage your community with ease. How can your audience report objectionable content? The new 'Report a Message' and 'Block Member' options within your app are accessed by long-pressing on the particular message the individual would like to report, or a message sent by the individual they'd like to block. a) Block/report another member 'Block Member' will result in any content being shared by that particular member being hidden to the member who blocked them. b) Report a piece of objectionable content 'Report Message' will flag that piece of content to community admins, to be reviewed based on the reasons provided by the reporting member. How can your team moderate content? Step 1: Access Community Centre to view a consolidated list of all content that has been reported by your community. To access this functionality: Log in to Community Centre using your Fabrik account details. Click on 'Content Moderation' on the left-hand menu. Select 'Reports.' From this screen, you'll be able to view and navigate through a chronological list of all reported content, click on each item for more details or sort by the status of the 'Action' on each one. 'Sorting by Action' gives you the ability to see a list of all content with the same status grouped together, making it easier to take action on those items where action is required. Step 2: View more information about each reported piece of content. If you'd like to view any particular piece of reported content in detail, you can do so by clicking on the » arrow on the left of the member's username, on your initial dashboard view. This will open a more detailed view of the specific report and, from here, you'll be able to update the status and resolution message of that content. Step 3: Take an action on a piece of content. Once you've clicked on the 'Status' option, you'll be able to choose one of the following actions: Pending - this is the default state meaning this item still requires action. No Action - select this option when you feel the reported content does not contravene your community guidelines, and will remain visible within your app. Remove - select this option when you feel the content does contravene your community guidelines, and will be removed from your app. The 'Resolution message' is a place for you to add any pertinent information related to your decision for the rest of your team to view - this is not visible to any app member. Further Info Watch our walk-through of Community Centre's Community Management functionality.

Within the Fabrik platform, you're offered a number of opportunities to generate revenue and impress your advertisers! Many of our customers are experimenting with the different advertising options available within the platform, and gaining confidence implementing and reporting on app-powered campaigns. In an effort to help you do so with greater ease, we're exploring a few unique yet simple campaign executions that can be used to boost audience growth, engagement and, of course, revenue! These executions make use of Fabrik's advertising, engagement and data insights capabilities, making them easy for your team to implement and accessible for any advertiser. Campaign #1 - Keyword Campaign Possible Uses: A first-time advertiser seeking to engage with your audience, or as an internal campaign to increase audience engagement and time spent listening. Execution: This execution involves a simple mechanic requesting entrants to engage with the station's Contact Us conversation using a particular keyword. Smashboard's Campaign Manager would be used to create a campaign that runs behind the scenes to collate all received text, image and audio messages tagged with that particular keyword. The campaign would also monitor engagement and be used to pick winners - info that can be packaged and shared with your advertiser during or after the campaign. Watch how a well-known Gauteng-based Radio Station used this execution to increase time spent listening and audience engagement! Campaign #2 - Voice Note with Text Possible Uses: A first-time advertiser, or an advertiser who'd like to connect with your audience. Execution: Fabrik's mobile app offers the unique ability to attach text to a voice-note, making it easier to track entries and drive engagement for that particular campaign. This execution is a variation of the previous one, with the addition of a voice-note sent along with the campaign keyword. Again, Smashboard is used to set up and track campaign engagement, as well as to play campaign-related voice-note content during your live broadcast. Fabrik's Metrics application can also be used to gain real-time engagement data and insights, as well as offer your advertisers a peek into how the campaign is performing in-flight. Before the campaign begins, ensuring that your app's registration profile fields are set up with information you deem important can provide you with insightful information about your audience. Campaign #3 - Sponsored Channel and/or QR Code Possible Uses: A trusted advertiser who is interested in connecting with your community, and open to experimenting with different inventory options. Execution: Buying a sponsored conversation or channel within your app offers your advertiser a simple-to-implement, yet powerful tool for building brand intimacy and trust with your audience. Listeners would be invited to engage within the channel to win daily prizes or access exclusive content like QR codes or vouchers. A campaign billboard, audio pre-roll or branded push notification can be added to create awareness and drive engagement to the channel, offering your advertiser tangible value. Campaign #4 - App Takeover Possible Uses: An advertiser who has budget available and is looking to build extreme brand intimacy with your audience. Execution: A powerful, immersive campaign execution including a combination or all available advertising inventory depending on the campaign objective/s. Livestream and podcast pre-rolls - consistent brand messaging and re-enforcement of the campaign message Featured podcasts - branded with a logo or campaign imagery for added brand visibility Billboards - re-iterate the campaign calls-to-action, or add a URL linking to your advertiser's website or online form Sponsored Conversation or Channel - send out targeted campaign messaging on an opt-in basis from a sponsored Channel, or get your audience talking in a sponsored Conversation Dialboard - offer your audience the ability to contact your advertiser with the tap of a button Branded concierge button - give your audience the opportunity to request a call-back from your advertiser via a branded attention button Easily access real-time analytics and reporting within Fabrik's Metrics application, to measure the effectiveness of the campaign as well as your advertiser's return on investment. Whether you're an existing Fabrik customer or are thinking about how Fabrik can help to generate revenue during your next campaign - we hope these suggestions help you get started, or inspire you to think differently about how to create engaging campaigns with your audience! Further info Explore Fabrik's Advertising Inventory options. Watch our walk-through of Smashboard's Campaign Manager functionality. Get in touch with our Customer Success team if you'd like some help getting started in setting up a new campaign!

Execute a high-impact, integrated campaign that works across your digital platforms to support your audience growth and engagement objectives. Fabrik's suite of applications can enhance your traditional audience engagement campaign by adding a powerful real-time element, along with sophisticated campaign insights and metrics you can leverage in-flight to increase your outcomes. To help you get more comfortable with executing app-based campaigns, we'd like to share some guidelines on how you can get started. Let's imagine an example of a campaign that can more clearly illustrate these steps. How about something like 'Create your own Christmas Jingle?' For this kind of campaign, we'll be asking our app members to send us a voice-note of themselves singing their most festive Christmas tune. The winner at the end would be the person who'd sent through the best one! Step 1: Plan your campaign The first step in this process is to consider what you'd like to get out of the campaign, and start to plan the activities required to achieve those goals. Determine your Campaign Objectives: The objective/s you'd be aiming to achieve with an app-based campaign should ideally support your Business Strategy, such as: growing your digital audience or membership, increasing engagement, or obtaining more meaningful demographic or psychographic information about your membership. For each campaign, consider any particular objectives you have around audience growth or engagement, and whether there are specific audience insights you'd like to gain or habits you'd like your audience to form. These could be objectives such as: Educate your audience on how to use key functionality of the app i.e. sending voice-notes or images. Increase the size of your app audience through new downloads. Increase the size of your addressable audience through new registrations. Enhance audience insights through the addition of new profile fields or through surveys and polls. Create a compelling case study you can take to future advertisers or sponsors. In our Christmas Jingle campaign example, we want to increase the size of our audience and engagement through new app downloads and registrations, as well as introduce our audience to the concept of sending voice-notes. Create your Campaign Mechanic: Consider how you'd like to invite your audience to enter the campaign in a manner that aligns with your objectives. Ensure that the mechanic is easy enough to follow so it does not deter your audience from entering. For example, in our Christmas Jingle campaign, we would want to encourage our members to Download the Fabrik app. Register your profile. And send us your most festive Christmas Jingle via the Contact Us conversation! You'd also want to make sure your mechanic is very clear when it's being mentioned within social media promotions or during your on-air broadcast. For more fun campaign ideas, check out this video with promotions expert Jonathan Lumley! Choose Inventory to support your Campaign: There are a number of in-app inventory options you can use to support your campaign objectives within the app, including a promotional billboard, or even a pre-roll audio that can be added to your live-stream or podcasts, or both! Within our Christmas Jingle campaign, we're adding a festive billboard and an audio pre-roll (a clip that plays before our livestream and each podcast) to remind our audience about the campaign and how to enter. Read more about the various kinds of advertising options available. Engage with potential Advertisers: When planning the campaign, consider whether it would work best as an internal engagement campaign, or whether you'll invite an advertiser to be a part of it. This may be a good opportunity to get one or more of your advertisers or partners acquainted with how to use the app, and demonstrate how their investment can yield pleasing results. Consider offering sponsored prizes to incentivise your audience to engage with the campaign, and ensure they pose a large-enough incentive to obtain the engagement you're looking for. STEP 2: CONFIGURE YOUR APP At the heart of any Fabrik-powered campaign is your mobile app, and using it effectively throughout the campaign is important to maintain a high level of engagement and interest with your audience. Plan your App Engagement and Content: The way the app's Messaging functionality is employed is a key part of sustaining audience engagement throughout the campaign. During our Christmas Jingle campaign, we might consider adding a dedicated channel for the duration of the campaign where we could share regular updates about the campaign, celebrate winners, etc. Consider whether you'd like to make it a Conversation in which people would be able to chat about the competition, or a Channel in which only Trusted Members in your organisation can share information that everyone else can view. Watch this video to learn how to use Conversations and Channels more effectively. Create your campaign using Campaign Manager: To make it easier to monitor and measure the impact and engagement of your campaign, you'd want to track responses to the campaign using Smashboard's Campaign Manager. Campaign Manager empowers you to enter a particular keyword associated with the campaign that would be monitored throughout, and facilitates the selection of winners from those who've submitted entries using that keyword. In the event that your campaign is active across other messaging platforms, you also have the option to consolidate all entries from Twitter, Facebook or even SMS. Update your app's Profile Fields: Consider the kinds of information you'd like to collect from your audience, and use your campaign as an opportunity to encourage people to update these fields. Profile fields are configured within the Community Centre application and can be set as 'Required' or 'Optional.' STEP 3: set up your Promotions In order to ensure the success of your campaign, there are a number of activities you can embark upon to promote your new campaign and create awareness. Use Social Media to create awareness about the campaign & drive engagement: Use all your social media platforms to create awareness around your campaign, mention the entry mechanic often and share information about winners to create buzz and excitement. Put together a content plan to begin a few days before the campaign and to run throughout the course of the campaign Set aside some budget to boost specific posts promoting the campaign within which you'll ask your followers or those targeted with the content to download your app. Co-ordinate any other Promotional Activities: Consider how else you could create awareness around your campaign. Rally your internal team around incorporating the campaign into their routine communication initiatives like monthly emailers or your on-air broadcast. If your organisation is a radio station, consider prepping your presenters with live-reads they can incorporate into each show or include your on-air audience in the fun by getting your presenters to read out the winners on air, or better yet, call the winners back on air and ask them to answer the call with a specific phrase to win. Step 4: execute & Monitor your campaign It's now time to execute! During the duration of your campaign, your aim will be to optimise the effectiveness and impact of the campaign to provide the best ROI possible. Looking at the data on a daily basis will help inform "in-flight" tweaks that need to be made to the execution, and help keep all important stakeholders informed on the campaign progress. Create in-campaign analyses for internal and external stakeholders: Keep all stakeholders informed throughout the campaign with regular updates. Consider including information like new downloads, new registrations, daily engagements via Smashboard's Campaign Manager and social media engagement. You can obtain all this information easily using the Metrics application. Watch this video to learn about the engagement information available within Metrics. If you've included an additional action in your campaign mechanic like asking your audience to update their Profile Fields, you may want to include some information about how many individuals have updated those fields. Get in touch with our Customer Success team if you'd like access to insights or information that are not yet available within Metrics. Step 5: Create your post-campaign Reporting Fabrik offers powerful data and audience insights after the fact, which you can use to demonstrate value to your advertisers or impact to your team. Create a post-campaign analysis: Use Fabrik Metrics to create an insightful post-campaign analysis which your stakeholders can use to gauge the impact of the campaign. Create a campaign case study: Once you've created your post-campaign analysis, you may want to package it in a different way, to appeal to your press office for added publicity, or send out to your Sales teams which they can use to engage with potential advertisers. Further Info: Read this case study around how one of our customers successfully implemented a Fabrik-powered campaign. Watch our recent webinar around how a Fabrik customer achieved over 1 million campaign entries!