Goal
Set up an event-based whiteboard plan that reacts to the behavior of individual contacts.
Prerequisites
You must meet the following requirements before you create an event-based whiteboard:
Whiteboards are enabled as an extra feature in your system.
You have the required permissions for whiteboards and automations:
Permission 1600: Whiteboard: View All
Permission 1602: Whiteboard: View and Edit All Whiteboards
Permission 356: Automations: Activate Automations
Any required resources are prepared in advance, for example:
Segments
Prepared messages
Whiteboard Behavior and Rules
As you work on the whiteboard, the system only shows events, jobs, and filters that are valid for the current step. Options that are not allowed at a specific location are not displayed.
General rules for event-based whiteboards
Every whiteboard begins with a start event. A contact must complete this event to begin their journey on the whiteboard.
You cannot add a split to the start event.
You cannot add an event after a delay.
You cannot add a delay after a filter.
On an event-based whiteboard, each contact starts their journey individually and continues at their own pace. Steps are consecutive, and if a path on the plan splits, each contact follows only one of the paths.
Procedure
A) Creating the whiteboard
Go to Automations > Whiteboards.
Click Create new Whiteboard.
Choose how you want to create the whiteboard. Available options are:
Start from scratch
Reuse a Whiteboard
Create from template
Confirm that the whiteboard type Event-based is preselected.
Enter a name for the new whiteboard.
The name must be unique in the system and no longer than 100 characters. After you create your whiteboard, you can use the global search in the top navigation to find the plan by name.
(Optional) Enter a description for the whiteboard.
The description can contain up to 1,000 characters and helps you identify the whiteboard in the system.
If needed, add tags.
Click Save and continue.
The whiteboard canvas opens.
On the whiteboard canvas, click Setup to define the duration and goal of your whiteboard.
In the Activation area of the Setup panel, define how and when your event-based whiteboard plan starts. (For detailed options, see the separate whiteboards setup documentation.)
Click Apply to save your changes and return to the whiteboard canvas.
B) Configuring whiteboard details
On the whiteboard canvas, click Add First Step.
In the Select Entry Event panel, select the entry event. This event defines how a contact begins their journey on the whiteboard.
In the Configure Entry Event panel, define the settings for the start event:
a. In the Whiteboard Audience Definition area, select which contacts can enter the whiteboard plan:
All Groups: Contacts from every group on your system can enter the whiteboard.
Specific Group: Only contacts from a single group on your system can enter the whiteboard.
Is in Segment: Limits the whiteboard audience to contacts in the selected groups who match specific criteria.
Segment: Defines the selection criteria that the system applies to contacts in the whiteboard audience group. Select a segment from the list of stored selection plans.
b. Click Apply to confirm the audience settings.
c. In the Event Definition area, configure the details of the entry event, and click Apply.
The system adds the entry event to the whiteboard canvas.
To add more steps to the whiteboard plan, click the Add Next Step rectangle on the whiteboard canvas. Select the steps that guide your contacts through the desired marketing interactions. After the first step, you can add splits to guide contacts down different paths.
Continue adding steps until your whiteboard plan is complete.
To check your whiteboard, open the Actions menu and click Validate. The system checks each step and notifies you of any errors.
To define additional whiteboard settings, click the Settings symbol.
In the Whiteboard Settings window, configure any required settings for your event-based whiteboard.
To save your whiteboard plan, open the Actions menu and click Save.
The system saves the new plan and sets its status to “Inactive.” Steps on an inactive plan are not executed and can be edited.
You can save a whiteboard that contains errors, but you must correct all errors before you activate the plan. Click Add First Step on the whiteboard canvas.
C) Activating, scheduling, or rescheduling the whiteboard
To manually activate the whiteboard, click Activate.
To activate the whiteboard according to the schedule defined in the Setup panel, click Schedule.
To reschedule an event-based whiteboard that has not started, open the Actions menu, click Edit Schedule, and update the schedule.
Activation and scheduling are only possible when the whiteboard is logically correct, and all required fields are filled in. If the system detects errors, you receive a notification with information about the problem.
You cannot edit the steps of an event-based whiteboard that is active or scheduled. If you need to edit the steps, deactivate the whiteboard first. When you deactivate a whiteboard, all contacts currently in the plan exit immediately. To end a campaign gradually, select the Phase Out option.