Create a Recurring Whiteboard Plan

Goal

Set up a recurring whiteboard that automates tasks at defined intervals.

Prerequisites

You must meet the following requirements before you create a recurring whiteboard:

• Whiteboards are enabled in your system.

• You have the required permissions for whiteboards and automations:

  • Permission 1600: View all whiteboards.

  • Permission 1602: View and edit all whiteboards.

  • Permission 356: Activate or deactivate whiteboards.

• Prepare required resources, such as segments or messages. These must be created in their respective areas before setting up the whiteboard.

Whiteboard Behavior and Rules

As you work on the whiteboard, the system displays only the events, jobs, and filters that are valid for the current step. Options that are not allowed in a specific location are hidden.

General rules for recurring whiteboards

• The minimum interval between recurrences is one hour.

• The first task begins at the specified date and time, enrolling contacts into the plan.

• You can schedule tasks to start at specific times.

• Contacts in the audience can enter the whiteboard with each recurrence unless restrictions are applied.

• Use the “Only Once” setting to prevent a contact from being enrolled multiple times in the same recurrence.

Rules for start jobs

• The Whiteboard Audience start job is mandatory. The Import Contacts start job is optional.

• If you use both start jobs, Import Contacts must be the first step, and Whiteboard Audience the second step.

• If the plan starts with an Import Contacts job, add a Wait step of at least one hour. Import times vary from minutes to several hours. For imports larger than 500k contacts, a six-hour wait is recommended.

• If the whiteboard begins with an Import Contacts job, the audience is automatically set to the import’s target group.

Procedure

A) Creating the whiteboard

1. Go to Automations > Whiteboards.

2. Click Create new Whiteboard.

3. Choose how you want to create the whiteboard. Available options are:

   • Start from scratch

   • Reuse a Whiteboard

   • Create from template

4. In the Create new Whiteboard window, select Recurring.

5. Enter a unique name (up to 100 characters) and, optionally, a description (up to 1,000 characters).

6. Click Create.

7. Click Setup to configure the plan.

   • In the Recur on scheduled dates and times area:

     • Activation: Define when the whiteboard starts.

     • Recurrence rules:

       • Period: Select “Hourly,” “Daily,” “Weekly,” or “Monthly.”

       • Frequency: Specify the rate (for example, every four hours, every two days, or every third Sunday).

     • Deactivation: Set an end date or number of repetitions.

   • In the Whiteboard Goal area, select the goal event that ends a contact’s journey.

     • All standard whiteboard events can be used as a goal event.

     • Goal events cannot be split.

     • If the same event appears both as the goal and as a step on the plan, the goal event takes priority and the journey does not continue beyond that step.

8. Click Apply.

B) Configuring whiteboard steps

1. Click Add First Step on the whiteboard canvas.

2. Add one or more start jobs:

   Import Contacts
   Adds contact data stored on an FTP server to an existing group. The group that receives the imported contacts becomes the whiteboard audience group. For more information, see Import Contacts (Job).

   Whiteboard Audience
   Defines when the plan starts and who can enter it. Only contacts who are active members of the audience group when the first step begins can enter. Contacts who join afterward are not enrolled.

3. Click Apply.

4. Click Add Next Step to add additional steps. These steps define the marketing interactions in your plan.

5. Continue adding steps until your whiteboard is complete.

C) Validation, Activation, and Remaining Settings

1. In the Whiteboard Settings window, define additional settings for your recurring whiteboard:

   • Sendout Settings: Exclude specific days or hours from sendout.

   • Notifications: Enable an expiry notification 30 days before deactivation.

   • Whiteboard Time Zone: Set the time zone used by the system for automation calculations.

2. To check your whiteboard plan, click Validate in the Actions menu.

3. To execute the whiteboard one time, click Run Once in the Actions menu.

   • This executes the plan immediately without changing its status or schedule.

   • A confirmation message appears when the run is completed. If errors occur, the system sends an email to the whiteboard owner.

4. To save your whiteboard plan, click Save.

   • The system saves the plan with status “Inactive.” Steps on an inactive plan are not executed and can be edited.

5. To activate your recurring whiteboard, click Activate.

   • Activation is only possible when the plan is logically correct, and all required fields are completed.

   • Active recurring whiteboards cannot be edited. To modify steps or recurrence rules, deactivate the plan first.

   • When a whiteboard is deactivated, all contacts currently in the plan exit immediately.