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The Knowledgebase

Engage: Creating Events

This page outlines the process and options for creating events. For an index of Engage articles, return to the Engage Table of Contents.

 

Overview

Create enticing brochure pages to publicize your in-person and virtual events. Each event page is fully customizable, making it easy to connect your audience with your outreach.

event_public.png

A brochure page for an event always includes the name of the event, the event date and time, any details available for the location, and share icons for promoting the event. The other elements of the page are enabled during the event creation process as detailed below.

 

Access and Permissions

Events on public calendars are available to any visitor to your website or set to be only visible to admin users who have been granted event permissions.

  • To make an individual event public, use the toggle on step "3. Publish" of the event creation process to enable the status "This event will appear on the public calendar". If an event is not public, it will not appear on any calendars on the public pages of the site, but the friendly URL can still be used to share the event as a link. (See Publish below for more information.)
  • By default, events are not visible publicly. To remove a calendar from the being publicly visible, use the toggle on step "3. Publish" of the event creation process to switch it to a status "This event will not show on the public calendar" are visible only on the administrator calendar located at Engage > Events.

To create and edit events, administrators can be granted the permissions from the Engage Admin group:

  • Event: View
  • Event: Write

 

Creating an Event

Create your event in just a few simple steps! First, visit Engage > Events and click on the "Create New Event Button" located in the upper right corner.

create1.png

This will start the a three-step wizard for creating the new event:

  • Details
  • Location
  • Optional

Details

Step 1 of creating events offers fields to set the core details of the event, including the date, time, and location. Additional optional fields for the description, linking the event to a program, and adding tags to assist with searching are also available on this page.

event_1.png

  • Details
    • Name - This name will appear on the calendar and in registration emails related to this event
    • Type - The selection here will appear in the campaign block for this event
    • Event Date and Time
    • All Day - Selecting this toggle will remove the start and end time fields
    • Multi Day - Selecting this toggle will add an "end date" field. The event will show on the calendar as a bar across the indicated days on the calendar view.
    • URL - Adding a URL in this field replaces the program page, making it easy to link to external video conferencing registration pages. When clicking on the event on the public page, visitors will see a popup letting them know they are being redirected to a new page and a 10-second countdown before they are redirected.
    • Description - The text entered in this field will be included in the email campaign block for this event, as well as on the admin page for this event.
  • Location
    • Modality - Selecting In-person, Virtual/Online, Mixed, or To Be Announced adjusts the location fields offered for the event 
    • Address Search - If this event is either In-person or Mixed, then this field will appear. This optional field queries Google locations to add a full address and related map to the event. If this is not used, then a map will not be available to add to the event brochure.
    • Address Fields - If this event is either In-person or Mixed, then this field will appear. Location details can be entered or changed manually in these fields.
    • URL - If this event is either Virtual/Online or Mixed, then this field will appear. The link will not be visible on the event brochure page, but will be included in the confirmation email that is sent automatically upon registration.
    • If "To be Announced" is selected as the location, no fields will be presented. The event's location will appear as "TBD" on the brochure.
  • Optional
    • Program Name - Link this event to a specific program. This link is in support of future functionality.
    • Tags - Add up to 10 tags to this event, which can be used for searching on the admin page located at Engage > Events.

Event Brochure

Step 2 offers a wealth of options for creating event brochures to promote your event. The banner image will show across the event brochure page and in email sent out related to this event, making it easy to create event branding with just one photo.

event_2.png

  • Banner Image - Click on this field to select a banner image for this event. To support promotion and branding for your event, this image will automatically appear on the brochure page, in confirmation/update/cancellation emails, and in the campaign block for this event.
  • Brochure Options
    • Show Registration Button - Activating this button will place a "Register" button on the event page. This button will appear until the time of the event unless registration has been set to close.
      • If a number of hours are entered to close registration before the event on step 3. Publish, then the message "Registration is closed" will show instead of the Register button once the timeframe is reached
      • If the toggle for "Allow walk-ins to event?" is activated on step 3. Publish, then once registration is closed, the message "Walk-ins are welcome to still attend" will show in addition to the registration closed message
    • Show Location Map - If this option is toggled, and an address has been filled into the system using the "Address Search" on step 1. Details, then a Google map will show on the right side of the event brochure
    • Show QR Code - Toggle this option to show QR code on the event brochure page, and select whether the QR code should open the event brochure page or the event registration interface
  • Event Details - Customize the event brochure page using these drag and drop elements:
    • Text - The WYSIWYG editor allows you to include beautifully formatted text, including links
    • Image - Select an image to show on the brochure page from your image library, by uploading an image, or from Pixabay
    • Video - Paste the embed code for a video into the area labeled "Video Embed Code" to include a video
    • Program - Search for study abroad programs to embed the photo, description, and a link to the brochure page.

At any time, click on the Preview button to see what the brochure page will look like for visitors.

Publish

Step three of event creation offers options for visibility and promotion of the event.

events_step3.png

  • Event Promotion
    • Friendly URL - This field sets the subdirectory location of your event, making for a friendly and memorable URL. This field automatically suggests a label based on the name of the event, but any changes in this field will update the URL. If you plan to hold similar events year to year, it may be helpful to add the year to the default name.
    • Close Registration Hours - Enter a number of hours in advance of your event that you'd like for registration to close. If no number is entered in this field, then registration will remain open until the time of the event.
    • Visibility - By default, any newly created event will be set to "This event will not appear on the public calendar". Switch this toggle to "This event will appear on the public calendar" to make your event visible to visitors on your public calendars. If an event is not public, it will not appear on any calendars on the public pages of the site, but the friendly URL can still be used to share the event as a link.
    • Allow walk-ins to the event? - By default, this setting is off. If this is toggled to on and a number is entered in the "Close Registration Hours" field, then then once registration is closed, the message "Walk-ins are welcome to still attend" will show in addition to the registration closed message
  • Contact List Connect - Enter a new contact list name and (optionally) a description, then click "Create" to make a new contact list linked to this event. Any registrants to this event will automatically be added to this contact list, making it possible to send emails to registrants before or after the event.
  • Process Element Check-in - Select a study abroad application material to link to this event. When a contact checks in for this event, whether through the admin toggling them as checked in or by using the checking QR code, then the linked material will be automatically checked off as complete in any study abroad application. Multiple events can be linked to a single material, making it possible for attendance at any of those events to complete a single requirement, such as in cases where multiple pre-departure sessions are offered and an applicant only needs to attend one.
  • Brochure QR / Registration Form QR - Use the download button to save these QR codes to your desktop in PNG format. They can then be used for creating posters, etc. to further promote your event. Registrants who use one of these codes to access the event brochure and sign up will be labeled with the registration source of "QR Code" on the administrator view for the event allowing you to see the impact of these sources of promotion.

 

Additional Resources

Here are other resources that may interest you: