Announcements Database Enhancement: Multiple Categories

We're pleased to update you that the Announcements Database received a big enhancement - the ability to add multiple categories to an individual announcement!

How It Works

Simply build a new announcement - or edit an existing one - and select more than one category while creating or editing. The categories will now allow you to check more than one!

Why Add Multiple Categories?

Depending on how you are currently using your Announcements Database, any of the following may apply:

• If you are using announcements on your home page, create a Home Page category and easily filter just those announcements that should go on your home page (this was the #1 requested reason from customers!).
• There are many announcements that pertain to different audience groups. Instead of having to always feed all of the entire category announcements on those pages, you can pick and choose. This allows you to create very targeted and pertinent updates to your audience in an easy way. No more duplicating announcements. And no more need to have your end users wade through "extra" announcements they are not interested in!

With this enhancement, consider creating specific categories and using those categories to place on the web pages. Remember that the page level tool has both a main body tool and a right side bar tool, making it perfect for many different types of uses and page layouts.

Other ideas that can be expanded upon:

• Consider using Announcements as a News feed too, not just announcements. If some items are "news worthy" or both news and announcements, check the same announcement in both categories and update both your news page and your announcements in one step!
• Create a stream of updates for your Annual Fundraiser or Building Campaign using the Announcements Tool. This allows you to push out updates, allow users to connect with RSS, and more.
• Announcements Database may be the perfect tool to keep a steady stream of financial campaign updates on a user-side secure page.
• Use Announcements to publish and promote upcoming classes or small groups / sessions.
• Remember that if you are on Premier Service Plan, connect announcements to your Facebook and/or Twitter using Social Stream.
• Announcements offer the ability to build text, image, URL linking, RSS feed, plus offers a 2 way scheduling feature AND social stream publishing - making this a very robust and versatile tool!

What other ways are you using the Announcements Tool? Comment below - we'd love to see your ideas!

Important Change

In order to complete the above enhancements, we did need to simplify permissions for the announcements database. Granular per category permissions have been removed. Site Manager Admin User permissions is either on or off now for the entire Announcements database.