August 2024 Product Update

Updated by Alexis Salcedo

Hey everyone! We’re excited to launch a host of new features to help you run even better fundraising and organizing programs on Switchboard:

🚀Run your Organizing Program on Switchboard

Branched Scripting: We heard from you that building out scripts for volunteers reduces headaches and errors, saves time on data collection, and improves the overall experience for everyone on your team. 

  1. Create responses within Switchboard or import your pre-created script! Instructions to import a script are here.
  2. Apply labels to responses when creating a script, so data is tracked when those responses are used in the inbox. Reminder - you can always apply NGPVAN actions to these labels to also automate sending data back to Votebuilder!
  3. Once a script is applied to a broadcast, the script will appear in the inbox, and a volunteer can work through the conversation with either a focused script view or the script overview mode. The focused mode scopes the script experience to the specific branch, great for new or inexperienced volunteers. The overview mode lets experienced inbox users access the entire script to track multiple responses at a time! 

Auto-move to Next Conversation: When you send a message, dismiss, or opt someone out, the next conversation that needs a reply will pop up automatically, saving you time when clearing out your inbox! You can turn this on right next to the send button in your inbox!

Canned Response + Label Management: We now have features to help you customize how your staff and volunteers interact with canned responses and labels to ensure data cleanliness:

  1. When creating a canned response, Switchboard will auto-generate a label. When the volunteer sends the canned response, the label will be applied automatically. This should help you track data about your phone numbers as you reply in the inbox.
  2. Canned Responses and Labels can now be associated with specific broadcasts, so that inbox users without permission to see those broadcasts do not have access to those canned responses and labels. If a volunteer does have access to those broadcasts, those labels will pop to the top of their menu, making it easier for them to find the correct one to use!
  3. Labels can now be marked as “Inbox Admin only,” reducing the potential for Inbox Users to mistakenly apply the label.

💄Switchboard’s Help Library Got a Makeover!

We recently revamped our help library to make it EVEN easier to find our 75+ help documents as you are learning to navigate Switchboard. You can now use the search bary to look for a specific help document, and most of our longer resources have a table of contents so you can more quickly navigate within a page. 

📊Early Access to Switchboard’s API

Based on your feedback, we’ve been working on an API to make accessing your Switchboard data faster and easier. We’re ready to start testing with a few initial users – if you’re interested in early access or learning more, email developers@oneswitchboard.com to get started!

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As always, our new features are shaped and prioritized based on user feedback, so please continue to reach out to our team with requests. We are committed to supporting you all through election day and beyond!

Have a brat summer,

Team Switchboard

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