# Announcements

Announcements are broadcast messages that you can send across multiple Slack channels at once. The following are common use cases for sending announcements:

* Sending release notes to multiple customer channels at once.
* Downtime notices for all or a particular subset of customers.
* General updates to your customers or employees.

{% hint style="success" %}
**Prerequisites:**

1. Create a dedicated Slack channel where your draft announcements will be prepared. eg. #clearfeed-announcements
2. The channel can be a private or a public channel
3. Add ClearFeed bot to this channel.
   * Use the command `/invite @clearfeed` to add the bot to the channel
   * Do not mark that channel as "Request Channel" or "Triage Channel"
     {% endhint %}

## Sending Announcements

### Preparing the Announcement in Slack

1. Navigate to the channel where you will be drafting your announcements.
2. Prepare and send the message you want to broadcast
   * Attach any necessary files directly to this Slack message. Check [this section](#announcement-delivery-behavior) to see how the attached files will be sent.
   * If any URLs are mentioned in an announcement message, you can enable/disable the preview for these links.
3. Click on the three-dot menu (Slack More Actions menu) by hovering over the message.
4. Select `ClearFeed Actions` from the dropdown.
   * If it's not visible, click `More message shortcuts` and pick `ClearFeed Actions`.
5. Click on `Create an Announcement`.
6. Provide a title. This is only visible in ClearFeed, not in Slack.
7. Click on `Save as Draft`, followed by the `Click here` link.
8. You'll be taken to the ClearFeed web app where you can finalize and send your announcement.

<figure><img src="https://3455705434-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FE2O2wTaNovd6fXpEuLKz%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-a9588e1eebdb26abb78861b357d56df40cb19bb6%2FClearFeed%20Announcement%20Creation%20-1.gif?alt=media" alt="" width="563"><figcaption><p>Preparing the announcement from Slack</p></figcaption></figure>

### Sending from ClearFeed Web

1. Go to <https://web.clearfeed.app/announcements> -> Draft -> Click on the Edit button against your announcement.
2. **Preview Web Links:** Enable to show previews for standard web links such as articles, documentation, or websites.
3. **Preview Media Links:** Enable to show rich previews for media content such as videos and music.
4. **Select Recipients**

   You can choose announcement recipients using either or both of these methods:

   **By Collections or Channels**

   * Choose **Slack channels** or entire **Collections** to send the announcement. Announcements cannot be sent to unmonitored or inactive channels.
   * Use the search bar to quickly locate them.
   * You can select one or multiple recipients.

   **By Customer Filters**

   * Filter by **Customer Owner** or **Custom Fields** to target specific customer segments. Selecting a set of customers shows all the Slack channels linked to those customers.
   * Supported custom field types: **Select**, **Multi-Select**, **Date**, **Number**, and **User Select**.
   * You can apply multiple filters to broaden your selection. Each new filter adds matching customers to your list (results are combined, not narrowed):
     1. Apply a filter (e.g., Customer Owner = "John Doe")
     2. Select some or all customers matching the filter
     3. Apply another filter (e.g., "Plan Type" = "Enterprise")
     4. Select additional customers from the new results

   You can schedule the announcement when ready, or clear your selections to start over.

   <figure><img src="https://3455705434-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FE2O2wTaNovd6fXpEuLKz%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-3d2747c78d9c6ab106c66e959c83c3387f47bf55%2Fannouncement-using-filters.gif?alt=media" alt="" width="563"><figcaption><p>Filtering recipients by custom fields</p></figcaption></figure>
5. Optionally, test the announcement on a Slack channel to preview how it looks.
6. Choose the Sender :
   * **Channel Owner**: Announcement appears as sent by the Slack user listed as the channel owner.
     * You can check the channel owners in **Collection Settings** for each channel
     * In the channel owner is deactivated, the message is sent as **ClearFeed**.
   * **Customer Owner:** Announcements are displayed as sent by the Slack user set as the Customer Owner. This option is available only when **Customer Centric Inbox** is enabled for your account. To use this capability, ensure a Customer Owner is assigned to the Customer record. Learn more about Customer Centric Inbox [here](https://docs.clearfeed.ai/clearfeed-help-center/clearfeed-helpdesk/collections/customer-collections).
   * **ClearFeed**: Posts as the ClearFeed Bot in one message with attachments.
     * Bot name and icon cannot be changed even if you have done [Bot whitelisting](https://docs.clearfeed.ai/clearfeed-help-center/how-it-works/creating-requests/from-slack-channels#bot-whitelisting)
   * **User**: Posts on behalf of a selected user.
     * Choosing yourself requires Slack authentication.
     * Choosing another user sends via ClearFeed Bot but displays their name and profile picture.
7. Send or Schedule :
   * **Send Now**: Delivers immediately.
   * **Schedule for Later**: Pick a date and time for delivery. The scheduled time uses the timezone configured for your account (visible under your **Default Schedule** in [Business Schedule](https://web.clearfeed.app/business-schedules)).

<figure><img src="https://3455705434-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FE2O2wTaNovd6fXpEuLKz%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-7168e7f2ee0255f7444ed886cb63e8aad76d23d1%2FAnnouncement%20Creation%20-%202.gif?alt=media" alt="" width="563"><figcaption><p>Sending the announcement</p></figcaption></figure>

### Announcement Delivery Behavior

How an announcement is delivered depends on:

* Who it is configured to be sent as
* Whether the user has connected Slack
* Whether the user is a member of the target channel

#### How Announcements Are Posted

| Sender Selected      | Slack Connected? | In Channel? | How Message Appears in Slack                 | Collapse Supported? |
| -------------------- | ---------------- | ----------- | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| **ClearFeed Bot**    | N/A              | N/A         | Posted as ClearFeed bot                      | ✅ Yes               |
| **Specific User**    | ✅ Yes            | ✅ Yes       | Posted as that user                          | ❌ No                |
| **Specific User**    | ✅ Yes            | ❌ No        | Posted by ClearFeed, shown as that user      | ✅ Yes               |
| **Specific User**    | ❌ No             | N/A         | Posted by ClearFeed, shown as that user      | ✅ Yes               |
| **Customer Owner**\* | N/A              | N/A         | Posted by ClearFeed, shown as customer owner | ✅ Yes               |

\* *Customer Owner option is available only if Customer Inbox is enabled for your account.*

{% hint style="info" %}

#### Important Notes

* To post directly as a user, the user must:
  * Connect Slack (provide authorization), and
  * Be a member of the target Slack channel.
* If either condition is not met, the announcement is posted by ClearFeed but displayed as the selected user.
  {% endhint %}

### Do Announcements Create Requests or Tickets?

**Announcement messages themselves do NOT create requests or tickets.** Announcements are one-way broadcast messages that are delivered to Slack channels without generating a ClearFeed request or ticket.

However, **customer replies to announcements may create requests**:

* When customers respond to an announcement in a Slack channel thread, those responses are captured as ClearFeed requests
* These requests can then be converted into tickets based on the collection's settings
* A toggle control (**Create requests from responder threads**) allows you to manage whether announcement replies should generate requests

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** Simple reactions like "cool," "that's great," or similar low-effort responses are filtered by AI as **ignorable messages** and do not create requests. Only meaningful customer engagement triggers request creation. Learn more about [how replies and ignorable messages work](https://docs.clearfeed.ai/clearfeed-help-center/how-it-works/creating-requests/from-slack-channels#how-replies-work).
{% endhint %}

## Expand/Collapse Behavior of Announcements

When an announcement is posted as a ClearFeed bot, an Collapse/Expand option maybe provided on the announcement message. The details of the behavior are as follows:

* **Collapsible Announcements:** Only announcements posted as the **ClearFeed bot** support the collapse/expand feature. Messages posted as a regular user do not have this capability in Slack.
* **Automatic Collapsing**: ClearFeed also automatically collapses such announcement messages (that are posted as the ClearFeed bot) after 2 days to reduce the amount of visual noise on the channels. There is no option to turn this behavior off.
* **Channel-Wide State:** The expand/collapse state is shared across the channel. When any user clicks the expand or collapse button, or the announcement is collapsed by ClearFeed automatically - the change is reflected for all members of that channel.
* **Manual Control:** Users can manually collapse or expand announcements posted by the ClearFeed bot at any time.

Note that when announcement are posted as a user, some channels may still see posts by the ClearFeed bot, in case the user posting the announcement is not a member of all those channels. So the Expand/Collapse behavior may differ across channels in such cases.

## Editing Announcements

* Go to the source Slack channel to edit the parent thread of the announcement. You can also access the source Slack message from the Sent Announcement.
* Go back to the webapp and click on the "Re-Sync" button for that announcement
* The edited message in the source channel will be reflected in the sent messages
* Note that we can't change the attachments sent during the announcement

## Managing Announcements

You can view saved drafts and view sent announcements from the ClearFeed App.

* Navigate to [Announcements](https://web.clearfeed.app/announcements) on the ClearFeed web app
* Here, you'll find the following tabs:
  * **All**: Provides a list of all announcements irrespective of their state.
  * **Draft**: Lists all drafted announcements that are yet to be sent or scheduled.
  * **Scheduled**: Displays announcements scheduled for future broadcasts.
  * **Sent**: Lists all successfully broadcasted announcements.
* Post sending an announcement they can be edited by clicking on the "Re-Sync" button
* You can also `Delete` an announcement completely.

<figure><img src="https://3455705434-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FE2O2wTaNovd6fXpEuLKz%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-a6701b65db3c34508564204b0b0f4089ae8216ac%2Fimage%20(149).png?alt=media" alt="" width="563"><figcaption><p>Announcements dashboard on ClearFeed</p></figcaption></figure>

## **Interaction Metrics**

You can view the Interaction Metrics of an Announcement by going to the Announcements page and clicking on the Anoouncement sent.

### ​Top Level Metrics

<figure><img src="https://3455705434-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FE2O2wTaNovd6fXpEuLKz%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-d56655951e31ff423350283e9a38a1f595a14cbb%2Fimage.png?alt=media" alt="" width="563"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

* **Channels Reached:** Number of channels the announcement reached.
* **Reactions:** Emoji reactions from customers.
* **Replies:** Number of customer replies to the announcement. Click the link to open the corresponding Slack thread and view the conversation.

You can also view the number of reactions from each channel where the announcement was sent, along with the top reactions and the users who reacted. You can sort channels by reactions or replies, making it easy to identify which channels are engaging with the announcement.

<figure><img src="https://3455705434-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FE2O2wTaNovd6fXpEuLKz%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-c4e1d7efcc353af611a6b1fc14c3586e15211092%2Fimage.png?alt=media" alt="" width="563"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## FAQs

1. **Can we edit an announcement after it has been sent?**\
   **Answer:** Yes, you can edit the content of a sent announcement by following the steps mentioned [here](#editing-announcements).
2. **Why can't I see the option to send an announcement from a Slack Channel?**\
   **Answer:** There could be multiple reasons why you cannot see the option to send announcements:
   * ClearFeed bot might not be present in the channel where you're trying to create an announcement.
   * Even if the ClearFeed bot is present, if the channel is a Triage or Request Channel (often indicated by the channel name or settings), the announcement feature will be disabled. You need to use a separate, regular channel for announcements.
3. **How can I set up a channel to create announcements using ClearFeed?**\
   **Answer:** To create announcements, follow these steps:
   * Create a new Slack channel (e.g., `#announcements`) that is not a Request or Triage Channel.
   * Add the ClearFeed bot to this channel using `/invite` `@ClearFeed`.
   * Post your message in this channel and then use the ClearFeed actions to convert it into an announcement following the steps given [here](#sending-announcements).
4. **How can I select a specific set of customers to send an announcement to?**\
   **Answer:** You can target specific customers using either or both methods:
   * **By Collections or Channels:** Select entire Collections or individual Slack channels
   * **By Filtering on Customer Fields:** Filter by Customer Owner or Custom Fields (like plan type, region, or lifecycle stage). Selecting customers shows all linked Slack channels.