Drafting Your First Campaign Scripts

Overview

When developing your first campaigns, it’s important to remember that there are likely a few types of scripts that you will be using regularly. The list below details these types and goes into more detail about what each of them is and how they should be used. You can also check out the cc Script Library to copy over our research-backed scripts to use for your bot.

Intro Messages

Intro messages are how your contacts are first messaged through the bot. Contacts should only receive this script once, but should always receive an intro message before other communications. You can read more about what an intro message should include in this article. 

Away Messages

Away messages are only used by closed bots. If someone who is not in your list of uploaded users texts the bot, they will receive this “away message.” These messages inform the contact that the service is not yet available to them. These messages can direct students to other resources at your institution or simply tell them that the bot is not available to chat with them at this time. You should develop this message before going live so that unknown users can get a response from the bot. Check out SMS/Text Messaging Settings for more. 

Nudges

Nudges are one-way communications. They can be reminders of dates or events, interesting facts about your institution, links to videos, or any other kind of communication that you don’t need a response to. Nudges are quick and easy to send out, and they work as great reminders to get contacts engaging with the bot. It can often be fun to theme nudges around holidays, events on campus, or popular culture touch-points that are relevant to your contacts.

Interactive Campaigns

Interactive campaigns are the “secret sauce” of Mainstay. Interactive campaigns allow you to have a dialogue with contacts: giving some information and getting some back. Interactive campaigns can be anything from surveys to gathering feedback for an event, to fun trivia questions where the winners get a prize in the mail. You can view the results of an interactive campaign at any time using your dashboard, see Downloading Campaign Results.