Creating a Audience Sync App

Utilizing the Audiences feature requires several steps to create and send audiences to downstream systems, e.g. Facebook, Yahoo!, Google Analytics, Nielsen. The high-level steps of how and what data is available for defining attributes, how to utilize the attributes to create audiences, how to create Audiences etc are covered in previous articles.  This article explains how to use created audiences and send them to downstream systems.

 

This article covers the following topics:

• Creating an Audience Sync app
• Connecting the data layer to the Audience Selector Process
• Configuring the Audience Selector process.
• Downstream integration
• Testing the Audience Sync app
• Activating the Audience Sync app

Creating an Audience Sync App

Now that we have audiences ready, we are ready to select the audiences to be sent to downstream systems. To select the list of audiences that will be sent to the downstream systems, an audience sync app is created where audiences created previously is utilized as the input into the audience sync app.

To create an Audience sync, follow these steps:

1. Open the Audience module by clicking the hamburger menu and selecting Audience.
2. In the left-side menu, select Apps (the last item), which will take you to the Audience Workspace where all Audience Apps are displayed.
3. Click Create New and choose App. This will direct you to the Create New App page. Complete the form fields, and in the Template field, select Audience Sync.
4. Click Save.
   
   

To create a new Audience Sync app, complete the following fields:

• Name: Provide a descriptive name that indicates the downstream system where audiences will be sent. The name must be unique across all apps within the Syntasa platform.
• Key: This value is typically auto-generated based on the app’s name and should be unique across all apps. The key cannot be changed after the app is created.
• App Prefix: An abbreviated identifier for the app's datasets and tables within the workflow canvas. This value can usually be left as-is and can be modified after the app is created if needed.
• Copy an Existing App: Allows duplication of the audience list from another Audience Sync app, if desired. Note that any copied integration settings will need to be updated by Syntasa staff.
• Template: For creating a new Audience Sync app, select Audience Sync.
• Description: Provide a brief informational note describing the app's purpose and usage.
• Event Store: Specifies the storage location for the Audience Sync app. Unlike attribute and audience, Audience Sync apps work across multiple data layers.
• Default Partition Scheme: Typically set to Daily.
• Override Icon: Allows customization of the app icon, which defaults to (). This can also be changed later from the app’s overview screen.

Once you click Save, an Audience Sync app will be created, and you’ll be redirected to the Development workflow page of the sync app as shown in the below image. Initially, the app will appear, with no data layer input stores  (), one unconfigured audience selector process (), and the audience sync result table ().

In the element selection panel on the left, you’ll see that an Audience Sync app offers various stores and processes that can be added. However, users need to focus only on these key elements: one type of input store, the data layer, and one type of process, the audience selector.

Selecting the Needed Data Layers

The created audiences are stored in the Audience Result Table within the data layer. To send these audiences to downstream systems, a configured data layer is required. Configuring the data layer on the workflow canvas involves the following four steps:

1. Drag and Drop the Data Layer
   

   In the element selection panel on the left, you’ll see a Data Layer option under Store. To add it to the workflow canvas, first unlock the app by clicking the unlock icon next to the favorite icon. Drag and drop the Data Layer onto the canvas. Initially, this new node will appear gray, as shown below. Note that you can add multiple data layers if required for the process.

   
   
   
2. Select the Data Layer

   Clicking on the Data Layer node opens a panel where you can select both the data layer and the dataset within it. Once you choose the data layer, the system will automatically identify and select the audience dataset associated with it. Save and close the Data Layer panel by clicking the Save icon (). Once saved, the Data Layer node will change to purple.

   
   
   
3. Connect the Data Layer with the Audience Selector

   The final step for configuring the data layer is to connect it to the required Audience Selector process. To do this, drag and connect the dots between the two nodes. Once connected successfully, the color of the Audience Selector node will change. If there are multiple data layer nodes, each one should be connected to its own Audience Selector node, which you’ll need to drag onto the workflow canvas. 

   

Configure Audience Selector Process

With Data Layer now connected to the Audience Selector process, it’s time to configure the process.

Before version 8.0.0, managing audiences required using the Audience Selector process, meaning users had to interact directly with the Audience Sync app to select or unselect audiences. Starting with version 8.0.0, audiences can be conveniently managed from the Audience Sync screen, simplifying the process and eliminating the need for direct interaction with the Sync app.

For testing in the development workflow, Syntasa staff must still configure audiences within the Sync app using the Audience Selector process. However, if testing is not required, users can activate the app directly, deploying changes to production without using the Audience Selector process. Once deployed, audiences can be managed entirely from the Audience Sync screen.

Let's understand configuring the Audience Selector process within the Audience sync app:

When you click on the Audience Selector process, a panel will open showing the options to add audiences. Please note that the workflow canvas should be unlocked to make any changes under the Audience Selector process.

The screen displays various options at the top for adding or removing audiences. Below is the list of available options:

• +Add: Adds individual audiences to the list.
• Add All: Add all available audiences to the list at once.
• Clear: Removes all selected audiences from the list.
• Export: Exports all selected audiences to a CSV file.
• Import: Imports audiences from an external file.

Once you add an audience, you can remove individual audiences from the list.

After configuring the Audience Selector process, click the green checkbox () to confirm the entered values. Once confirmed, the configuration panel will close and the process node on the workflow canvas will turn light green (). To reopen the panel, simply click on the process node again. 

Downstream Integration

The Audience Sync app requires additional configuration to connect with the downstream system. This setup will be handled by the Syntasa staff. The subsequent integration processes are not designed for user configuration.

Testing the Audience Sync App

Once the Audience Sync process is configured, it can be tested in collaboration with the Syntasa staff. However, keep in mind that testing the app, even within the development workflow, may have unintended effects since it is connected to the downstream system.

After the Audience Sync app is verified, user changes will be limited to selecting or deselecting audiences to be sent downstream. Therefore, testing within the development section is optional and can be skipped at the user’s discretion.

Activating the Audience Sync App

Once the Audience Sync app is fully configured, it can be activated for production by clicking the Activate button  (). This action will either update/overwrite the existing production version of the app with the current development version or create the initial production version if none exists.

After the app is activated in the production section, the job must be run to send the audience results to the downstream system. You can refer following articles on creating and executing the job:

• Creating a job
• Executing a job

Now that we have created the sync app, selected audiences, activated the app, and successfully run the job, it’s time to explore and understand the Audience Sync  screen in the next article.