Feature Availability: One Pilot | One Growth | One Professional | One Enterprise

Introduction

The Social module is Vtiger's social media management tool.  

From the Social module, you can integrate and manage your social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, simultaneously. The Social module gives you a dashboard from where you can perform the following actions: 

• Post
• Comment on a Post
• Reply to a comment
• Create a comment stream
• Schedule a Post
• Delete a comment or reply
• Select and add Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases to your Posts.
• Look up information using the Search Stream using specific hashtags and keywords.

Key Features

• Integration with multiple social media platforms or channels - The Social module currently integrates with the following - Facebook (FB), Instagram (Insta), Twitter, and Google My Business (GMB).
• Social Inbox - Lists the social media channels you have integrated with with Vtiger CRM with the following sections. 
  • Posts - You can manage your posts from this feature on single or multiple platforms simultaneously.
  • Reviews -  Lets you display and review the comments on your posts for different social media channels.
  • Search Streams - Allows you to look up or search for posts with hashtags based on your requirements and interests on multiple platforms simultaneously. For example, you can look for posts on current product trends like winter wear using this phrase - #winterwear. 

In Vtiger CRM, the Social module is available under Marketing > Campaigns.

Benefits of using the Social module

Following are the benefits of integrating your social media accounts with Vtiger’s Social module:

• Use a centralized hub to manage all communication
• Streamline your social media communication
• Save time with automation and post across various channels without manual effort
• Explore social media trends from the CRM 

Using the Social module

The Social module screen consists of Social Inbox with the following sections, namely:

• Social Inbox
  • Post
    • Add new posts
    • Schedule existing posts
  • Reviews
  • Search Streams

Let us understand each section in detail.

Social Inbox > Posts section

The Posts section:

• Displays the various platforms where you can post.
• Compose a new post.
• View the posts that are available publicly.
• Schedule existing posts for a desired date and time. 

Composing a Post

You can compose and publish a post using the Compose Post icon.

Follow these steps to compose a post:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.
6. On the left-hand side, click Instagram under Posts.
7. Click the Compose Post icon. The New Post window opens.
8. Enter or select the following information:
   1. Post to - Select your Instagram account.
   2. Message - Enter the content you want to Post.
   3. Upload media - Upload media files if any (image, audio, video). You can drag and drop your files from your system here or click Browse to upload files from your system.
   4. Note: Instagram supports either one video or one photo and not both together.
9. You can preview your Post on the right panel of the New Post window. 
10. Click Post.

Your posts will be displayed under My Posts on the Instagram page of the Social module.

Commenting on a Post

The reply comment option allows you to respond or add your comments to a post.

Follow these steps to comment on a post:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.
6. On the left-hand side, click Instagram under Posts.
7. Choose the post you want to comment on.
8. Click the Comment icon at the bottom of the post. The Comment textbox opens. 
9. Type your comment in the comment box.
10. Click Post.

Your comment on the post will be displayed under My Posts > Commented Post. 

Viewing a Comment

To view your comment click View all comments. Reclicking the same will hide the comments.

Actions (For a Post)

The More (or three dots) feature for an Instagram post allows you to select and add a contact, lead, deal, or case record from a Post.

Using Actions, you can:

• Create a Comment Stream
• Add a Contact
• Select a Contact
• Add a Lead
• Select a Lead
• Add a Deal
• Add a Case
• View Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases already added

Creating a Comment Stream

Creating a Comment Stream allows you to view a specific Post and the comments and replies to it individually on a separate section called Comments. If you comment stream a Post it will be streamed on the Comments window.

Follow these steps to create a comment stream: 

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.
6. On the left-hand side, under Posts, click Instagram.
7. In the My Posts window, choose the desired Post to create a comment stream.
8. Click Actions.
9. Click + Create comment stream.
10. The specific post will immediately be displayed in the Comments window.

• Separate Comments windows are created every time you create a comment stream for a post. 
• Under Comments, all the functionalities for a comment-streamed post remain the same as the functionalities for a post under My Posts.

Replying to a Comment

The Reply option under every comment allows you to reply to a specific comment.

Follow these steps to reply to a comment:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.
6. On the left-hand side, under Posts, click Instagram.
7. In the My Posts window, choose the comment you want to reply to.
8. Click the Reply icon at the bottom of the comment. The Reply textbox opens. 
9. Type your reply.
10. Click Post.

Your reply to the comment will be displayed right below the comment for that post.  

Also visible is the Replies option that displays who has replied to your post or comment. Reclicking the same will hide the replies.

Adding a Contact

If a visitor to your post leaves a comment or replies to you, you can add them as a Contact in the CRM. Note: The Add Contact window fields are customizable and hence may vary.
Follow these steps to add a contact: 

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Add Contacts.
3. Click New Contact. You will be directed to the Add Contact window.
4. Enter or select the following information:
   1. First Name: Enter the first name.
   2. Last Name: The user’s name by default is taken as the Last Name for the contact record.
   3. Description: The user’s comment or reply is by default taken as the Description for the contact record.
   4. Email
   5. Organization Name
   6. Phone
   7. Assigned To
   8. Contact Type
   9. Contact Image
   10. Description
5. Click Save. 

The contact you created will be saved in the Contacts module. To confirm, you can go to the Contacts module to view the record.

Linking a Comment to a Contact record

If existing CRM users have posted on Instagram, you can link these posts to their Contact records. Adding these links to a contact record saves customer interactions and helps learn more about them. 

Follow these steps to select and link a contact: 

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Select Contact. You will be directed to the Select Contact window.
3. The user (Contact) who commented or replied is displayed if they are already available in the CRM as a contact. 
4. Select the respective contact record.

Adding a Lead

You can add a visitor who commented or replied to your posts as a new Lead in the CRM.

Note: The Add Lead window fields are customizable and hence may vary.

Follow these steps to add a Lead:  

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Add Lead. The Add Lead window opens.
3. Enter or select the following information:  
   1. Last Name: The Instagram handle of the user by default is added as the Last Name.
   2. Organization Name
   3. Location
   4. Lead Type
   5. Assigned To
   6. Parent Lead
   7. Lead Share
   8. Contact Number
   9. Email
4. Click Save.

The Lead you created will be saved in the Leads module. To confirm, you can go to the Leads module to view the record.

Linking a Comment to a Lead record

If existing CRM users have posted on Instagram, you can link these posts to their Lead record. Adding these links saves customer interactions and helps in knowing more about them. 

Follow these steps to select and link a comment to a Lead:

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Select Lead. You will be directed to the Select Lead window.
3. The user (Lead) who commented or replied will be displayed if already available on your CRM contacts.
4. Select the respective Lead record. 

Adding a Deal

You can add new deals from comments or replies made to your posts if you think they are good business deals to pursue. Note: The Add Deal window fields are customizable and hence may vary.

Follow these steps to add a deal:

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Add Deal. The Add Deal window opens.
3. Enter or select the following information:
   1. Deal Name: The user who commented or replied to a comment is by default taken as the Deal Name for the deal record.
   2. Summary: The user’s comment or reply (deal) is by default taken as the Executive Summary for the deal record.
   3. Organization Name
   4. Sales Stage
   5. Contact Name
   6. Pipeline
   7. Revenue
   8. Assigned To
   9. Location
   10. Estimate
4. Click Save. 

You have now added a Deal which will be saved in the Deals module.

Adding a Case

You can create a case when a user complains about an issue or raises a question on your posts. Note: The Add Case window fields are customizable and hence may vary.

Follow these steps to add a case:

1. Click Actions.
2. Click Add Case. The Add Case window opens
3. Enter or select the following information:
   1. Case Title: The user’s comment or reply (case) is by default taken as Summary and Case Title for the case record.
   2. Status
   3. Priority
   4. Contact Name
   5. Assigned To
   6. Group
   7. Channel
   8. Email
   9. SLA Name
   10. Summary: The user’s comment or reply (case) is by default taken as Summary and Case Title for the case record.
4. Click Save. 
   1. Click Send Email to email the case details.

You now created a Case which will be saved in the Cases module.

Viewing Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases

Once you add or link (by using Select) Contacts, Leads, Deals, and Cases from a comment or a reply to an Instagram post, you can view their details by clicking Actions. 

From the Actions pop-up you can: 

• View Contact - If you want to view the Contact details.
• View Lead - If you want to view the Lead details
• View Deal - If you want to view the Deal details.
• View Case - If you want to view the Case details.

With this, you will be directed to their respective records in the related modules.  For a quicker search, enter Instagram as the keyword source field.

Deleting a Comment or Reply

You can delete a comment or reply to your posts or comments directly from the CRM.

1. Click Actions.
2. Click the Delete icon.
3. You will be directed to the ‘Are you sure you want to delete? ‘ popup.
4. Click Ok. 

Note: The Reply symbol lets you reply to the comment whose functionality is just as the Reply option illustrated in the Replying to a Comment section.

Scheduled section

 The Scheduled section is where you can compose your posts and schedule to post them later (a scheduled time).

Scheduling a Post

Follow these steps to schedule a Post:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. The Social module’s Dashboard opens.
6. On the left-hand side, under Posts, click Instagram.
7. Click the Compose Post icon. The New Post window opens.
8. Enter or select the following information -
   1. Post to: Select your Instagram account.
   2. Message: Enter the post content you want to post.
   3. Upload media: Upload your images, audio, or video files to be posted. You can drop your files here or click Browse to upload files from your system.
   4. Preview: You can always view the preview of your post on the right-hand side of the New Post window.
9. Click Schedule Post.
10. Click the Calendar icon.
11. Select the required month and date.
12. Click the Time icon to set the required time slot. Note: The Delete icon helps you clear the selection.
13. Click Schedule Post.

Your post scheduled for the specific date and time will be displayed under the Scheduled section and Posted at the selected time.

Rescheduling a Post

Rescheduling allows you to reschedule an already scheduled post.

Follow these steps to reschedule your post:

1. Click the Actions (three dots) on the top right corner of the post.
2. Click Reschedule. You will be directed to the Reschedule window
3. Click the Calendar icon.
4. Select the required month and date. 
5. Click the Time icon to set the required time slot. Note: The Delete icon helps you clear the selection.
6. Click Save.

Your scheduled Post will be rescheduled for the chosen date and time and will be displayed under the Scheduled section.

Deleting a Scheduled Post

Follow these steps to delete a scheduled post:

1. Click Actions on the top right corner of the scheduled post.
2. Click the Delete icon.
3. You will be directed to the  ‘Are you sure you want to delete?' popup.
4. Click Ok.

Using the Search Stream

Search Stream allows you to look for social media posts with specific hashtags. For example, assume you want to look up vacation spot photos on Instagram, you can enter the phrase vacationspotphotos with a hashtag and SearchStream will display all Instagram posts with this hashtag.

Follow the steps to use the Search Stream:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Marketing.
4. Look for Campaigns.
5. Select Social. You will be directed to the Social module.
6. Look for Search Stream on the left-hand side of the screen.
7. Click + plus mark beside Search Streams. The Add Search Stream window opens.
8. Enter or select the following information:
   1. Name: Enter a name for your search stream.
   2. Select Accounts: Select your desired account. The Add Search Stream window opens.
   3. Enter your desired hashtags to retrieve all the posts available on Instagram having the same as shown below.
   4. Click Add Stream.

The system displays all posts as per the set Search Stream tags. The Search Stream action you performed will also be saved under Search Streams with the same name.

Note: You can look up only 30 hashtags in a week and display the count and hashtags already looked for. Repeated hashtags are not considered in this count.

Add Multiple Channels to your Search Streams

Under Search Streams, you can use the Add Channel option to look up information on two social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram simultaneously. This helps you avoid dual keyword input and save time.

Follow the below steps to add a Channel:

1. Under Search Streams hover the mouse on a saved Search Stream.
2. Click Add Channel. The Add Channel window opens.
3. Select your Instagram account.
4. Click Add Channel.