Automatically do something with your data
An automation is an action that occurs when a specific event (or trigger) occurs -- where you define the trigger, then create the event using an app that you've added to integrate MyWiFi and a third party.
Required:
- Active Pro or higher MyWiFi plan.
It's Important
You will need to have created an app to connect MyWiFi with the third party you want to automate. The only exception to this is creating an email automation using our WYSIWYG email editor, where we have an app called Default SMTP Server you can use!
Add an automation
To create most automations, you must first add the app integration. Once that's set up, you can begin.
- Select Automation from the main menu.
- Click Add New Automation.
- Choose an Automation Name, select a Location where the automation should run, and select the Campaign that the automation will run on, and click Proceed.
NOTE: You can leave the Campaign field blank to run the automation on all campaigns at that location, or choose multiple campaigns to run it on.
- Choose a Trigger. You have four choices:
Connect: When the guest connects to WiFi
Disconnect: When the guest disconnects from WiFi
Inactive: When the guest has not connected to the WiFi for a certain number of days
Birthday: On the guest's birthday each year.
Note that most login methods do not collect birth date information; you can, however, request that information from Facebook,
- Choose a Delay. There are two options:
Real Time: The automation will fire as soon as the trigger happens.
Delay: The automation will fire a specific length of time after the trigger happens. This can be measured in minutes, hours, or days.
- Choose the Send frequency. You have three choices:
Always: The automation will fire every time the trigger occurs.
Once: The automation will only fire the first time the trigger occurs for that contact.
By Visits: The automation will fire based on a rule you set up based on the number of visits.
The By Visits rule has two parts:
When: Choose between Before, On, or After
Visits: The relevant number of visits that changes whether or not this automation will fire.
For example, an automation set as When: Before and Visits: 5 will fire the first four times the contact connects to the WiFi, but will not fire after that.
- Select the platform that you want to connect to.
- Select which app you would like to use with this automation.
Depending on the third party you're connecting with, you may only require a single app for all your locations and clients, or you may need separate apps for each client or for other separations.
NOTE: if you have not yet made your app, or if you need to create a new one for this automation, click Create.
- Click Proceed.
The next steps will look different for every third-party platform; you may need to enter different information. Here are a couple examples:
Email automations
This is the information you'll be asked for when creating an email automation:
SMS automations
This is the information you'll be asked for when creating an SMS automation with Twilio:
Manage your automations
From the automations page, you can view and manage all your automations.
This list shows you the automation name, the app it uses, the date it was created and the last time it was updated, its status, and all available reports, as well as providing links to edit, test, or delete your automation.
Automation status
To switch an automation from On to Off, click the status; your automation will immediately be updated. While off, an automation will not trigger.
This will also show a cursor icon if a listed automation was a real-time broadcast.
Automation reports
Automation history
Clicking either the automation name or the automation history icon will bring you to the automation history page.
This list will detail every instance where the automation has fired. It lists the name of the automation and the associated app, the location and campaign where the user connected, the user's information, the status of the automation, the status of the automation, a link to the event report, and the date and time the automation was sent.
You can go directly to the location dashboard by clicking on the location name, or open the events history report by clicking the list icon under Reports. You can also filter the list by status, name, or location; choose a time period to look at; or export the list as a CSV or PDF.
There are three possible statuses, and hovering over the status will give you more details.
Success indicates that the automation went through, and your data was successfully sent.
Withheld means that the data was not sent; this can be caused by a number of things, but the most common is that the automation requires information that the login method doesn't provide -- for example, someone logging in through Facebook doesn't provide a phone number, so an SMS automation will be withheld. Hovering over the status will tell you what happened.
Error means that we attempted to send the data, but something went wrong. Hovering over the status will tell you what happened.
Edit your automation
Clicking Edit Automation will bring up the editing window, which summarizes the current settings and parameters for the automation.
To edit any of the settings, click the icon or text field, and you will be presented with the available options to choose from.
Click Update to go back to the main screen, then click Update again to confirm your changes.
Test your automation
To test your automation, click Test.
Depending on the integration your Automation connects with, the next steps may vary. Here are two examples of common automations: an email automation and an SMS automation.
Email automation test
Here, we'll test an email automation.
- Fill out your Name, Email, and Phone Number, then click Test Automation.
If everything goes through properly, you'll see this banner and get an email in your inbox.
SMS automation test
Here, we'll test an SMS automation.
- Select the Country Code, provide your Phone Number, and click Test Automation when ready.
If everything goes through properly, you'll see this banner and get an SMS message.
Delete your automation
To delete your automation, click the trash can.
You will be asked to confirm deletion; click Yes, Delete to delete.
Need Help?
If you have any questions, please contact our support team by clicking the support icon located in the bottom right-hand corner of this page.
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