Strategy for identifying the fields necessary for a specific set of data in the Content Database.
Content Database Field: A piece of data used in the Content Database. A set of fields are defined for a Category. There are 4 field types - text, multiple text, image and multiple image.
Content Database Field Types
Text
This Field Type will display as an open text field for end-users. You will be able to mark this as editable/not editable within each template.
Example: “Agent Name”
Text (Multiple)
This Field Type will display as a drop down of multiple values for selection. You will be able to mark this as editable/not editable within each template.
Example: “Agent Phone Numbers”
Image
This Field Type will display as a single image.
Example: Agent Headshot
Image (Multiple)
This Field Type will display as multiple images for selection.
Example: Agent Headshots (Note the “Change Image” button below the image).
How to Identify Content Fields in Templates
If a Content Category is created via a Content Feed, the fields in the category will be pre-determined. However, if a category is being created manually, the template creative analysis will help determine the number and type of fields required. When the Content Database is used, it is recommended that the Admin User look at the set of templates that will be accessing the Category and identify all the items that make up a “set” of data. It is important to look at the templates as a whole because any given template may not have every piece of data.
- Try to identify the content that is the same on a template (for example, a headline or logo) and content that is different (for example: a “long” version of body copy and a “short” version).
- Once each piece of data has been identified, determine if there is more than one option for it (for example, more than one image may be applied to the image layer, more than one headline may be chosen for the headline).
- Create a list of each field and field type needed and add fields to correspond to each piece of data that has been identified: text, multiple text, image or multiple image. It is helpful to set up a spreadsheet to keep track of your fields and items to make creation of the Category and fields go more smoothly. In the example below, each column is a category field and each row is a content item within the category:
Once the fields, their type and the name of the field have been determined, you are ready to set up the Category.