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How do I add an event to the Localist Calendar as an Adminstrator?

← Events & Calendar (Localist)

(View a video "how to" presentation on adding an event to the Localist Calendar.)

To begin with, the point of our calendar system is to get users interested in attending an event, as well as engaging with them so that they will hopefully let others know about your event to get the biggest group of attendees possible. To do this, we recommend that you fill out as much of the Adding an Event Form as you can with as much information, content, and relevant photos as possible.

Adding an Event

Log into Localist with your admin account. In the admin dashboard, use the left menu to navigate to Events > "+Add Event."




Basic Information Tab

You will see 5 tabs on the page with the first one being "Basic Information." You will need to fill the forms out on this tab before proceeding to the next four.




Event Listing Info

  • Event Name: (Required) This will be displayed as the event’s name in the main listing, on widgets, and on corresponding details pages. Keep the name as short as possible. The new Localist theme has a smaller display area for Event Name on the calendar homepage, and if it is more than two lines the title will be cut off and ended with an elipses.
    • After you have entered the event’s name, Localist may display a future duplicates warning below the field, which will detail if there are any possible matching events either in the past or future. This is a substring match, so if there are three characters in a row anywhere in the title that match an event currently in the system, the warning links will be displayed. Use this option to verify that you are not adding an event that already exists in the system.


  • Event Owner: Your GSU ID will appear here.
Schedule
  • Let attendees know when the event starts and ends, and whether there will be repeats of this event.
  • Start Date: There are several ways you can enter a date: Oct 3, October 3, 10/3, “Next Friday,” “Tomorrow,” 10/3/14, etc. As you type the date, notice that the Summary below the date fields updates accordingly.


  • Start Time / End Time: Use “6pm,” etc. If no Start Time and End Time is added, the event will be listed as "All Day."
  • Repeating: Below “End Time” you can see the option for “Repeating.” By default events are set to never repeat, but you have the choice of making your event a daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or any of the multiple other options you can see in the dropdown menu. The event will automatically repeat after making your selection. When you select a repeating option, you are given the chance to have it repeat until a certain date has passed, or until a certain number of events have taken place.




Location
  • This is where we tell the user where the event will be located. The first option available is “Experience.” The three choices here are “In-Person” “Hybrid” and “Virtual.” If you select “In-Person,” you need to type in the “Event Place” in that field below.
  • When you click on the “Event Place” field, all the locations we already have in the system will appear in the dropdown menu. Selecting one of these pre-created Event Places will provide the user with a link to an already created “place landing page” in the live event. This provides users with an already listed address and pre-existing directions that you won’t have to worry about.
  • If the address that you would like to add isn’t in the Localist system already, you have the option to create your own by typing out the name of the location that you would like to use. An option below the form field will then appear which says “Use: NEW LOCATION NAME.” If you select this option, a few new form fields will appeared for “Address” “Directions,” and “Room”. 
  • The “Address” must be a valid address for a Google Map to appear on the finished event. In the “Directions” field, type in any directions needed to the location that you have entered to help your users find it from a specific highway or well-known landmark.
  • The next field is for “Room.” Fill this in if there is a specific room associated with your event. The room can be a room name, letter, or number. Whatever it needs to be.
  • If you select “Virtual” instead of “In-Person,” you can see that you are able to add in “Dial-In Instructions” (for example, adding the dial-in number for Zoom, GoToMeeting, etc.), a “Stream URL” (for example, the URL where users can tune in for a live stream), and a “Stream Embed Code” (if your streaming service supports embedding video, paste the code here and it will automatically be placed in your event landing page).
  • And finally, you have the option to select a Hybrid Event. This means that there is both an in-person and a virtual aspect to your event. As such, you have the ability to add both an event place and dial-in instructions.

 

Classifications

  • This is where we can target specific campuses, colleges and schools, audiences, and departments for our event. You will not be using every classification option in the creation of your event, but everything that your event is a classification of should be selected in order to make it easier to be discovered.
  • First choose an “Event Type.” There are a lot of options here and they vary greatly from “exhibit” to “athletics” to “conferences” to “Health and Wellness.” You can select multiple options if they apply. If you accidentally chose an option that you didn’t intend to, you can delete it by clicking on the red “X” next to that option. This is the way to delete any option under “Classifications.”
  • Next is “Colleges and Schools.” If your event is specific to a College or School on any of the Georgia State campuses, select it from the long list here. Keep in mind that any college or school that you select will have this event appear on their specific college or school calendar. So please do not select multiple colleges or schools if they are not involved in the event in question.
    The Localist administrators will likely stop your event from going live if they are submitted with a dozen or more colleges and schools attached, if they are obviously not all involved in the event. The event in question will then be rejected with a note explaining that you need to cut down your selections to only those colleges and schools actually involved.
  • Following that is “Campus.” Select which campus or campuses the event will be available or open to.
  • “Offices and Resources” is next. If you are creating an event for an office or specific resource you can find and select it here. These options are offices and resources that support the University, such as “Human Resources,” and “Office of Student Success.”
  • Don’t worry about the “Academic Calendar” option and move on to “Audience”.
  • This one is pretty self-evident: who is this event aimed at? Alumni? Faculty and staff? The public? Or students? Once again, multiple choices can be made here.
  • The “Tags” field is used for grouping similar events outside of filters, and they are publicly displayed on your events page. Any tags that appear on your live event link to a page that displays all events that share this tag. This is a great way to show users more events that they may be interested
  • The next option, “Groups,” is a fairly specific and small field. Some options include the “Georgia State Panther Band,” “Homecoming,” and “Spotlight Programs Board.”
  • After that we have “Departments.” The departments section houses pretty much everything that is not an office or resource, a college or school, or a group. Once again, you can select multiple options, IF they are relevant to your own event.
  • The “Keywords” form field is where you can add common misspellings people may use in trying to find your event, and make things easier for search engine optimization. None of the keywords you enter are made public. As you start typing in either the Keywords or Tags fields, Localist suggests “already used” keywords or tags. Hit “enter” after every keyword and tag entered to make sure Localist saves each one.

    “Keywords” and “Tags” can be used in the creation of a channel or widget (which are the mini-calendars that you can create to display on your group’s website). You can, for example, create a calendar for your college or school, and then narrow its focus down even further with say a tag for “open house,” if you need to display a calendar that only shows your various Open Houses for the year.

    To summarize, “Keywords” and “Tags” are used the same, but only differ in the way they are displayed: Keywords are hidden from public view and Tags are prominently displayed on your event.

After you’ve filled in everything required on the BASIC INFORMATION TAB, click on the “SAVE AND CONTINUE” button on the bottom right to move on to the next tab.



Details Tab

Description

You will want to add a brief but detailed description of the event. Something that a user can glance over and get the gist of the event without having to read several paragraphs of heavy text.

This gives the reader a quick understanding of the event, and allows us to put in several keywords that are perfect for search engine optimization unique to your event.

You can also add images to this section. If you have a QR Barcode for your event, add it here so that users can scan it to go to a homepage or ticket purchasing page.



Photo

Photos are now required for all Localist events, as they are the emphasis of the new theme, and we highly advise you to add your own event-specific, unique image here. This image will appear above your event on the main calendar “live events” page, as well as your specific department or college events page. Uploading a unique photo will help your event stick out from the thousands of other events already submitted and will only be a benefit to both you and the people you want to entice into reading more about your event.

If you don’t select your own photo in this section, we ask that you choose a photo from our large Localist photo library. There are several dozen options available on the live site. Unfortunately, this photo pool is not searchable. We recommend that you upload your own event-specific image using the “Upload button” here.

Photos are also important since they will be used as backgrounds or as the main focus on individual widgets that can be created and displayed on your college or department’s own website.

The bare minimum photo size is 940 x 557px, but the bigger the better, and we recommend that any image that you use be at least 2000 X 1334pixels or LARGER in order to get the clearest and sharpest image for your event. Photos on the calendar are now rectangular in shape. They are THREE BY TWO in dimension. Keep that in mind when selecting yours.



Additional Landing Page Details

This is where you will add in any information on things like hosts or any outside links for more information. None of these fields are required, but they can really help attract users, give users a bit more clarity and information on your event, and help your event in search engine optimization.

SPEAKERS
Let your attendees know about any special guests or presenters for your event.

HASHTAG
Next is the “Hashtag” field. Feel free to add in any hashtag that could be related to your event. No need to add the actual hashtag as it will be automatically added in later.

EVENT WEBSITE
If you need to link to a dedicated site for your event, you can enter the full URL here. If you have a page setup outside of Localist with a lot more detail (say if you are creating a conference event, and you have a page on your site with information on speakers, hotels, directions, and meal choices) you would add that link here.

DOES YOUR EVENT INCLUDE A UNIQUE PHOTO?
This is just a field that we added to remind you of the importance of colorful and unique photos for your event. If you haven’t added a photo yet, add one now.

Does this event require an admission surcharge and/or seating arrangement notification?
Type in any pertinent information. 

HOST
The “Host” field is to be used if there is a singular person hosting your event.

The next field, “Host University/Institution/Unit/Company” is for any “host” that is not a specific person, but an institution, unit, college, or department. Fill it in if relevant to your event.

The “Document Link” is a place where you can add a URL to a specific document that has more information about your event or host. This can be a URL to a website or a PDF hosted elsewhere.

The “Host Bio” field is a place where you can type in a short bio for the host, or link to an outside source if you need the bio to be larger and more detailed than this small section will allow.

“The host is a world-class speaker who helped raise the titanic, and discovered the biofuel Cameronium, will help to welcome new people into the University.”

VANITY URL
This is automatically generated based on the title of your event.

At the bottom of this tab is the SAVE AND CONTINUE button. Click it.


 

Tickets and Registration

Tickets and Registration will only need to be filled out if your event has a capacity limit, if users need to purchase a ticket, or if you simply want to know the total number of people planning to come to your event.

  • NOTE: In order to accept payment through Localist for ticket sales, you need to have a “Stripe” Account set up, which requires a credit card and bank account on file. Stripe is a 3rd party payment processor, and currently the only one Localist integrates with. Currently, Georgia State does not have any Stripe Accounts set up on Localist. If you need to set up ticket sales and have your event registered in Ticketmaster, Event Bright or a similar online ticketing agency, simply unclick the “Use Localist Register” checkbox at the top of the page.

Once I uncheck the “Use Localist Register” checkbox, we can see that “Ticket Cost,” “Registration URL,” and “Eventbrite ID” fields have appeared, and the previous fields have disappeared.

Let’s go to the “Ticket Cost” field. The example that appears in this field shows you some of the options available. You can type in a fixed ticket cost, like $10, or you can give options like “$40 advance, $50 at the door.”

Next is the “Registration URL” field. If you have an outside registration source set up for this event, say through Ticketmaster or Tickets.com, enter the URL that you were given after setting up your event on that site here.

Finally, we have the “Eventbrite ID” field. If you have set up your event on Eventbrite, take the URL that Eventbrite gave you and enter it here.

If you leave these fields blank, the “Buy Tickets” button on your live event page will instead say “Register.”


Let’s go back to the top of this section and re-check the checkbox labeled “Use Localist Register.” Selecting this means that instead of an outside source, such as Ticketmaster, or Eventbrite, we will be using Localist’s own internal register for our event.

Our first step is defining the various tickets that will be available to our audience. Remember, we can’t set up a ticket paying system through Localist. If you need attendees to pay for tickets, uncheck “Use Localist Register” and follow the instructions that appear.

The first option for “Tickets” is to “Add Ticket Type.” This will create a separate list of different categories of tickets. For example, I am creating a ticket for “VIP” options, and another for “General Admission” options.

Once a Ticket Group has been added, select “Add Ticket.” Now you need to name the ticket. For example, you can name it “Student” or “Faculty & Staff.”

Then, in the next field labeled “Description,” give your ticket a short description if it needs one.

In the following field labeled “Ticket Type,” select whether the ticket will be picked up “In Person,” “Virtually,” or be placed on a “Waiting List.” If you choose “Virtually,” two fields pop up below where you can enter in the “Event URL” and a short message for your users who select this ticket type. You can use this message to explain that users need to go to the “Event URL” you entered to collect their ticket. If you select “Waiting List,” or “In Person,” you still have the option to write a short message for your attendees who select this ticket type.

IGNORE PRICE TYPE and FEES

You also have ADDITIONAL TICKET OPTIONS. Click on those words to open up Ticket Availability Dates.

The “Ticket Availability Dates” allows you to select a start date and end date for ticket availability. Ticket purchases will not be available either before or after these two dates.

You can also select HIDDEN (where the ticket will be hidden until a promo code is entered. Since a credit card needs to be on file with Localist for payment through a Stripe account, and GSU does not and will not set one up, you will not have this option.), 

TICKETS AVAILABLE (the number of times this specific ticket can be purchased), the MINIMUM REQUIRED NUMBER OF TICKETS PER TRANSACTION, (for example, if tickets need to be set up in four-pack orders, etc…), and the MAXIMUM QUANTITY per sale.

Once the Ticket is added and you click on the “Save” button, you can drag the ticket listing under the appropriate Ticket Group heading that you would like it to fall under.

Once the ticket has been added, you can choose whether it is “Active” or “Inactive” by clicking the “Active” checkbox. The ticket will not be used unless you have “Active” selected.

Once all your changes have been made, save those ticket settings by clicking on the red “Save” button.

PROMO CODES AND ATTENDEE QUESTIONS

Promo codes are really only useful if you are accepting payments through Localist using a Stripe Account. They are good for offering users a percentage or a flat amount off the cost of a ticket for your events. Since a credit card needs to be on file with Localist for payment through a Stripe account, and GSU does not and will not set one up, you will not have this option.

The “Attendee Questions” option allows you to ask any phrase you would like, and then provide an optional or required space for the user to respond.

As an example, I am entering “Have you been to one of our Open Houses in the past?” I will make this a “required response.” This will allow for a yes or no response, and then I will create a new question of “If YES, which one?” as an elaboration to a yes answer.


EVENT REGISTRATION SETTINGS

This is where you can put limits on event capacity, an “Agree To Terms” button, and notification options.

The first field is “Event Capacity.” If your event has a fixed capacity, enter that number here. Once that number of users have signed up for a free ticket, the event will show future users that it has already reached its capacity.

The next section is “Reset Quantities Per Instance.” This checkbox comes automatically checked. For events with multiple dates, make sure this is checked if you would like to sell the same number of tickets for each day that the event runs.

Under that we have “Registration Notifications.” This also comes automatically checked. Uncheck it if you do not want to be informed whenever a registration is confirmed.

The Payout Account will only be selectable if and when you set up a Stripe Account through Localist to accept payments through the Localist system itself. Since a credit card needs to be on file with Localist for payment through a Stripe account, and GSU does not and will not set one up, you will not have this option.

And finally, we have “Compliance Level.” You can select from the following options: “Light (click-wrap ‘I agree to the terms.’)”, which will tell the user that by completing the registration they agree to the general terms; “Strong (checkbox ‘I agree to the terms.’)”, which will display the terms and a checkbox that says “I agree” that must be checked in order to complete registration; or “Hardcore (terms in a window, plus checkbox ‘I agree to the terms.’)”, which has all the above, and any extra terms you wish to include yourself. If you select “Hardcore,” a new field will appear wherein you can add any additional compliance text that your attendees may need to agree to.

After all that, click on the “Save and Continue” button.


 

Attendee Engagement Tab


USER ENGAGEMENT

“User Engagement” is the social interaction setup for your event. We recommend using social interactions in order to get students more involved and in order to keep track of who is interested in your events.

If you would like to turn off social interactions (which include the "I'm Interested" button and the option for users to "Invite Friends") on a specific event due to it being a broader event aimed at more than just Georgia State students, this is where you do that.

The checkboxes are for:
  • Allow users to post comments and photos
  • Allow users to mark themselves as "interested" in attending the event
  • And Allow users to see who is attending this event
These checkboxes are already pre-checked when you create an event.

Unchecking “Allow users to post comments and photos” disables user comments, reviews, and photos for the event.

Unchecking “Allow users to mark themselves as "interested" in attending the event” disables the "I'm Interested" and "Invite" functions for this event.

Unchecking “Allow users to see who is attending this event” hides the "People Interested" box for this event.

We recommend leaving these User Engagement checkboxes as they are. Most of the events created using Localist will benefit greatly from allowing users to comment, post photos, and see who is interested in their events, as it will allow them to target specific people and groups for both the current and future events. This can only increase your target audiences, and the number of people who will choose to attend your event.

EVENT INSIGHTS

You can gain deep insights from your event & community by automatically surveying users who signed up, after the event is complete. Responses are included in the event insights report. A single email will be sent to users with the questions you selected.



If you uncheck any of these checkboxes your attendees will not be asked any of these questions. These questions though could provide you and your team invaluable information for future events. This survey can only help you create better and better Localist events for the future.

Don’t forget to click on “Save” when you are done.


 

Publish Tab

The final tab for your event is PUBLISH. Most events will not require anything to be changed on this page. Events should be Public and Live. If an event has been cancelled or sold out, you can edit it and change that here, under STATUS.

Do not select anything under IN CALENDAR PROMOTION either, unless you have a FEATURED section set up for a channel that you are in charge of.

Save or Save and Publish your event now. Your event is now complete, and it will now be submitted to the Calendar Administrators for final approval. The “New Event” folder is checked multiple times a day, and your event will either be approved and made live, or rejected. Rejections rarely occur, especially if you follow these lessons on how to create the perfect event. But if your event is rejected, you will receive a written reason as to why it was rejected. If there are changes that need to be made for it to be accepted, make those changes and re-submit your event.



 

Promotion


One last option that I would like to cover is available under every tab on the far right: PROMOTION.



You can post to Twitter, or LinkedIn, or send out EMAIL notices to anyone listed on the event’s attendees list. Simply type in a subject, a short message, and any email addresses that you would like to exclude from receiving this message. The default scheduling option is IMMEDIATELY. But if you uncheck that, you can choose the date and time you would like this message to go out.


(View a video "how to" presentation on adding an event to the Localist Calendar.)

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