Setting up ActionKit

Mobile Commons supports ActionKit API v1.

The ActionKit data sync allows for flexibility in sync type for new and updated records. User records must include a listed mobile number and the Country field setting must be US:

  • If Liberal sync is enabled, the data is synced in both directions, regardless of the opt-in status in ActionKit.

  • If Liberal sync is not enabled (Conservative sync), the data is updated only for those records with an opt-in status of true in your ActionKit system.

    For information on selecting the data sync type, see Configuring the ActionKit integration.

You can also sync a user's mConnect activities back into ActionKit. For more information, see Syncing mConnect.

Note: You must have Administrator access to work with data syncs in Mobile Commons. For assistance, contact Technical Support.

To set up the ActionKit data sync:

Preparing for setup

Before you begin, gather the log-in credentials and set up any other key connection settings for your ActionKit CRM system.

  1. In Mobile Commons, create or designate a web opt-in path, which will serve as the default opt-in path for any new users pulled from the ActionKit data set. For more information, see Adding a new web opt-in path.

    New subscribers will receive the welcome message associated with the selected opt-in path. For more information, see Data sync paths.

  2. Make a note of the existing ActionKit login or API user name (email address) and password.

    Tip: Create a new set of credentials exclusively for use with Mobile Commons (recommended).

    To set up new API credentials, use the following Permissions and Chosen Groups settings in ActionKit:

    ActionKit credentials

    Note: Make sure that the API user has Superuser status.

  3. Make a note of the API host name, which is usually the URL of your ActionKit account.

Configuring the ActionKit integration

To sync data between your ActionKit database and Mobile Commons:

  1. Select Home Home in the left pane, and then select Data Sync.

  2. From the Integration Type drop-down list, select ActionKit.

  3. Select Create.

    The ActionKit configuration form opens.

    ActionKit configuration form

    For assistance, select Help Help next to the field label.

  4. In the Login field, enter your user name for your ActionKit system, and then enter your password in the Password field.

  5. (Optional) If users from ActionKit will opt-in to your campaign via a web path opt-in, select the Mobile Commons web opt-in path from the drop-down list. New mobile users from ActionKit will receive opt-in messages from the opt-in path you specify.

  6. Enter the host name for API requests.

  7. Select the type of data sync:

    • Select On to enable Liberal data sync: sync data in both directions, regardless of the opt-in status.

    • Select Off to disable Liberal data sync (Conservative sync): sync data only for those records with an opt-in status of true in your ActionKit system.

  8. Enter the source code identifying Mobile Commons to your ActionKit system. The default entry is Mobile Commons.

  9. (Optional) Enter your notes for internal use only.

  10. When you are done, select Update.

Setting up a subscriber field in ActionKit

In order to sync opt-in status, you'll need to add a subscriber field in ActionKit.

To set up a subscriber field:

  1. Log in to your ActionKit system.

  2. From the ActionKit Tools page, select the Users tab.

  3. Select Add allowed user field.

    Add subscriber field

  4. (Required) In the Display Name field, enter Mobile Subscriber.

    Note: The Name field is filled in automatically. This is the field name you will specify when you set up the field mappings. For more information, see Reviewing required and supported fields.

  5. Select the Always Show checkbox.

  6. (IMPORTANT) Leave the Required checkbox blank.

  7. Enter a brief description in the Description field.

  8. Leave the Field Type field blank.

  9. (IMPORTANT) In the Field Choices field, enter the following:

    false=No

    true=Yes

  10. When you are done, select Save.

Reviewing required and supported fields

The ActionKit data sync supports all standard profile fields. After you configure your ActionKit integration with Mobile Commons, review your ActionKit system and Mobile Commons user records (profiles) to ensure required and supported fields are available in both data sets.

The following fields are required:

Category Field Default field name
Subscription status Opt-in (required for Conservative syncs)

The field names differ by data set:
Demographic Phone number (required) "phone_number"
  First name "profile_first_name"
  Last name "profile_last_name"
  Email (required) "profile_email"
Address/Location Street address "address_street_1"
  Street address 2 "address_street_2"
  City "address_city"
  State "state"
  Zip Code "address_postal_code"
  Country "address_country"
Other Constituent ID

The field names differ by data set:

  • "constituent id" (Mobile Commons)

  • "id" (ActionKit)
 

Legislative advocacy calls:

Legislator

The field names differ by data set:

  • "remote_legislator_id" (Mobile Commons)

  • "checked" (ActionKit)
  mConnect link to CRM action

The field names differ by data set:

  • "remote_advocacy_id" (Mobile Commons)

  • "page" (ActionKit)

If you are not using the default field names, use custom field mappings to specify field names in ActionKit.

To set up custom field mappings:

  1. Select Home Home in the left pane, and then select Data Sync.

    The home page for your ActionKit sync opens.

  2. In the Integration Actions panel on the right, select Edit Field Mappings.

    Field mapping

  3. Review the field names to ensure that they are correct.

    • The Field column contains the Mobile Commons field name.

    • The API Field Name column contains the API field name in ActionKit.

  4. To limit the sync to records that contain data in specific fields, select the Required? checkbox next to the field name. When a field is required, it must contain a value in order to be synced. Empty fields are not synced.

    Caution: Do not select Required for Phone number, Email, or Opt-in status fields, which must by default exist in both databases in order to sync data. Use caution if you change the field name for any of these three fields; if the custom field name is incorrect, the data sync will fail.

    Caution: Do not select Required for Constituent as this ID is provided by ActionKit. If it is set to Required, Mobile Commons profiles will not have this ID, causing the sync from Mobile Commons to ActionKit to fail.

  5. When you are done, select Save.

Syncing mConnect

To sync call information from your Mobile Commons mConnect to ActionKit, add your ActionKit call page to your mConnect and then include your mConnect ID on your ActionKit call page.

To set up an mConnect sync:

  1. In ActionKit, open your call page and then locate the ActionKit ID in the Page Details section. This is the identifier you will add to mConnect.

  2. Make a copy of the ActionKit ID.

  3. In Mobile Commons, select Phone Calls Phone Calls in the left pane, and then select mConnects.

  4. Locate the mConnect in the Inactive mConnects table, and then select the mConnect name link.

    The mConnect page opens.

  5. In the mConnect Actions panel on the right, select Edit Edit Details.

    The Edit mConnect form opens.

  6. Scroll to the Advanced Behavior section at the bottom of the form, and then select + (plus) to expand it.

  7. In the CRM Sync section, add the ActionKit ID to the CRM Alert ID field.

  8. When you are done, select Update.

    You return to the mConnect page.

  9. At the bottom of the mConnect Actions panel on the right, locate the Key field. The is the identifier you will add to your ActionKit call page. Make a copy of the mConnect key.

  10. In ActionKit, open the call page and then select Change call page.

  11. Scroll to the Custom Page Fields section and add the mConnect key to the call_mconnect_id field.

  12. When you are done, select Save.

Activating the ActionKit sync

Before you begin, review the configuration settings for your sync:

  1. Select Home Home in the left pane, and then select Data Sync.

    The home page for your ActionKit sync opens.

  1. In the Integration Actions panel on the right, select Edit Configure Integration.

  2. Review the configuration settings, making adjustments as needed.

  3. When you are done, select Update.

  4. To activate the ActionKit integration sync, in the Integration Actions panel on the right, select Activate Activate Integration.

    The indicator in the upper-right corner is Active Active. The first data sync will run the following morning.

Data sync updates

After activation, the Mobile Commons data set and your ActionKit database are both updated on a regular basis:

  • Mobile Commons checks for updates nightly, processing all recent updates from ActionKit during overnight hours.

  • Any new opt-ins or opt-outs from Mobile Commons are synced to ActionKit  every five minutes during the day.

    • For users whose profile records contain an email address, new opt-ins are added to ActionKit as a new record with an opt-in status of true.

    • For users with a matching record in ActionKit, new opt-outs update their opt-in status to false.

    Note: Once user records are synced, the record number from the ActionKit system is added to the Constituent ID field in Mobile Commons user profile and serves to identify records across both of your systems.

After your data sync runs, you can open the Synchronization report. For more information, see Working with the Synchronization report.

Tip: If you need to shut off the data sync with your CRM system, whether temporarily or permanently, you can deactivate it. For more information, see Deactivating the integration.