Using File Upload to Connect Data

Introduction

When using the File Upload data connector, a CSV file containing your source (company) records is uploaded to the SundaySky platform. This CSV file is used for personalizing the video. The source data in the file is merged with the video you created, outputting a file with a personalized link for each viewer.

In this end-to-end article, you'll find guidelines for all the steps in the file upload procedure, beginning with setting up a data library and ending with generating the video links.


Step 1: Create or Select a Data Library
Step 2: Select the Data Connector
Step 3: Review the Mapping of the Data Fields
Step 4: Configure the Content
Step 5: Approve the Video
Step 6: Import the Viewer Data
Step 7: Get (Share) the Video Links

Step 1: Create or Select a Data Library

Based on how you want to personalize your video, you'll need to connect the video to a data library that includes the data fields for creating the personalization. SundaySky supports three methods of personalization: using a personalization token, message by audience, and show/skip scene.

  • For on-screen text personalization, you only need to add data fields.
  • For voice-over, message by audience, and show/skip scene, you need to have data fields in the data library along with their respective values.
    For example: the data field department is added, along with its values: Finance, HR, and Marketing.

Before creating a new data library, we recommend that you review the existing data libraries in your account to see if one of them matches your requirements as data libraries can be reused. If you are selecting an existing data library, it needs to have both the data fields that you require and be connected to the File Upload data connector.

If you find a data library that has the data fields that you need but the library's data connector is not File Upload, do not change the data connector in the library as this will negatively impact existing videos. In a case such as this, you can either use the data library as is (with the understanding that the data source will not be File Upload) or create a new data library.

To learn how to select an existing library, see Selecting an Existing Data Library.
If you need to create a new library from scratch, see Creating a New Data Library.

At the end of Step 1:
A data library is selected for the video. This can be an existing data library or a new one.

Data_library_name.png


Step 2: Select the Data Connector

Note:
If you selected a data library already attached to the File Upload data connector, you can skip this step.

The connector is what enables the connection between the data fields that you have defined in the data library and the actual data sets that you hold. Put simply, the connector is what determines how data flows from your data source to your data library.

1.

Open the relevant video in the Studio.

2.

Select Data in the sidebar.

3.

Click Select in the data connector section.

 

click_select.png

4.

Select the File Upload data connector and then click Select at the bottom of the window.

 

select_file_upload.png

 

The data connector is attached to the library and the following message is displayed.

  file_upload_confirmation.png

5.

Click Edit Mapped Fields to continue directly to field mapping.
▶ If you prefer mapping at a later time, click Got It! to return to the data library.

 

edit_mapped_fields.png

At the end of Step 2:
The File Upload data connector is attached to the data library.

file_upload_selected.png


Step 3: Review the Mapping of the Data Fields

Note:
If you selected an existing data library whose data fields have already been mapped correctly, you can skip this step.

After you attach the File Upload data connector to the data library, the mapping process occurs automatically. This process specifies which field in your source data corresponds to the data field in the SundaySky data library. A precise mapping ensures that the right data is pulled from your data set to populate a personalized video.
For additional guidelines, refer to the notes for Step 3 below.

1.

Open the relevant video in the Studio.

2.

Select Data in the sidebar.

3.

Click Map Fields in the data connector section.

 

click_map_fields.png

 

In the mapping window, the field names in the data source are populated automatically according to the data field names in the data library.

 

mapped_fields_2.png

4.

Review each pair and make sure that the relevant data source field is mapped to each data field in the data library. If the data source field is not spelled correctly, edit it accordingly.
As any edit will affect every video using this data library, we recommend making edits cautiously.

5.

(Optional) If you make any changes while reviewing the field mapping, click Save at the bottom of the window.


Notes for Step 3:

  • The data source fields need to match the column headers in the file holding the viewer data.
    The exception to this is the id field. While the id field is mandatory in the data file, it does not appear in the mapping table. The id field is a system element and cannot be used as a data field for personalization. 

  • The data source field name is case-sensitive. This means that the letter case of the data source field name must match that of the source data.

  • If you rename a data field after the mapping process, the data source field name is not changed. This name change will not impact the existing mapping.

  • If you add a data field after the initial mapping process, it is important to always review its mapping.

At the end of Step 3:
The data source fields are mapped correctly to the data fields.

fields_mapped.png


Step 4: Configure the Content

Now that you've set up your data library, you can configure the content in the video's scenes using the data fields.

The on-screen text, voice-over, and media can be personalized using either a personalization token or audience messaging. In addition, you can also define that a specific scene will be shown or skipped according to an audience segment.

In the example below, a personalization token is used to customize the text according to the first name of the person watching the video.

personalization_example.png

In the following articles, you'll find step-by-step instructions on how to configure the different types of content:

Configuring Text with a Personalization Token
Text: Message by Audience

Configuring a Voice-over with a Personalization Token
Voice-over: Message by Audience

Configuring Media According to a Data Stream
Media: Message by Audience

Showing or Skipping a Scene by Audience

At the end of Step 4:
All the relevant content in the video is configured according to the desired personalization.


Step 5: Approve the Video

After you have finished creating the video—including the configuration of all the personalized content—we recommend that you preview the video using viewer profiles to make sure that it looks exactly as you want.

When you're happy with the result, you will need to approve the video in order to lock in all the edits that you've made. Approving the video is always a prerequisite to sharing your video with viewers.

You will also need to re-approve the video each time you make any change so that your viewers can see the updated content.

At the end of Step 5:
The status of the video is Approved to share.

Video_page_approved_to_share.png


Step 6: Import the Viewer Data

The viewer data that you import in this step is the data that is used for personalizing the video. The data is uploaded using a CSV (comma-separated values) file that contains your source (company) records. The source data in the file is merged with the video you created, resulting in a personalized video for each viewer.

The CSV file needs to have a specific structure, as outlined in Preparing the Data File.

1. Open the video in the Video Page.
2. Select the Share tab.
3. Click Import Data in the center of the page.
▶ If you do not see this option, it indicates that you have not yet approved the video so complete that step first.
  Import_data_new.png
4. (Optional) If you haven't already prepared your data file, click customized CSV Template to download a data file template and then prepare the file according to the guidelines in Preparing the Data File.
  customized_csv_template.png
5. Upload the file by clicking browse or by dragging the file to the area bordered by the dotted lines.
▶ The maximum CSV file size is 100 MB. If your file is larger, split it into multiple files and then import all of them.
  drop_file.png
  As a data library exists on the account level, a message is displayed advising that the imported data file can be used by any video connected to the same data library.
  import_video_data.png
6. Click Import to import the data file.
  After the file is imported successfully, a success message is displayed at the bottom of the screen stating how many records were imported.
  import_successful.png

 

At the end of Step 6:
A CSV file holding viewer records is uploaded to the data library used by the video.


The actions in this step depend on whether the SundaySky landing page is used to play the video or not.

Both above-mentioned methods are used when generating links for the first time and at all subsequent times when you need to add or update source data. It is important to note that each video link is generated with a "sticky" ID, unique to each viewer. Because of this, it is not necessary to resend links after you update the video content or update the viewer's data. After any update, viewers only need to revisit the original link they received in order to see the updated content.

Refer to the notes for Step 7 below for important guidelines regarding the use of CSV files.

Generating Video Links for a SundaySky Landing Page

1.

On the Video Page, select the Share tab.

2.

Make sure that the status of the video is Approved to share.

3.

On the right side of the page, click the Share icon by the Landing Page option.
▶ If you have not yet created the landing page, a plus sign (+) is displayed.

 

Select_landing_page.png

4.

Use one of the following methods to get the landing page links:

Download File with Links Create a Manual Link
a. Click Get Links.

  Get_links_step.png

b. Select the CSV file (one or more) that has the data records that you want to use for personalization.

  select_CSV_file.png

c. Click Get Page Links at the bottom of the window.
▶ At this stage, the viewer data is saved in the SundaySky platform and the unique video links are generated.

d. Open the downloaded file with the video links.

  downloaded_links.png


Generating Video Links for a Non-SundaySky Landing Page

1. On the Video Page, select the Share tab.
2. Make sure that the status of the video is Approved to share.
3. On the right side of the page, click the Share icon by the Embed Video option.
▶ If you have not yet created the code snippet, a plus sign (+) is displayed.
  Select_embed_video.png
4. (Optional) If you have not yet created the code snippet, click the plus sign and create the snippet.
5. Select the embed method that you want to use.
▶ See Embedding the SundaySky Player in a Webpage to learn about the two methods: iframe and JavaScript
▶ By default, iframe is selected.
  Select_embed_method.png
6. Copy and paste the embed code into your website editor.
  copy_embed_code.png
7. (Optional) Import the viewer data if you did not do so in a previous step.
  Import_data_step2.png
8. Use one of the following methods to get the landing page links:

Dynamic link Static links
a. Copy the URL query parameters and add them to the landing page URL.

  Step_1_dynamic_link.png

b. Manually add the unique viewer ID to the end of the URL. For example:
https://mycompany.com/?programId=1b8ede85-3a6b-42ae-9956-bb86b357211c&id=2

  Step_2_dynamic_link.png

Notes for Step 7:

  • For each imported data file, the following information is displayed:
    Imported (a) indicates the number of records that were successfully imported.
    Failed (b) indicates the number of records that could not be imported.

    imported_failed.png

  • If your data has been updated since the last imported file, you should import a new CSV file before generating the video links.

  • If you select more than one CSV file for generating the links, IDs are deduplicated with the newest record used for generating the link. Any new IDs are also added and links are generated for them.

  • As a data library can be used by multiple videos and a CSV file is imported to a data library, proceed with caution when you import a new CSV file that has the same IDs as does an existing file.
    What happens when you import a new CSV file with the same IDs as in an existing file? When an ID in a new record matches an ID in an existing record, the data in the new record is used in all the videos using this data library. As this can impact videos currently in production, we recommend taking these implications into consideration.

    data_warning.png

At the end of Step 7:
The personalized video links are generated, ready to be distributed by the method you prefer.


Preparing the Data File

1.

Click customized CSV Template to download a data file template.

  customized_csv_template.png

2. Open the data file template on your desktop.

  The column headers in the template correspond to the data fields used to personalize the video. Each data field is a column header.
In the example below, there are four column headers: id, First Name, Department, and Job Role. Note that id is a system element and is not used for content personalization.

  feed_file_template.png

3. Review the column headers.
The column headers need to exactly match the data source fields that were mapped in the data library, both in spelling and in letter case.

 
Click to see an example of the data source fields

column_headers_example.png

4. Prepare the data file using one of the following methods:
  Method 1 Use the data file template as your data file and enter the relevant values in each row.
  Method 2 Copy only the header columns from the data file template to your own data file. Make sure that the values beneath each column header are indeed relevant.
  Method 3 Use the data file template only as a reference. Compare the column headers in your data file to those in the template to make sure that the structure is correct.

 

Important Notes:

a.

Every column must have a column header.

b.

Each column header name must be unique and differ from the other column header names.

c.

The id column is mandatory and must always be the first column (A). The column header id must be entered in lowercase.

d.

Every row (record) must have an id value. Values for all other column headers (data fields) are optional. If the value is empty, the content in the video will be according to the default setting.

e.

The id value in each row must be unique. This is for two reasons:
a. A unique video link is created for each record.
b. The id value is used in detailed reports.

5.

Save the file in CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) format.
▶ The maximum CSV file size is 100 MB. If your file is larger, split it into multiple files.

 

Below is an example of a completed data file.

 

completed_file.png

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