Altcraft Platform Updates: Machine Learning, New Reports and WhatsApp

Altcraft Platform continues to evolve. This post will highlight the new features that have been added to the platform over the last year, including integrations, enhanced analytics, and machine learning capabilities — and there's more to come.

Analytics

In our previous platform update article, we announced our plans to transfer all analytics to ClickHouse, a database management system designed for the quick processing of SQL queries in real-time. Our migration to ClickHouse is now complete, and we'd like to share the new functionality that's available as a result.

New reports

The platform now has two new analytical tools: the channel report and the traffic report.

The channel report provides data on all events tracked in campaigns, including message delivery and open rates, reads and clicks, subscriptions, complaints, unsubscribes, and other metrics. With this report, you can gauge the effectiveness of each communication channel and pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of your strategy.

The traffic report allows you to obtain valuable data on subscriber traffic. You can create a report based on a specific traffic source, such as a channel, tracking pixels, or forms. The report is built on hits, which are a unit of traffic measurement. A hit is counted when a user's action on the website results in a request being sent to the server. For example, if the traffic source is a channel, a click on a message would be considered a hit, while for a pixel, registering a goal would be a hit.

What features do the two new reports share?

1. Customization. Create a report tailored to your needs by selecting only the relevant parameters and metrics. Use filters to remove irrelevant data and focus on key metrics. A three-level detailed analysis can help you delve deeper into the information you've gathered.

2. Saving. Weekly reports often require analyzing the same information. You group the data, set filters, choose a time period, and then repeat all these steps again in a week. Now you can avoid this. Save the current report settings and get the required statistics in a couple of clicks at any time.

3. Comparison. Let’s say, you're testing a new email template and want to compare its conversion rate to the old one. Build a report on the email channel and group data by templates. Then, select the templates you want to compare and use the comparison mode to see how the metrics (opens, clicks, and other metrics) have changed.

Form analytics

We don't just create new analytics tools, we also improve old ones. This time, we've significantly revamped our web form analytics. In addition to statistics on form views and completions, you can now analyze respondent answers. Individual user responses can be found in the "Collected Data" section, while an overall summary for each question is available in the "Analytics" section. We believe these enhancements will help you process customer feedback and requests more efficiently, ultimately increasing their loyalty.

New communication channel — WhatsApp*

Now, you have the ability to engage with your subscribers on WhatsApp*. With a message open rate exceeding 90%, according to TextBack data, it's no surprise that many companies are utilizing this channel to keep their customers informed of important events, order status changes, or upcoming activities.

To send personalized messages to WhatsApp users, you'll need to use the WhatsApp Business API. In Altcraft Platform, integration with this API is facilitated through the official provider, 360dialog. You will be required to fill out an application form, verify your company on Facebook, and confirm your phone number to use this integration.

After all the formalities have been taken care of, the integration of the Altcraft Platform with 360dialog can be set up. It is important to note that message templates must be created in the 360 Client Hub, and not in our platform. Once you have connected, these templates will become available in the Altcraft Platform editor.

All you have to do is fill in the variables, and the template can be used in campaigns.

Currently, the platform only supports the sending of HSM templates. These templates are used to initiate a dialogue with the user and require prior approval from Facebook.

Best time to send messages

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and our journey to full-fledged machine learning started with the best time to send messages. Now, you don't have to guess when to deliver a message to your subscriber. Machine learning algorithms will do it for you.

Based on the uploaded model, the algorithms will analyze the history of message opens in your campaigns and select the best time to send for each profile in your database. The best time is the day of the week and hour when the subscriber is most likely to open the message.

To access this functionality, enable machine learning in your database and wait for the first data calculation. The algorithms will only choose the optimal sending time for profiles with a history of at least one week. We will show you what to do next with an example.

Let's say that every Monday you share the latest book releases with your subscribers. You used to send one message to the whole audience at 10 am, but now you want to send the message to each subscriber at a time that works best for them.

First, create a dynamic segment that selects the best delivery time based on the "current time" condition.

Then, configure a regular campaign to run every Monday, every hour, and select the dynamic segment you created as the recipient. This segment will be calculated before each send, so profiles that have the best delivery time as the current hour will be included. As a result, each subscriber will receive the message on Monday at the optimal time for them.

You can also set up sending messages at a convenient time for subscribers using a scenario. The new "Waiting for the best delivery time" node works almost like the "Pause" node, but it takes into account machine learning data. The profile won't move on to the next step of the scenario until the optimal time or day for sending them a message arrives.

By sending messages to customers at a time that works best for them, you can improve the CTR and Open Rate of your email campaigns, and reduce the number of unsubscribes and complaints. Google Ads integration

Our team is continuously expanding the list of integrations with advertising platforms, and we're excited to announce our latest addition: Google Ads.

You can now sync customer data from static segments in Altcraft Platform with audiences in Google Ads. To get started, link your Google Ads account with our platform through the connection and set up the integration.

Once your customer data has been uploaded, you can leverage it to launch targeted ads on Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, and other platforms of the contextual media network.

Two-Factor Authentication

Security is the cornerstone of our platform, and we regularly take measures to improve it. This time, we have added an extra level of account protection — 2FA or Two-Factor Authentication.

Users can enable 2FA at their profile security settings. Once activated, logging in to the platform will require not only a login and password but also a one-time code generated by a special application.

Conclusion

We hope this brief overview of the new platform features has given you some ideas on how to use the functionality to enhance your marketing strategy. If you have any questions or suggestions for improving the platform, please feel free to share them with us.

*Product of Meta, a company recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation.