Live content slots

Targeted content may be inserted in websites, mobile web and in-app by setting up 'slots'. A slot identifies a block on the webpage/screen where dynamic content from Blueshift's live campaigns is included.

A slot has a "name" to uniquely identify the slot, so that the right content is delivered for the slot.

Multiple slots may be included on the same webpage or mobile screen. For instance, an item page may include two slots: a vertical right banner for similar items and a bottom banner showing trending content from the same category.

You can easily integrate using an HTML/javascript tag for websites or a REST/JSON API call for server-side or mobile apps. To show dynamic content to users, website and mobile apps must make dynamic API calls each time a user views a page. These are done with either a REST/JSON API call or a HTML/javascript tag. For more information, see Integrating Slots and the Live Content API guide. 

Types of Slots

API Response

Use REST/JSON based integration if you want to show Blueshift recommendations or other personalized content to your mobile or web users but want to have full control over how the content is rendered This will fetch dynamic content for your users using server-side calls. 

This is a good approach for mobile apps where native rendering is required.

Embedded Content

If you are planning to insert recommendations or other dynamic content into your website without complex business rules for filtering recommendations, you can use the HTML/Javascript based recommendation tags. The HTML based integration allows you to tweak the rendering of content easily within the Blueshift dashboard.

HTML content is typically used for mobile web and desktop sites where a javascript tag can be used.

 

Overlay Content

Use this slot if you want to show an overlay or a popup on top of your website.

Overlay content is typically used for mobile web and desktop sites where a javascript tag can be used.

 

Add a Slot

To add a new slot, go to the Slots tab in Live content and click +SLOT. Select the type of slot you want to create. You can add an HTML slot, a JSON slot, a Popup slot, or a Landing Page slot from the popup menu that displays.

API Response Slots

To add an API response slot, complete the following steps:

1. Go to Templates > Live Content > Slots.
2. Click on the +SLOT button.
3. Select the slot format as API Response. 
4. Enter a slot Name.
   The slot name must uniquely identify where the slot will be used. The slot name is subsequently used in API calls or Javascript tags, so that the right dynamic content can be included for each slot.
5. Click Create slot.

Here is an example of an API response slot attached to a campaign.

Embedded Content Slots

To add an embedded content slot, complete the following steps:

1. Go to Templates > Live Content > Slots.
2. Click on the +SLOT button.
3. Select the slot format as Embedded Content. 
4. Add the dimensions (Width and Height) for the slot.
   Adding dimensions is optional. However, adding slot dimensions ensures that the content template fits the slot dimensions. HTML and visual templates that do not meet the slot dimensions are excluded from campaign setup.
5. Enter a slot Name.
   The slot name must uniquely identify where the slot will be used. The slot name is subsequently used in API calls or Javascript tags, so that the right dynamic content can be included for each slot.
6. Click Create slot.

Here is an example of an embedded content slot that is used in several campaigns. Once the campaign is launched, the preview editor will render a realistic preview reflecting how the content will appear within the slot.

 

 

 

Overlay Content Slots

To add an overlay content slot, complete the following steps similar to the steps:

1. Go to Templates > Live Content > Slots.
2. Click on the +SLOT button.
3. Select the slot format as Overlay Content. 
4. Enter a slot Name.
   The slot name must uniquely identify where the slot will be used. The slot name is subsequently used in API calls or Javascript tags, so that the right dynamic content can be included for each slot.
5. Click Create slot.

Here is an example of an overlay content slot that is used in a campaign.

 

Preview panel

Use the preview panel on the right to review your content for different screen sizes — desktop, tablet, and mobile for the selected preview user.

• Click the resize icon to resize the panel.
• The fullscreen icon to the right opens the creative in fullscreen.
• Select a preview customer based on customer attributes or segment membership.

Note: The preview represents what the selected customer will see on your website. This means that there needs to be at least one launched live content campaign targeting this slot, for there to be any content preview for that slot.

Archive/ Unarchive Slots

You can archive Live Content slots that are no longer in use, thereby cleaning up your workspace and making it easier for you to find the slots that matter. Archived slots will not show up in the slot selector dropdown in a Live Content campaign. You can archive a slot by clicking on the 'more' menu action for a slot on the index screen. Only slots that are not being used by any active Live Content campaign can be archived. Archiving a slot won't delete it. You can always 'unarchive' an archived slot to start using it again in your Live Content campaigns. 

You can use the 'Archived Status' filter on the Live Content slot index screen to view only 'archived' or only 'active' slots.