Creating and configuring an Audience Snapshot
Overview
Taking a snapshot of an audience creates a new data warehouse table using the logic in that audience. You can then create attributes from this new table, allowing you to create selection rules that run quickly, rather than using attributes that pull from a larger data warehouse table. Additionally, each time you run the snapshot, the data is refreshed so you can be sure that you’re always using the most up-to-date records in your campaigns.
This topic reviews how to take an audience snapshot and how to configure a brand new snapshot.
Prerequisites
Before you are able to take a snapshot, you need to create a valid audience. This audience can be as simple or complex as you need, but it must be valid and saved for the Snapshot button to be available on the toolbar.
Learn more about creating an audience.
Taking the snapshot
The first step is to take a snapshot of an existing audience.
To take the snapshot:
Open the audience you’d like to use in the Audience Designer.
Select the Snapshot button in the toolbar.
Add or change the data in the snapshot fields, or leave them as default.
Select Create Snapshot.
Running the snapshot
After you take the snapshot, you’ll need to run the snapshot for the first time so you can generate the database table and create the attributes.
To run the snapshot:
From the Quick Access menu, go to Management > Operations.
Select the Audience Snapshots tab.
Find the snapshot you just created. Snapshots are set to run on demand by default.
On Demand: you will need to run snapshots set to On Demand manually each time.
Recurring (recommended): snapshots set to Recurring will run automatically on a schedule that you set. We recommend matching your snapshot schedule to your data feed frequency. To edit the recurrence schedule:
Select the three dot menu and choose Edit Recurrence Schedule.
Use the calendar options to choose when you’d like the snapshot to run.
Select OK.
Choose Save Changes.
Select the three dot menu and choose Run Snapshot Now.
Confirm you’d like the snapshot to run by selecting OK.
You can update the snapshot to On Demand or Recurring at any time.
Synchronize the catalog
Running the snapshot for the first time will generate the new database table based on the audience data. You’ll need to synchronize and refresh the catalog in order to find the snapshot table.
To synchronize the catalog:
From the Quick Access menu, go to Management > Configuration.
Select Synchronize Catalog on the toolbar.
Choose OK on the “Are you sure?” dialog. This will trigger the job to run, which may take a few minutes.
Once the synchronization is complete, select the Refresh button on the toolbar.
Your new snapshot table is now available in the catalog.
Creating the join
The next step is to create a join between your main data warehouse table and your new snapshot table.
To create the join:
From the menu on the Configuration page, choose Joins.
On the toolbar, select the green + icon and choose Add Simple Join.
Under Selected Join Details, select the field next to Table 1.
Search for your main database table and choose it.
Under Selected Join Details, select the field next to Table 2.
Search for your new snapshot table and choose it.
Save the join using the Save icon on the toolbar.
On the Changes Saved popup, choose OK.
Creating attributes from the table
The final step in the configuration process is creating attributes from your new snapshot table that you can use in future selection rules.
To create the attributes:
From the menu on the Configuration page, choose Catalog.
Find and select your snapshot table from the list.
On the toolbar, select Create Attributes from Table.
Under Columns, choose Select All.
Under Options, select a file to save your attributes to. We recommend creating a new folder to store these attributes in.
Choose OK.
You can use these attributes to create selection rules that pull from your snapshot table, which will help you create audiences and campaigns that run more quickly and contain the most up-to-date data.