Overview
Canvassing actions help you report and outreach to a list of contacts shared or assigned to you by the campaign, using a contact list similar to peer-to-peer, and outreach methods like friend-to-friend. There are two types of lists in Canvassing Actions: 'Shared' and 'Assigned.' Both types of lists might be people you know based on a common affinity, like working at the same place or living in the same neighborhood.
Shared List Canvassing: a list of shared contacts that all volunteers can view and report on. If you reach out to one of the contacts, they will no longer appear on the list for other volunteers.
Assigned List Canvassing: a list of contacts that are assigned only to you - possibly across multiple actions so that you can maintain a relationship by sharing information with them over time and adding reports based on your interaction.
This article will review Shared List Canvassing actions: How to Perform a Shared List Canvassing Action and Shared List Canvassing FAQs.
To learn about Assigned List Canvassing actions, click here.
Your Shared List Canvassing action could ask you to just add reports on the contact list or to add reports and reach out to the list through text, email, calling, or social media. So this means your Shared List Canvassing action could be
Shared List Canvassing: Reports Only
Shared List Canvassing: Reports and Outreach
How to Perform a Shared List Canvassing
Once logged in to the Impactive app with a campaign, navigate to the home page where you can see the list of actions and filter the action list by selecting 'Canvassing' in the action type filter. Choose the desired My Shared List Canvassing action by pressing on the action card.
Review the Uploaded List
You will see a list of contacts uploaded by the campaign. The header above the list of contacts should say 'Shared List.' This list of contacts is shared between you and many other volunteers for that campaign, and you might only know a handful of people from this whole list. For those contacts you do know, you can add reports or share information from the campaign with them.
Note: You can filter and search this list for quick review by clicking the filter icon or typing in the search bar.
Take Action
Select multiple contacts in this list to take action. For some Shared List Canvassing actions you will be able to add reports for the contact list, or in other Shared List Canvassing Actions, you will be able to add reports and reach out to the contacts via text, email, calling or social media message. This ability is determined by the campaign.
Reports only: This action only asks you to add reports, or share information, on the contacts in the list. This information helps a campaign note who is and is not interested in their initiative.
When contacts are selected, click 'Report on Contacts' at the bottom of the screen to fill a report on each contact.
Add the information you know for each contact and click 'Send to Campaign'. After you've added a report, you will automatically go to the report for the next selected contact.
Once all the chosen contacts have been reported, press 'Close'
NOTE: If you want to add a report for someone who isn't on the list, just click on 'Add Report' button in the top right hand corner of the screen to add that contact and add a report for them.
Reports and Outreach: This action allows you to both add reports and reach out via texting, email, calling or through social media for the contacts listed.
To add a report, click the '...' button on the contact you'd like to report for. Then Click 'Add Report' and follow the flow
To reach out to contacts, multi-select the desired contacts and click the navy 'Message Selected Contacts' button at the bottom of the screen.
The first contact in your list of chosen contacts will appear on the screen. Choose to either:
View message history by clicking on the top right message icon
View or Update Report by clicking on the 'View Report' button below the name of the contact
Choose the outreach type by clicking the 'Text' 'Email' 'Call' or 'Social Message' tab
Choose and Edit the message if needed by clicking the pencil icon.
Click 'Send' and your native messaging will open for you to complete your outreach
A congratulatory screen will appear and you can either:
'Go to the inbox to fill a report' immediately on that contact
'Contact Again' in a different contact method
'Next Contact' to advance in the list of chosen contacts.
When you are done with the chosen list of contacts, you will have the option to 'Fill Report in Inbox' that will move you to the inbox to follow-up, or go 'Back to my List' to continue working through the action.
FAQ for Canvassing Actions
What's the difference between Shared List Canvassing and Assigned List Canvassing?
Shared List Canvassing uses a list of contacts that you share with other volunteers. So you are helping, along with many others, to work through this list to share information and reach out to the contacts on this list. Rather, Assigned List Canvassing is a list of contacts that are assigned to you, ideally to maintain a relationship by cyclically adding reports and sharing information with them over time. This list is your responsibility, not shared with others.
How can I tell if the action is shared or assigned?
Check the header above the list in the action. A shared list will read 'Shared List' and an assigned list will read 'My Assigned List.' The blue instructions box at the top of the page will also indicate if the action is shared or assigned.
What happens in a Shared List if I and another person both report on the same contact?
Reports are updated in real-time, so if you see a report on a contact that needs to be updated, go ahead and do so. That way when another person goes to add a report on that same contact, they will see that it is up to date! The list will also show 'Report Filled' for a contact that has already been reported on.
Why can't I send an outreach message to my contact list?
If the list outreach is not available on your action, this means your campaign prefers to only gather reports on the contact list at this time. You can best help by sharing any information you might know about the contacts in the list.