Creating a New Showtime

Owned by Kelcie Des Jardins (Deactivated)
Last updated: May 30, 2023
8 min read

Touchcast virtual experiences are created with the Showtime CMS, a robust Content Management System where you can set up a gorgeous event page, add imagery and branding, populate an agenda, host resources, and also manage users.

In this guide we’ll review how to navigate the CMS and create a new Showtime entry.

 

Navigating the CMS

Before creating a new Showtime, let’s take a look at the interface of the CMS. You’ll use the left-side panel to navigate throughout the various sections of the CMS, which is broken down into three main sections: the Showtime Dashboard, your Content & User Management Suite, and CMS Controls. 

 

Showtime Dashboard

 

  1. The house icon in the top left of your screen is your Home Dashboard. Clicking this icon will take you to an overview page of the Showtime entry you are actively working on.

 

Content Management Suite

This section details the parts of the CMS you’ll use for branding your Showtime page, uploading and managing content, adding allowlisted users to the external experience, and viewing analytics. 

 

 

1. The filmstrip icon is to see all the Showtimes you have access to. This page will allow you to search for a Showtimes name or URL easily. 

a. You can also switch to a new Showtime by clicking the purple arrow that says Toggle Aside. This will expand your navigation pane and allow you to scroll or type in the name of a Showtime page.

 

2. The people icon is for your Attendee Management. This is where you’ll add users who will have access to your external Showtime and manage Touchcast registration.

3. The tile icon represents your Content Management suite. This tab will allow you to add page elements like your agenda, speaker info, resources and much more.

4. The gear icon is for Settings. This panel is for page branding and enabling or disabling high level engagement features. 

5. The chart icon is for your Reports, which is where you’ll be able to access both realtime and post-event analytics.

6. Depending on your permission level you may or may not see this badge icon. The badge icon is for User Management at an event-level, available only to admins who can assign and manage CMS users to work on specific Showtime pages. 

 

CMS Controls

The CMS Controls allow you to manage overall CMS permissions, launch a Realtime Push, and log out of the CMS.

 

1. Certain admins will have the ability to invite new users to the CMS, which is done by clicking on the org chart icon. A new CMS user must first be invited to the CMS via this panel before they can be assigned to a specific event.

2. The lightning bolt icon is for launching a Realtime Push. Clicking this icon will trigger a control window, allowing you to make either a High Priority Realtime Push, or a Low Priority Realtime Push.

You must check with a Touchcast admin if a Realtime Push is viable for your event. Realtime Pushes are event-specific, and a Touchcast admin will be able to verify if making a Realtime Push poses a potential risk for disrupting Showtime user experiences.

3. The final icon, represented by a silhouette, is for accessing your CMS user profile. Clicking this icon will allow you to log out of an organization’s CMS at any time.

  Creating a New Showtime

1. To create a new Showtime entry, first click on the Showtimes icon at the top of your Content Management Suite in the left side panel. This will open a page listing all the Showtime entries for which you have access.

 

2. Click the + New Showtime icon in the upper right corner to begin an entry from scratch. You’ll be directed to a new page where you can begin adding your Showtime page’s details at a high level. 

3. The first two fields are for the start time and end time of your experience. Adding a start and end time is necessary to create a Showtime entry, but you do not have to display this information on your external page. To add your start and end time, first click on the calendar icon. This will prompt a dropdown menu for you to select a date and time.

 

 Whenever you see a red asterisk (like this *) in the CMS, you’ve encountered a required field. You will not be able to save a page unless you add content to these particular fields.

 

4. You’ll also need to select a timezone for your Showtime. The timezone should reflect the timezone of the main event or organization. If you are creating a Showtime for an event taking place before or after daylight savings begins (or ends), we recommend selecting the timezone to that future delineation. You can set your timezone by typing in the [UTC + / - ] reference, or by clicking in the field to prompt a dropdown menu and scrolling to the correct time.

 

5. Now you can select the Access Type for your Showtime. The access type will determine how attendees and users will access your external Showtime page. 

You can choose from:

a. Closed - the most common access type. In this instance the Showtime page is gated, and only allowlisted attendee emails or domains can log in.

b. Open without approval - this access type enables a Touchcast registration page. Users will be able to come to the Showtime registration page, enter their required details, and immediately gain access to the page. Upon returning to the Showtime login page they can use their now-registered email to enter. 

c. Open with approval - this access type enables a Touchcast registration page. Users will come to the Showtime registration page, enter their required details, and an admin will need to approve their access from within the Showtime CMS. Once approved, registered attendees can optionally be sent an approval email and then log into the Showtime page with their registered email. 

d. Open for everyone - this access type means anyone with the link to the Showtime page can log in, as long as they provide their email address. 

e. Disabled - Disabling a page means only allowlisted attendees or domains with specified “access to disabled Showtime” can enter. If you set a Showtime to disabled, and have allowlisted attendees or domains who do not have this selected access, those attendees will not have access to the Showtime. The disabled setting is useful if you are allowisting attendees or domains before you wish the Showtime to be accessible, if you need to temporarily close the page for changes or maintenance, or after the VoD viewing period expires. 

Disabled access for individual attendees can be managed from the Attendee Management panel. From Attendees > Emails, you can manually check the “Access to disabled showtime” box in an attendee’s allowlisted entry. You can also allow an entire domain disabled access from Attendees > Domains. Because disabled access is meant to be for a limited number of people, you cannot upload a CSV granting a group of people disabled page access.

 

6. There is an optional button to enable the Hybrid Event setting. Checking this box is best for experiences where there is both the virtual Showtime page and an in-person component where attendees will also be using the Showtime experience. Enabling the Hybrid Event setting will give attendees viewing the Showtime page on mobile an optimized experience, allowing attendees to use the platform’s engagement features without the live stream they are already viewing in person. 

7. Though your contract may vary, the standard length of time for a Showtime page to remain open for video on demand is up to three months after the event or experience ends. You can manually disable the page by selecting the disabled Showtime access type, or you can automatically disable the page by a certain date with the Disable the page on field. Clicking in the field or on the calendar icon will let you select a future date on which you’d like to disable the page.

 

8. A mandatory field is your Homepage Title. The text you enter in this field will appear at the top of your Showtime experience. You can add html markup (e.g. <br></br> for line breaks, or <b></b> to bold text) to add formatting to the text.

 

9. The Homepage Description is optional, though highly recommended. This description will appear near the top of your Showtime experience, and not only welcomes users to your page, but also ensures correct formatting of the “below the fold” experience. 

10. The Showtime Path is a required field. All Showtime page urls follow the same format: organization.touchcast.com/showtime/your-showtime-page-name. The organization name applies to all Showtime entries created within your CMS, and cannot be changed. The touchcast.com/showtime path is also standard across all Showtime experiences. The showtime path field in the CMS allows you to customize the end slug for your Showtime page. If you want a slug with multiple words, we recommend separating each word with a hyphen. 

11. The last field on this page is for Custom IDs. If your organization or client tracks events with custom identification numbers or codes, you can add that information here. This information will not appear on the external Showtime page, or be shown to any users outside of the CMS. 

 

12. Once you’ve finished adding your information and reviewed accordingly, click the Submit button at the bottom of the page. You’ll be immediately directed to the Settings panel for your new Showtime entry, so you can begin further customizing and building your event page. 

 

 

Congrats! You’ve just created your first Showtime