Lists vs Search
This tutorial compares two important list types: Save List and Save Search. Know the difference once and for all!
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Welcome. Today we're on a mission to explain two powerful list types in SwiftFox. On one side, save list and on the other side, save search. Now, they might seem similar, but they have different and exciting properties.
In fact, they have entirely different personalities. So let's find out what they truly are. We'll begin with the saved list, and then we'll venture into the exciting world of save search.
But first, a quick definition: A saved list in SwiftFox is a group of contacts you have saved that stays the same unless you add new names to your list manually. You can then use that saved list to your delight throughout SwiftFox.
From the lovely emails and forms you send, events you host, and calls and texts that you make. You can create lists based off a wide range of parameters.
You can create a list on interests, people for whom you're a stakeholder leader, for events, people who have attended those events, geographical boundaries, and so much more. It's a gift that keeps on giving and we're so grateful for it.
A saved list is a snapshot in time. It's static. It's fixed. As rooted in time as we are now. What does this mean?
A save list captures the information as it applies at the time it's created. For instance, if you create a list on a Tuesday of all your contacts in SwiftFox who are tagged as liking coffee, it will display results based on information stored in SwiftFox on that Tuesday.
But if two days later, a new person was added to SwiftFox, who was also tagged as liking coffee, they will not be automatically added to the list.
Now, if I was sending a discount to all people who liked coffee, that would only be eligible on this Tuesday. That would be great. Now you can always add people to previously created lists to update them, but this would need to be done manually.
You can find all your saved lists in the right side of the list builder just here. But, what you ask, if I wanted a list that was as dynamic as my organisation? That moved with the wind? That could automatically update as information came streaming in? Well, this is where you need save search. Build a search.
If you want to create a list that will automatically update, you can save your list. Build a search instead. This way, your list will automatically update with new people or organise actions as you add them to your SwiftFox environment.
Saving a search means the list builder will save the parameters you set when you were creating your original list, and the results table will always automatically update as new people are added.
So going back to our coffee example, if you save your original list, build a search for all people in SwiftFox who were tagged as liking coffee. The table of results will include any new additions, no matter when you saved it. To save a search
simply set your criteria for list building and once you have your results, click the Save Your Search button above the results table.
Your saved search will then appear up here in a tab next to the lists. You can then save the search as a list whenever you need to use it. So there we are. Saved lists can be used throughout SwiftFox features. While saved searches are a set of criteria that can be used to generate an up-to-date list, a true match up.
To find out more about our list below, check out the rest of the videos in the video series. Thanks for watching.
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