Community channels
A channel is a chat space your customers open from their wallet. Use channels to share updates, promotions, and loyalty rewards, and to talk with customers directly. You create channels on the Communities page and decide how customers can take part in each one.
Customers find your channels through a Community Directory block in their wallet, and you decide where that block goes. Open Design, click Edit on the Wallet module, open the screen you want (for example Home Screen), click Add new item under its blocks, and set Block Type to Community Directory. The block lists your active channels with their logo, name, and description, a Join or Open button, and a +N new badge for unread messages. To show one channel's conversation right on a screen, add a Community Channel block instead and pick the channel under Channel Id. See Design editor.
Open the Communities page
- In the Toki app, click Communities in the left navigation.
The Channels card on the left lists your channels. Each row shows the channel's logo, name, and description, plus a status badge (Active or Draft). A +N new badge shows how many messages you haven't read yet. The list refreshes every 10 seconds, so new messages appear without reloading the page.
- Click a channel to open the chat. See Chatting with customers.
- Click the edit (pencil) icon on a row to change the channel's settings.
- Click New at the top of the page to create a channel.
Communities is included with Toki's paid plans. On the free plan, the New and Create new channel buttons are turned off and the page shows This option is available with one of our paid plans. Click paid plans, or open Billing in the left navigation, to upgrade. Each plan card on the Billing page lists what it includes; see Billing and plans.
Create a channel
- On the Communities page, click New. If you have no channels yet, you can also click Create new channel.
- Fill in the fields described in the sections below. Only Name is required.
- Click Save.
Toki confirms with Channel created and takes you back to the Communities page. New channels start as Draft. Set Status to Active when you want customers to see the channel.
Channel details
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | The channel name customers see. Required. |
| Description | A short line under the name that explains what the channel is for. |
| Type | Public or Personal. A public channel is one shared conversation for everyone. A personal channel gives each customer a private conversation with you. See Personal channels. You pick the type when you create the channel, and it stays fixed afterward. To switch, create a new channel. |
| Status | Active channels are visible to customers. Draft channels are hidden from customers, so you can set them up and keep them for later. |
Logo, banner, and styling
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Logo | An image shown next to the channel in the channel list. |
| Banner | An image shown at the top of the channel. |
| Banner height | Appears once you upload a banner. The height of the banner in pixels. |
| Custom CSS | Advanced styling for this channel's look. If you'd like a custom design, chat with us and we'll set it up with you. |
Channel settings
These settings control how customers take part in the main conversation.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Message writing access | Who can post messages: All, Admins, or Segments. See Who can post for what each option means. |
| Enable reactions | Lets people react to messages with emoji. |
| Enable files | Lets people attach files to their messages. |
Reactions and files are turned on for new channels, and Message writing access is set to All. Attached images appear as previews in the chat; other files appear by name. Every attachment has a download icon.
Replies settings
Replies let people respond to a specific message in a thread instead of in the main conversation. Replies have their own settings, so a channel can allow something in the main conversation and not in threads, or the other way around.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enable replies | Lets people reply to messages in threads. Turning it on shows the settings below. |
| Message writing access | Who can post replies: All, Admins, or Segments. Works the same way as the channel-level setting; see Who can post. |
| Enable reactions | Lets people react to replies with emoji. |
| Enable files | Lets people attach files to replies. |
| Show last replies | Shows the most recent reply under each message in the main conversation, so people can follow a thread without opening it. |
Replies are turned on for new channels, with reply reactions and reply files turned on and reply Message writing access set to All.
Edit a channel
- On the Communities page, find the channel in the Channels list and click the edit (pencil) icon.
- Change any setting except Type.
- Click Save in the bar at the top, or Discard to revert your changes.
Toki confirms with Channel updated. On a personal channel, your changes apply to every customer's conversation in that channel.
The Edit Channel page also has a Moderation section that lists customers who are muted or banned in this channel. See Moderation.
Delete a channel
- Open the channel's Edit Channel page.
- Click Delete.
- In the confirmation, click Delete again.
Deleting a channel can't be undone. Deleting a personal channel also removes every customer's conversation in it. If you want to hide a channel for a while instead, set its Status to Draft.