Automation: Conditional Branches

About This Feature

Automation Conditional Branches enable branching and filtering an Automation based on a member Profile Field or Group. This powerful feature allows community operators to efficiently segment members and execute bulk actions tailored to specific filter criteria. For example, when a Member joins the Community, a Conditional Branch could be Filtered by a Profile Field where a Member is asked to share their location, setting in motion an Automation to Add the Member to a geo-specific Group!

How It Works

The “Conditional Branch” allows the matching of one of multiple possible branches of action. Each Branch has a Trigger and corresponding Action; the first Branch with filters that match the automation's target user will have its actions executed. 

Each branch needs at least one filter. Available Filters are Profile Fields and Group Memberships.

  1. Profile Fields: Filter based on the custom profile fields that members completed during onboarding. 
  • Specify which field. 
  • Select operation (you get different sets of operations depending on the field type ie. single select vs. multiple select vs. free form)
  • Specify which answer option (One or more answer options can be selected for multiple choice questions. Free-form questions can be filtered by typing in the words to be or not to be included)
  • Select the relationship between filters if the branch has multiple filters (AND/OR). Note: Filters within the same branch should have the same relationship. This means if you chose “AND”, the relationship between ALL of the filters is “AND”.
  1. Group Memberships: Filter based on the group(s) that members belong to.
  • Select the operation
  • Select the Group(s) or Subgroup that applies:

How To Create an Automation Conditional Branch

  1. Navigate to the Admin area > Select Automations.
  2. Click “+ Automation” on the top right corner of the screen > Click “Create Custom Automation”.
  3. Choose a Trigger from the dropdown menu.
  4. Click the blue “+ Action” button > Select “Conditional Branch” to manage the action flow.
  5. Select Filter(s) for each branch, each branch needs at least one filter. Available Filters are Profile Fields and Group Memberships. 
  6. Select Action(s) for each branch. Each branch needs at least one action. Continue adding actions without filters outside of a branch, if required. 

FAQs

Q: Is having more than one conditional branch in each automation possible?

A: Yes, you can set up more than one set of filters for your conditional branch.  

Q: Can I reorder the branch position?

A: Yes, drag and drop to reorder the position of each branch like so:

Q: Does the order of the branches matter?

A: Yes, the order of the branches affects which branch is chosen to be executed. Branches are checked in order from left to right. The first branch found to have matching filters will be the only one to complete its actions. All other branches will be ignored during that automation execution, and their actions won’t be executed.

Q: Does the order of the Filters matter?

A: The order of filters does not matter and will not affect the outcome of the branch matching. 

Q: Does the order of the Actions matter?

A: The order of actions does matter.  Actions are executed in order, and if a delay action is added before another action, the delay must finish before the following action is executed.

Q: What happens if no branch is matched?

A: If no branch is matched, no action will be executed. Without delay, the automation will continue running the rest of the actions outside the conditional branch.