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CMS/EMS Integration: The Basics

Claire Frank
  • Updated

Overview 

Using Finalsite’s content management system (CMS) in conjunction with Finalsite’s enrollment management system (EMS) provides the optimal experience for parents and school administrators alike.

Read this article to get a basic, high-level view of the integration and how it works.

There is no charge for this integration!

In this Article

Terms used in this article

For the purpose of streamlining this article you will see two terms used to refer to our two systems

  • CMS (Content Management System) - This refers to Finalsite’s website, marketing and communication tools (known as Finalsite Composer, Messages and Workflows).
  • EMS (Enrollment Management System) - This refers to Finalsite’s admissions, enrollment and tuition management platform.

What does the CMS integration do?

The integration with CMS sends contacts (and information about them) from EMS to CMS. In CMS, they are grouped by status so that you can use them to build communications and Workflows.

EMS CMS integration graphic.png

What happens when the CMS integration is set up?

Pre-Integration Setup

  • You'll work with your a member of the CMS team to request to turn on and set up the integration.
  • During the setup, the CMS team will provide you with a data mapping guide to identify which fields you'd like to send from EMS to CMS.
    • The integration can send over demographic information. In addition to that you'll also have the opportunity to specify at least 10 custom fields to send over.
  • When your setup is complete, the CMS training team will provide you with the option to attend a 1-hour training to cover the integration.

When the integration is set up...

  • Contacts will flow from EMS into CMS. In CMS, these contacts are stored in Constituent Manager and the data updates approximately every hour with a full refresh overnight. 
    • Pro Tip: You won't really use Constituent Manager to manage these contacts in your day-to-day work, this is just where the data goes/is stored in CMS. You may use Constituent Manager to make adjustments if something in the data is off/needs adjusting.
  • In CMS, you will use Group Manager to create groups of students for messaging. You can first create a top-level group, for example, "Admissions Communications", and, within that group, you can add subgroups filtered to meet your needs.
    • You can use Dynamic filters to narrow down these subgroups. For example, you might create a group of all International students who are in the Inquiry status.
  • Next, in CMS,  you can use the groups you created to build drip campaigns using messages and Workflows. Use those campaigns to nurture families toward inquiring and applying.

How do I request it?

Start by getting in touch with CMS support to let them know you are interested!

The basics of the CMS/EMS journey

EMS to CMS illustration.png

Prospect Phase

During the Prospect phase you can:

  • Use a Leadflow form (embedded on your CMS site) to gather prospects.
  • Create a drip campaign using CMS Workflows to nurture the prospects toward to inquiry form.
Inquiry Phase

During the Inquiry Phase you can:

  • Embed your EMS Inquiry form into your CMS website to gather inquiries.
  • Nurture families towards applying with CMS Workflows.
Applicant/Enrollment Phase

During the Applicant/Enrollment Phase you can:

  • Once the family applies, you should use EMS to nudge them along the journey of completing checklist items and making it the enrollment finish line.
  • Communication at this stage should come through EMS.
    • You may use CMS to share communications unrelated to admissions/enrollment such as communicating about a school sports event.

Basically, at this stage, you can ask:

  • Are we communicating about checklist items?
    • If so, that's communication should come through EMS!
  • Or, are we communicating about school events unrelated to the checklist progress?
    • That's a CMS communication!
Post Enrollment

After the student is fully enrolled, you can:

Essentially, this is when you move your workflow back into CMS.

  • You can use CMS for enrollment and community engagement, such as:
    • New Student Workflow (nurturing/community side)
    • Community Messaging
    • Portals

 

Major Best Practices

Create an internal communication roadmap.

Why is this important?
When using the integration you will be working together cross-departmentally. Admissions and Enrollment teams will use Finalsite Enrollment to support the journey of students in the Admissions/Enrollment cycle, while other teams, like marketing perhaps, will be working on the CMS side to build nurturing campaigns that draw students in.

A clear communication roadmap shared across all teams is essential so that teams know what communication is being sent out, when it's being sent, and who is sending it. This doesn't have to be anything fancy. It can be as simple as something written up in a Google doc.

Create a drip campaign to nurture families!

Pro-Tips on creating a more effective Drip campaign in CMS.

  • Keep it short, it should span a couple of weeks. (Don't go over a month)
  • ALWAYS include a Call to Action

Example CMS drip campaign plan:

  • Message 1: Message about the benefits of attending your institution. CALL TO ACTION to the Inquiry.
  • Message 2: Message about the different athletics and extracurriculars: CALL TO ACTION to the Inquiry.
  • Message 3: Message about volunteer and community engagement: CALL TO ACTION to the Inquiry.
  • Message 4: Final call to receive additional info and sign up for open houses: CALL TO ACTION to the inquiry.

And, last but not least: Keep your EMS landing pages and communications branded and beautiful!

FAQs

Once the integration is turned on by our teams, are there any manual steps to getting EMS data into CMS?
Nope! Once it is all set up, it's automatic. The student/parent data will be sent to CMS and the system will refresh the data every hour.
Where can I see the spreadsheet that you are provided by your CSM when selecting data mapping to CMS?
Here's a copy of the spreadsheet! You are sent this by the CMS team once the integration is set up. They use it to help you identify the fields you'd like to send from EMS to CMS.
Does everyone who turns on the integration get a personalized data mapping guide?
Yep! Every customer who is setting up the EMS/CMS integration will be given a mapping guide. Here's a copy of the spreadsheet!
If I can't find the data mapping guide, who should I contact?
If you can't locate your mapping guide, you can connect with you CMS Client Success Manager.
Do custom statuses get mapped over?
Yep! Whatever statuses you have at the time the integration is set up will map over. If you add a status after that point, they will not automatically be mapped over. You can connect with Finalsite Support (CMS) if you need to update your status list in CMS.
How often does the integration update?
The integration updates every hour with a full refresh nightly!
Can you build a workflow with a Leadflow form?
You sure can! It’s a nice follow-up too. You can set up the Workflow to stop if students enter something like the inquired status.
What workflow goals would be best for tracking EMS + CMS progress?
Workflows set up around statuses work really well. For example, a workflow can be built to nurture students to inquire or apply. Workflows can be set up to stop based on the student moving into a status on the EMS end. For example, if the student becomes an Applicant, that application Workflow can be set up to stop going out to that family,
Is there a limit to the number of custom fields you can map to CMS?
Yep, CMS will allow 10 custom fields to be mapped over. Keep in mind, that's on top of the fields that CMS already can send over as defined in the data spreadsheet. So, a bunch of basic demographic info gets sent over and then, if you needs anything else, you can send up to 10 fields of your choosing. This is all covered in the work you do with your CSM when setting up the integration, you will communicate what they'd like to send over at that time.

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