This step-by-step guide will teach you everything you need to know about creating a Video Request campaign. Use this campaign type to request videos from students, faculty, staff, patients, parents, and others.

Send a Video Request with recording instructions, and your recorders can reply with a video. You will be notified via email when they reply, and you can find their video in the Replies folder of your Video Library. From there, you can use the video in other campaigns.

Building a Video Request Campaign

Step 1. Create a Video Request Campaign

When you first log into your account, you'll find yourself on the Home page. There are two ways you can initiate the creation of a campaign:

1. Click Create New Campaign in the Your Recent Campaigns section of your Home page.
2. Click Campaigns in the navigation bar at the top of your screen, then click Create New Campaign.

Once you do this, you'll be prompted to choose a campaign type. Select Video Request, and name your campaign. Lastly, select your delivery method: email, text message, or a shareable link. The shareable link allows you to request videos from anyone with the link rather than a list of specific recorders. We’ll cover how to use this option further below in the article. 

Step 2. Add Recorders

Your Video Request campaign will open to the Recorders build step. Click +Add Recorders or Start Adding Recorders. Select one of the following methods of uploading recipients:

• Upload Recorders All at Once: Before uploading, make sure your spreadsheet is in .csv, .xls, or .xlsx format. You can then drag-and-drop or browse your files. Once uploaded, use dropdown menus to map the columns in your file to their equivalent ThankView field. If your file doesn’t include column headers, uncheck the Data Includes Headers box. Don’t forget to check the box confirming that recipients have opted in to receive ThankViews from your organization.    
• Add from Lists: If you’ve already created a list of recipients, use the Add from Lists option. Scroll through your available lists or search by name. Select the correct list and click Continue to add the recorders to your campaign.   
• Add Manually: To add recipients one at a time, enter their contact details manually. The only required fields are First Name and Email, but adding more information makes it easier to organize your contacts and personalize your content. Once you’ve entered the information, click Add Recorder.  
• Add from Contacts: At the bottom of the Add Manually section, click Add from Contacts. Search for contacts by name or scroll through your contact list. Once you’ve selected the contacts you want, click Add X Contacts to include them in your campaign. 

Click Next Step to proceed once all recorders have been added.   

Step 3. Set Up Request Message and Landing Page

The Message step lets you customize how your request will appear to recipients. You can tailor the following fields: 

• Subject Line: The subject line that recorders will see in their email inbox.
• Sender Name: The name of the sender of this ThankView.
• Sender Email Address: The email address from which this ThankView will be sent. 
• Reply To: The email address that will receive any replies sent by recipients. You can add multiple email addresses if needed. 
• Language: The language for this campaign’s email and landing page. 
• Font: The font for this campaign’s email and landing page. 
• Button Color: The hex code you would like to use for the campaign’s Record Your Video button.
• Landing Page Appearance: The design for the landing page where request instructions will be displayed. 
• Request Instructions:
  • Video Instructions: You have an option to add video instructions in order to guide your recorders and help them understand your expectations. To use this option, you must either record a video using your webcam or upload a video into your Video Library. Then, click + Access Video Library to attach it to this campaign. 
  • Text Instructions: Add up to 2,500 characters of written instructions to clarify expectations. We include default instructions (~1,600 characters) that you can customize, or delete entirely and start fresh. You can personalize your message with merge fields and emojis to make it more engaging! 
• Due Date (Optional): Set a deadline for recipients to submit their videos. 
• Automated Follow-Ups (Optional): If you set a due date, you can schedule up to three automated reminders to be sent to recipients. 

Click Save once your settings have been configured, then Next Step to proceed. 

Step 4. Schedule Sends

Once you reach the Sends step, you will see a list of all your recorders. Before sending your Video Request campaign, we highly recommend sending a test version to ensure everything looks perfect. Click Send Test to preview the ThankView exactly as your recipients will see it. 

After reviewing, you’re ready to send! Click Schedule All to send your campaign to all of your recorders at once, or check the box next to the recorders you’d like to send to and click Schedule. Then, choose one of the following options: 

• Send Now: Immediately send the campaign to your recorders
• Schedule Send: Schedule the campaign to send at a future date and time, up to a year in advance. Ensure the date falls on or before the submission due date if you’ve set one. 

Step 5. Monitor Incoming Replies

Recorder Perspective 

Once a recorder clicks on your video request link, they will be taken to a page where they can read the instructions and submit a video. They can record it directly on the platform or upload a pre-recorded video. 

Recorders also have access to our teleprompter feature. By clicking Toggle Instructions, they will see your full request instructions appear as an overlay on the video recording screen and can follow along as needed. 

After recording and clicking Submit Video, recorders will be prompted to include an optional name of the recipient they recorded for. This makes it easier for you to find and utilize their replies in future campaigns. Once submitted, recorders receive an email confirming their video has been sent. 

Your Perspective

Once a video is submitted, you will receive an email notifying you of the submission. The video is automatically saved in the Replies folder of your Video Library. From there, you can review, download, or attach the video to a campaign. Each video is labeled with the recorder’s name followed by what they’ve written in the name field of their submission (e.g., “Reply - Ashley - For Dr. Walsh”). 

Additionally, you can access video replies from the Replies step of the video request campaign itself.

Step 6. Ask a Recorder to Rerecord (if necessary)

If you need a recorder to rerecord their video, follow these steps to send a rerecord request: 

1. Go to the Replies step of your campaign. 
2. Find the recorder whose video needs to be updated. Under the Actions column, click the ellipsis. 
3. Select Request Rerecord.
4. A popup will appear where you can:
   1. Add new instructions or feedback.
   2. Choose whether to archive the existing video to avoid confusion between versions. 
5. After entering the necessary details, click Confirm to send the rerecord request. 

Step 7. Copy Video Request for Non-Responders 

If some recipients haven’t submitted their videos, you can create a follow-up campaign that targets only non-responders. Here’s how:

1. Go to the Campaigns page and locate your original Video Request campaign. 
2. Click the dropdown arrow to the right of the campaign and select Create a Copy.
3. In the popup, add a campaign name and choose the Copy Recipients Who Haven’t Replied copy option. 
4. Choose your delivery method, and click Copy Campaign.

The new campaign will include only the non-responding recipients in its Recorders step. From here, you can edit your request details to reflect updated instructions or deadlines and send your follow-up campaign.

Note: Only Video Request campaigns originally delivered via email or text will include the Copy Recipients Who Haven’t Replied copy option. 

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Create a Shareable Link

An alternative to using email or text delivery is creating a shareable link. This delivery option allows you to collect video submissions from anyone who has access to the link rather than a list of specific recorders. Recorders can also use the same link to record multiple videos. 

Step 1. Create a Video Request Campaign

When creating a Video Request campaign using the instructions above, select the Shareable Link delivery method. 

Step 2. Set Up Request Landing Page

Use the same instructions detailed above to customize your Message step. An additional field is included for the shareable link delivery method:

• Public Request Link: Here, you’ll find the link to request video replies from a wider audience. Toggle on the Submissions Enabled option to access the link. Once submissions are enabled, you can click Copy, and paste the link to social channels, online forums, and emails. 

When you are ready to deactivate the public link, toggle off Submissions Enabled. Anyone who opens the link after submissions are disabled will see a message of “We’ve stopped taking submissions for this campaign” on the landing page.

Step 3. View Replies

Just like with email and text delivery methods, you will find submissions in the Replies folder of your Video Library and in the Replies step of the video request campaign.

If no videos have been submitted yet, the Public Request Link will display in the campaign’s Replies step for you to copy and share. 

Note: If you attempt to Copy the link from your Replies step while submissions are disabled, a popup will prompt you to return to your campaign’s setup where you can enable replies once more.  

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For any other questions, reach out to support@thankview.com.