Creating Rule-Based Audiences In Channel99

Purpose:

Rule-Based Audiences let you dynamically include companies based on their firmographic traits and observed activities (on-site behaviors, traffic sources, and third‑party intent). Common traits include Region, Industry, and Revenue range. Typical activities include specific URL visits, vendor or campaign traffic, and G2 intent signals. This guide walks you through setting up rules, previewing results, and saving your audience for activation.

How it works

• You define logic-based rules using traits and activities.
• Channel99 evaluates companies over a chosen lookback window.
• The result is an audience you can use in reporting and for activation.

Step-by-step

1. Navigate to Audiences

• Go to the Audiences tab.
• You’ll land on the Audiences Overview page, where you can see existing audiences and create new ones.

2. Start a Rule-Based Audience

• Click Create Audience.
• Select Rule-Based as the audience type.
• You’ll be taken to the Rule Builder.

3. Name and Describe

• Enter a clear Audience Name (for example, “NA Solutions Engagers – 90d”).
• Optionally add a Description to clarify purpose or targeting notes for collaborators.

4. Set the Lookback Window

• Choose the Lookback Period, which controls how far back Channel99 searches for matching company actions.
• Default is 90 days. Adjust if you need a shorter or longer evaluation period based on your campaign or reporting needs.

5. Add Your First Rule

• Click Add Rule.
• Choose a dimension: Trait or Activity.
  • Traits: firmographics like Region, Industry, Employee Count, Revenue Range, or inclusion in another Audience.
  • Activities: web visits (specific URLs, page paths), vendor/campaign traffic, third‑party intent (e.g., G2 categories/topics).
• Example combinations:
  • Trait: Region = North America AND Industry = Software
  • Activity: Visited contains “/solutions/” at least 2 times within the lookback period

6. Refine with “Where” conditions

• For more specificity on any activity, click the + Where option to add sub-conditions.
• Examples:
  • Website Visit + Where URL contains “/solutions/”
  • Campaign Traffic + Where Source = “LinkedIn”
  • G2 Intent + Where Topic = “ABM Platforms”
• Use these to narrow to the most relevant engagement signals.

7. Combine rules with AND/OR

• Use AND to require multiple conditions together (e.g., Region = NA AND Visited “pricing/”).
• Use OR to broaden inclusion (e.g., Visited “solutions/” OR “product/”).
• You can build multiple rule groups to reflect complex logic, such as:
  • Group 1 (Traits): Region = NA AND Revenue = 50M–500M
  • AND
  • Group 2 (Activities): Visited “/solutions/” at least 2 times
  • OR
  • Group 3 (Activities): G2 Intent Topic = “Data Integration”

8. Preview the Audience

• Click Preview in the top-right of the Rule Builder.
• Confirm:
  • There are non‑zero results.
  • The number of companies and visit counts align with expectations.
  • The mix of traits/activities reflects your targeting strategy.
• If results are off, adjust rules, “Where” filters, or the lookback window and preview again.

9. Save and Process

• When satisfied, click Save.
• Channel99 will process your audience for reporting and activation. This typically completes within a few hours.
• After processing, your audience will be available for:
  • Performance reporting and insights
  • Activation to supported destinations (per your integrations)

Best practices

• Start broad, then narrow: Ensure you have a viable base before tightening rules.
• Name consistently: Include region, intent, and lookback in the audience name.
• Validate often: Use Preview to avoid over-restrictive logic.
• Leverage existing audiences: Build modular logic by referencing audiences you already trust.

Troubleshooting

• Zero results in Preview:
  • Loosen filters, remove overly specific “Where” conditions, or extend the lookback window.
• Too many results:
  • Add trait filters (Region, Industry) or increase activity thresholds (e.g., require multiple visits).
• Suspected tracking gaps:
  • Confirm web tracking and integrations (campaign parameters, G2 intent) are configured.

Next steps

• Use the processed audience in your reporting dashboards.
• Share or activate the audience to your connected platforms according to your activation workflow.