When an Explorer shows up in your Inbox, it’s time to respond! Sometimes, you’ll know exactly what to say, but other times you might want some inspiration and ideas. This is where Conversation Support comes in!
We also know that Explorer response rates increase significantly the faster a message is sent to them! Striking when the iron is hot may be really effective, but you’ve got a lot going on… so a sample response makes it easier for you to quickly get a message sent by reducing the energy it takes to craft the perfect one.
How to find Conversation Support
Navigate to Messaging under Inbox and click on Explorers.
Click into an Explorer conversation.
Read the initial message an Explorer sent in. Additionally, note the “Ad Topic.” This will be helpful to find Sample Responses relevant to your Explorer, at the bottom of Send a Message box, click the Help me Respond icon.
Note: Conversation Support is also available when crafting a message in the Messages tab when texting a congregant.
What is in Conversation Support?
The Conversation Support page contains three main tools: Response Tips, Sample Responses, and Discover Videos. You can use the filters at the top to search by type, topic, and author to find what you need.
Response Tips
This is a collection of tips and tricks that we and our partner organizations have learned along the way responding to 100,000+ Explorers. It's a great idea to read through these general tips and make sure your responses to Explorers follow the best practices!
Pro tip: Make sure to check out the Best Practices, Tips, and Advanced Training section of our Help Center for even more resources to equip you to respond well to Explorers.
Sample Responses
Sometimes Explorers may message about things we aren't entirely certain how to help with. Anxiety, depression, relationships and grief are all common topics Explorers want to talk about, and sometimes it can feel difficult to get that conversation started. This is where the Sample Responses come in.
A Sample Response is a templated one time message you can use to start a conversation with an Explorer. These can be used in any conversation, but they will be the most helpful for kick starting a conversation with an Explorer.
You can use the filters at the top to search for specific topics, depending on what your Explorer reached out about (anxiety, depression, relationships, etc). Once you find a response you like, mouse over it to either view the response or add it to your message.
Clicking to add the prompt to your message will automatically copy/paste it into your message box to send to the Explorer. You'll notice that many of the fields in [brackets] will automatically fill themselves in- your name, the Explorer's name, etc. However, anything in [BRACKETS] that is all capitalized will need to be filled in and personalized by you. Make sure to make any adjustments you need before sending the message!
Discover Videos
Sometimes sending a video can be a great way to create conversation with an Explorer. The video may encourage them, connect with them, or offer a conversation piece to interact around. Thanks to amazing partners like Resolution Movement, Loveology, and RightNow Media, a selection of videos is now easily available in the Gloo app for you to send to Explorers.
Like with Response Tips and Sample Responses, these can be sorted by Topic or Author, or you can browse everything by clicking See All. When you mouse over a video you'll have the option to View or directly Add to Message.
When you click to view a specific video, you'll be taken to a page where you can view the video for yourself so that you know exactly what is being sent. You can also read a description of the video and see some tips in how to use it well.
Once you've found a video you like, click Add to Message Box. This will add a link to the video in your conversation with the Explorer. Make sure to give some context! Saying something like "I thought of what you shared when I saw this. What do you think about it?" will help the Explorer understand why you're sending it to them.