Tags (also known as #hashtags) are like behind-the-scenes organizers, helping to categorize your site's content and make it easier to find. For example, if 15 users tag their content with #2021conference, all 15 pieces of content can be viewed simply by clicking the tag.
After reading this article, check out AI Suggested Tags to learn about Higher Logic's AI-powered feature.
Tags overview
There are three types of tags:
- User-created tags - If enabled, all users can define their own tags and tag content (e.g., discussion posts, blog articles, etc.).
NOTE: If you'd prefer your users only apply your organization's approved Formal tags, Super Admins can disable user-created tags. Refer to the Admin Options > Enable/disable user-created tags section below to learn how.
- Formal tags - These are tags specifically defined by Super Admins to reflect an organization's approved tagging taxonomy. These tags are organized into Tag Groups, and you can control whether users can apply the tags in a Tag Group or only admins can.
- Topic tags - These tags are unique to Topic Communities. We're going to focus on User and Formal tags in this article, but check out the Personalization - Topic Communities article to learn more about Topic tags.
How tags work
Regardless of whether you want to define your own tag or apply a Formal tag, the process is the same:
- In the body of content (e.g., blog article, discussion post, library entry, etc.), type "#" to initiate the tagging process, and then start typing the desired keyword(s). As you type, a list of existing, suggested tags will appear (if any exist). These can be Formal tags your organization has defined or previously created user tags.
- Select a suggested tag or continue typing to create your own (if allowed).
- After selecting or creating your own tag, it will become a hyperlink users can click to view all content associated with it. As more and more content is tagged with the same tag(s), it will become easier and easier to find, with more and more associated content.
NOTE: Do NOT use spaces when typing, as this will prevent hashtag creation. Also, if adding your own tag, press Enter after spelling it out to create it.
NOTE: You can also include #hashtags in Discussion posts made via your email client. For example, if you include #CommunityManagement in your Outlook message, the system will convert it into a hyperlinked tag after it is sent.
How tags benefit your community
Tags enable your users and staff to easily curate content. This means they're not only an excellent way for your users to help organize and track content, but also for organizational staff to promote upcoming events, such as conferences and meetings.
EXAMPLE: If your annual conference is fast approaching, it's likely you'll begin generating content about it, like Discussion posts, blog articles, custom CMS pages, etc. You could include the #2021conference tag in each piece of content to easily group them. Users could then click the hyperlinked tag in your content to view ALL content tagged with it, making it easy for them to stay updated about your upcoming conference.
Searching tagged content
There are two ways to view content associated to a tag:
1 - Using the search bar
If you know a tag's name, you can enter it into the search bar to view its associated content. For example, I want to view my community's content with the Formal tag dog. I can do so by entering tags:"dog" in the search bar:
The search results display the content associated to this tag:
2 - Clicking tags
In addition to manually searching via tag names, you can click a tag (within a blog article, for example) to browse its associated content.
Clicking a tag displays its associated content in the search results:
Manually tagging community content
IMPORTANT: The information in this section is applicable to Super Admins only.
In addition to inserting tags within content, such as the body of a blog article or discussion post (refer to How Tags Work, above), admins can also add tags to the content entry.
As shown below, most content entries include an Add a tag link you can click to tag the content with any available user-created, Formal, and Topic tags.
Enable/disable user-created tags
IMPORTANT: The information in this section is applicable to Super Admins only.
Super Admins can control whether users can create their own tags and use existing user-created tags. Why would you want to disable user-created tags? If your organization only wants users tagging content with Formal tags, ensuring every tag belongs to your approved tagging taxonomy.
To disable user-created tags:
- In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.
- Navigate to Settings > Tags and Mentions > Tags.
- One of your Tag Groups will be of the type User (look at the Type column in the list). For this Tag Group, select Edit Group from the Actions menu.
- Toggle the Is Active option to YES or NO to enable or disable user-created tags. Then, click Save.
- If Is Active = No, users will no longer be able to create their own tags or select any previously created user tags.
NOTE: The tags in an inactive tag group can no longer be applied to content; tags that are currently applied to content are not impacted by this setting.
Block words from being tagged
IMPORTANT: The information in this section is applicable to Super Admins only.
Super Admins can prevent users from creating tags with specific words. This is useful for preventing users from tagging curse words or other vulgar/inappropriate language.
To do so:
- In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.
- Navigate to Settings > Tags and Mentions > Tags.
- Click the User Tag Exclusions tab.
- Type the word you want to prohibit in the first field and then click Add. All prohibited words are listed in the area below, and you can remove them from the exclusion list by clicking their X.
Because I added "crap" to my exclusion list, users will now see that #crap is "not permitted" if they try to add it. If they press Enter to attempt to create the tag anyway, the system will simply not turn it into a hyperlink.
Manage Formal tags
IMPORTANT: The information in this section is applicable to Super Admins only.
Formal tags are organized and created within Tag Groups, much like how files are organized and stored in folders.
To manage your Formal Tag Groups and tags:
- In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.
- Navigate to Settings > Tags and Mentions > Tags.
Create Formal Tag Groups
- Click Add.
- Complete the fields below.
- Click Save to create your Tag Group.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Tag Group Name | Give your new Tag Group a name fitting for the types of tags it'll contain. This name will appear in the title of this tag list. |
| Admin Only | Decide whether only admins can apply tags from this Tag Group. If set to NO, your users can apply these tags as well. |
| Is Active |
Controls whether the Tag Group is active or inactive:
NOTE: Making a Tag Group inactive has no impact on tags currently in use, only the prevention of further tagging. |
| Tag Group Type | Because you're creating Formal tags, select the Formal Only option.
NOTE: You can create Tag Groups for Topic tags as well by selecting that option here. You can learn more about Topic tags in the Topic Communities article. |
Create & manage Formal tags
Click a group's Edit Tags button to manage its existing tags and create new ones.
Create a tag
- Click Add.
- Complete the following fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Tag Name | Provide a word that accurately describes the types of content the tag is applicable to. Tag names help organize and describe content across your site, making it easier for your users to search for and find it. |
| Tag Aliases | Specify any word that should be considered the same as the tag. This serves two purposes:
TIP: To learn more, see Tag Aliases. NOTE: An existing Tag cannot be a Tag Alias for another Tag. |
- Click Save to add the tag to the group and return to the previous page or Save and Add Another to add it and immediately add another tag.
View tags in use and tagged content
IMPORTANT: The information in this section is applicable to Super Admins only.
You can run two reports to easily view every tag in use across your site. From these reports, you can also jump directly to the tagged content.
To access these reports:
- In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.
- Navigate to Settings > Tags and Mentions > Tags.
Report on all tags in a Tag Group
Click the Actions menu associated to the desired Tag Group, and then select Report.
On the resulting page, each tag in use from the chosen Tag Group is listed. The number of times a tag is used is shown in the Used Counts column, and you can click these numbers to view the content tagged with it. A link to the content is also provided, making it easy to jump to tagged content.
NOTE: Clicking a tag's Delete button doesn't delete the tag, it simply removes it from the content it's applied to.
Report on a specific tag
If you want to focus on the usage of a specific tag, access the Tag Group it belongs to by clicking its Edit Tags button.
Each tag in use from the chosen Tag Group is listed. To report on a tag, select Report from its Actions menu.
On the resulting page, each usage of the tag is listed, along with a link to its associated content. This makes it easy to not only see how frequently a tag is used but also access its tagged content.
NOTE: Clicking a tag's Delete button doesn't delete the actual tag, it simply removes it from the content it's applied to.
Integration write-backs
If your community is associated with a third-party integrated database, some tag activities in your community can be written to that database during the standard activity-sync process.
- Navigate to Settings > External Content > Activity Sync in the Admin interface in order to manage writeback activities on the Subscriptions tab.
To learn about the activity-sync process, see Member Activity Sync.