Keeping SOCi up to date with your tribe details

SOCi is a local marketing platform. It takes the details of each of your locations and publishes them to Google, Apple Maps, Yelp and the other listing sites it manages. Connecting it to Gorilla Dash means you keep those details in one place: when a tribe's opening hours or phone number change in Gorilla Dash, the same change is sent to SOCi, and SOCi passes it on. A tribe is one location, branch or business unit inside your organisation, and each tribe is matched to one SOCi location.

Gorilla Dash sends the tribe's name, address, main phone number, public email address, website page, weekly opening hours and any special or holiday hours set for the next twelve months. It only sends; it never reads details back from SOCi. If someone edits the same location in SOCi, the next change made in Gorilla Dash will replace it.

Before you start

You need a SOCi API key. In SOCi, open the menu in the top-right corner, choose User Settings, and generate an API key there. The key belongs to that SOCi user, so Gorilla Dash can only update the locations that user can see. If your SOCi address is not app.meetsoci.com, note the address you sign in at as well.

Connecting one account for the whole organisation

Use this when head office has a single SOCi account that holds every location.

Select Software Integrations in the left-hand menu and find the SOCi card.
Open the organisation connection, paste the API key, and enter your SOCi address in Domain if it is not app.meetsoci.com. Save. The card shows Success once SOCi has accepted the key.
Select Tribe connections on the same card. Each tribe has a SOCi Location field that lists the locations in your SOCi account, with each location's ID, store code and address beside its name. Choose the matching location for each tribe and save the row, or use save all.

The card shows how many tribes are connected. A tribe without a SOCi location chosen is not sent anywhere, even though the organisation is connected. Each SOCi location can belong to only one tribe, because two tribes sending to the same listing would overwrite each other. If you choose a location another tribe already has, saving tells you which tribe has it; choose a different location, or clear it from the other tribe first.

Connecting a tribe's own SOCi account

A tribe that has its own SOCi account can connect it itself. Open the tribe, select Software Integrations, open SOCi, and paste that account's API key. The SOCi Location field then lists the locations in the tribe's own account. Choose one and save. When a tribe has its own key, Gorilla Dash uses it for that tribe instead of the organisation's.

When details are sent

A tribe's details are sent as soon as its SOCi location is chosen, and again whenever they change, usually within a minute of saving. Several saves in quick succession are sent together as one update. Saving a tribe without changing anything SOCi shows sends nothing.

To send details again without changing anything, for example after someone has edited a listing directly in SOCi, an organisation administrator can use Push all tribes to SOCi on the organisation's SOCi card, which sends every connected tribe at once, or Push details to SOCi on one tribe's SOCi integration.

PAUSING UPDATES

Turn on Pause automatic updates if you are reworking hours in Gorilla Dash and do not want each step to reach your listings. On the organisation connection it pauses every tribe that sends through the organisation's account; on one tribe's SOCi integration it pauses only that tribe, whichever account it sends through. The push buttons still work while updates are paused, so you can send everything once you have finished.

Hours that have never been set are left alone

A tribe that has never had opening hours entered in Gorilla Dash does not send any, so SOCi keeps the hours it already has. Once you enter hours in Gorilla Dash, they replace the ones in SOCi, and a day you mark as closed shows as closed on your listings.

When an update does not arrive

If SOCi refuses the API key, the key has been revoked or belongs to a user who has lost access. Generate a new key in SOCi and paste it into the connection.
If SOCi cannot find the location, it has been removed or moved to another account in SOCi. Choose the location again on the connection.
If the SOCi Location field says Gorilla Dash could not reach SOCi, the problem is at the SOCi end or with the Domain entered. Check the Domain and select Refresh.
SOCi can be set to hold opening-hours changes for approval before they reach Google. If an update has left Gorilla Dash but not appeared on your listing, check for a pending approval in SOCi.