Blogs - How to Assign Roles and Grant Access to Blogs

Introduction

This guide will tell you how to set up the required permissions to give your users access to manage and create Blog Feeds, and/or write Blog Posts. It is intended for clients to gain an understanding of how these roles and permissions work.

About Blogs

Blogs are a fantastic way of communicating a company's news and updates, as well as their purpose and values, to employees using a method that is both familiar and interactive. 

Whilst the blogs module is free for clients with SmartHub® platforms to use, it must first be activated by a Client Success or Client Support team member, at the request of the client.

Roles and Permissions for Blogs

Users need certain roles and permissions to be able to manage Blog Feeds or write Blog Articles.

There are different access levels, which give the user different permissions for writing, editing and managing Blogs. There are two types of roles that can be assigned:

• Platform-based: This type of role is a Reward Manager role and is assigned in Reward Manager/Admin Portal by the Client Admins. This role applies to all Blogs across the platform.
• Blog-based: This type of role applies only to a specific Blog Feed. Blog-based roles are assigned within the settings of specific Blog Feeds. 

Note: Each organization should have their own internal Client Administrator who can assign platform-based roles to people within their company. Client Admins assigning roles to others would need Member Access Control Administrator for adding a new role to a user, and/or Permissions Manager for approving the role requests.

'Platform-based' Role - SmartPress Administrator

The Client Admin should apply the platform-based Blog role SmartPress Administrator initially, to a person that will be managing Blogs and Blog Feeds in their organization. That person can then manage other users’ 'Blog-based' permissions, as required.

The SmartPress Administrator role gives the ability to:

• Add, edit and remove Blog Feeds on a scheme
• Delete blog post comments
• Create, edit, schedule and delete Blog Posts
• Manage other users’ blog-based permissions across the platform.

This role also enables a user to write and publish a blog post on behalf of another user. For example, they could write and publish a blog post attributed to the company CEO, giving the appearance that the CEO wrote the post.

Note: The user being represented does not need the SmartPress Administrator role for another user to write and publish blog posts on their behalf.

'Blog-based' Permissions

There are four different access levels, or roles, which give the user different permissions for writing, editing and managing blogs.

• ‘Admins’ role (platform-based)

A person managing all Blogs, and other users’ access, across their platform. (Granting permissions for this role is described below in the section called; Set Up Users To Have Roles on the Blog Feed).

• ‘Editor’ role (blog-based)

This role can only be given by those with the SmartPress Administrator role, via the settings section within a specific Blog Feed (see below; Set Up Users To Have Roles on the Blog Feed). Editors have the same permissions and access as Admins, but with the difference that they can only access the Blog Feed that they were assigned to, whereas the Admins can access all platform blogs. Editors can be assigned to more than one Blog Feed.

• ‘Blogger’ role (blog-based)

This role can be granted by Admins and Editors via the settings section within a specific Blog Feed (see; Set Up Users To Have Roles on the Blog Feed). Bloggers can write new posts and can edit, schedule, publish and delete posts created by them. A Blogger sees only their own posts; they cannot access posts created by others. 

• ‘Contributors’ role (blog-based)

This role can be granted by Admins and Editors via the settings section within a specific Blog Feed (see; Set Up Users To Have Roles on the Blog Feed). A Contributor can write a post and then edit it, but in order to publish, schedule or delete it they will need approval from an Administrator or Editor.  A Contributor sees only their own posts, they cannot access posts created by others.

Set the Type of Access for a Blog Feed

Each Blog Feed can have a different type of access set, depending on how the Client would like people to contribute to it. 

This is done by changing the dropdown underneath ‘in addition to the people in the list below, posts can be written by’:

From here you would select one of the three options. These are described below:

1. Everyone, but posts need approval  

Note: This is the default setting for a Blog Feed.

This setting on a Blog Feed allows anyone from the organization (if they are registered on their platform) to write blog posts, but only an Editor or Administrator can approve and publish it. Articles drafted by others would appear in Awaiting Review status, until they are approved.

2. Everyone

This setting on a Blog Feed allows anyone from the organization to write and publish blog posts (if they are registered on their platform).

3. Only selected people

This setting on a Blog Feed only means only those with assigned roles can contribute, or management content. When selecting this option, you will need to also set up users to have roles on the Blog Feed.

Set Up Users To Have Roles on the Blog Feed

When a Blog Feed is set to ‘Only selected people’, you can then add users and give them roles:

1. Under Blog roles, click the Add a new role option:

2. Search for the person you wish to add, in the Search by name field:

3. Click their name from the search results:

4. They will then appear under the Blog roles section and will have Blogger role by default:

5. You can edit the permissions for that user by clicking the pencil icon:

6. Then select the role you want the person to have:

For ALL roles: You can select (or leave unselected) Can post announcements: