We have talked about it in the past and yes it’s coming for real. Engagement based pricing is coming to your HootBoard. That way you pay for engagement and not for bells and whistles.
Introducing Engagement Pricing
You use HootBoard to engage your employees and customers. So you should pay for the actual engagement you get. Period.
It’s a simple thought really, you only pay for what you use. Much like your home electricity bill. Most similar companies force you to pay by user whether you and your members use their product or not and we are changing that. You only pay for what matters and that is your employees and customers actually listen in and engage.
No longer shall you commit to hefty monthly or yearly fees for something that will not get used. Here’s an example to illustrate how engagement pricing will compare to traditional per user pricing.
| Per User Pricing | Engagement Unit Pricing | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Users | 100 | 100 |
| Typical Active Users(Avg. 30 sessions a month) | 50 | 50 |
| Typical Engagement Units Consumed | NA | 7500 |
| Rate | $2 / Per User | $50 / 2500 Engagement Units |
| Total Monthly | $200 | $150 |
As you can see, since not all of your users might not be typically active, you shall see a reduction in your monthly bills using this payment model. However if your usage does go beyond the max per user fee, you can always switch to user licenses instead. Soon you will also see detailed reports which will help you decide the best plan structure for your organization.
Calculating and paying for engagement
For purposes of calculating engagement, all key usage activity like post views and comments happening on your boards will be added up to count the number of engagement units used by your organization. Most activities will typically be 1 engagement unit, however there might be some that consume slightly more based on whether that action is bandwidth and process intensive. A more comprehensive list of events is added further down in this post.
On your end you buy a certain number of engagement units every month that is aligned with your expected usage. And don’t worry, we’ll help you estimate the right amount of engagement units and there’s enough flexibility in the system to account for monthly variations. If you go over, you will be billed additional usage at the end of the month automatically.
For our customers using HootBoard touch screens, there is more good news. While your touch screen activity will be tracked via. the engagement algorithm, you will get enough engagement units to not only cover your touch screen activity but also have some left over to cover activity on web and mobile.
The only product where engagement units are NOT consumed is the digital signage. It’s a simple flat fee as published via. our pricing page. However, even here you get a bonus number of engagement units with every screen connection you add.
Engagement Events
Below are the type of events and actions that constitute as engagement. Please note that this is an indicative list and not charged events might be included here. At the same time, some of the published events, might not be immediately charged since some aspects might still be in development.
| Engagement Event | Weightage |
|---|---|
| Viewed HootBoard | 1 |
| Viewed Hoot | 1 |
| Video Played | 1 |
| Send self invitation | 1 |
| Comment made | 1 |
| Link or Button Clicked | 1 |
| Emails Opened | 1 |
| Board Followed or Joined | 1 |
| Viewed Calendar | 1 |
| External Application Opened | 1 |
| (Touch Screen) Session Started | 1 |
You shall expect a typical session to be around 4-5 engagement units consumed but could vary based on the unique amount of engagement that your board gets.
