Welcome to our Messaging feature! Learn how to prepare and play important messages in your business. No additional hardware is required - Messaging works with all Soundtrack Players. Currently not compatible with Sonos.
To start, click messaging in the top menu when logged in here on your account. Create messages and bundle them into campaigns. Campaigns can be scheduled when you want them to play, in the locations where you want to hear them. You’ll need to create at least one message before setting up a campaign.
How to create messages
Upload audio file
- Under Select audio source, click Upload audio file.
- Click to upload or drag and drop a file. MP3 or .ogg files are accepted, with a 5MB limit.
- Remember to name your message, then click Save.
Text to speech
- Under Select audio source, click Text to speech.
- Under Specify text to speech, type the message you would like to create.
- Select your preferred language. We currently offer English, Swedish, German, French and Spanish. Choose a male or female voice, as well as the pitch and speed of the message. When you’re ready, click Preview to test your message.
- Remember to name your message, then click Save.
Paste SSML (Customize your text-to-speech)
SSML is a text encoding system or markup language that allows you to control how the text to speech is created. Introduce a quick break between words or sentences, control how words are pronounced or change the pitch and speed - the choice is yours. You can even add audio files throughout the text.
Directly paste SSML code to preview and create a message.
You can paste this snippet:
<speak>
Here are <say-as interpret-as="characters">SSML</say-as> samples.
I can pause <break time="3s"/>.
Hello!
</speak>
The resulting audio file will sound like:
“Here are S S M L samples. I can pause [audio pauses for 3 seconds]. Hello!”
Is your message being cut out by the crossfade feature? Here's a workaround:
You can add silence before and after a text-to-speech message. This allows you to leave the crossfade feature on without it affecting the message.
Make sure to surround the entire message with <speak> at the start and </speak> at the end, and then you can use <break time="3s"/> (with any length instead of 3s) anywhere in the message.
Here's an example:
<speak><break time="1s" />This is a sample message with 1s before and after.<break time="1s" /></speak>
We use the SSML provided by Google Cloud. You can learn more in this article.
How to create campaigns
When your messages are ready, it’s time to create a campaign. Here’s how:
- Under messaging and campaigns click + new campaign.
- Name your campaign and click + add messages.
- Choose from your messages, adding one or multiple. Adding multiple messages will result in the random selection of one message to play at the selected time.
- Select the days of the week for your messages to play and if you’d like to hear them once or multiple times.
Once per day
If you choose to play the message once per day, we recommend you turn on the interrupt music playback option to allow the message to be played at the exact minute specified. If you do not select this, the message will be queued to play after the current song ends.
Multiple times per day
If you choose to play the messages multiple times per day, you will need to select the timespan for when the campaign is active. Make sure to also select the frequency. As these messages are often not time-critical, we recommend you don’t turn on the interrupt music playback. This way, the message will be queued between songs and won’t interrupt the music.
5. Click Save.
6. Set the dates for your campaign. If the end date is left blank, the campaign will run indefinitely.
7. Once you are happy with your campaign, click + select zones and select the zone or zones where you would like for it to play. Click ok.
8. Click Save to set your campaign live!
Common questions
Can I add a wav-audio file?
We accept .mp3 or .ogg files, that are under 5MB. You may need to use a file converter to make your file suitable.
Why are the beginning and end of my messages skipped?
Crossfade is likely enabled for your zones. Crossfade smoothly blends audio segments, but it might unintentionally alter the start and end of your message.
To fix this, go to the zones in the top-menu when logged into your account. Click on a zone and under settings, turn off crossfade for the zones with issues. If you need help, contact our support team at support@soundtrackyourbrand.com.
How can I delete messages and campaigns?
Edit or delete a message by clicking the dotted menu icon in the top right corner.
If you'd like to edit or delete a campaign, find the same menu under + new campaign.