Bridge Basics

Bridge Basics

What is a bridge?

A Bridge is the connection of two or more APIs

What is an API?

API stands for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other.
Each time you use an app like Facebook, send an IM or check the weather, you’re using an API.
When you use an application on your mobile phone, the application connects to the Internet and sends data to a server. The server then retrieves that data, interprets it, performs the necessary actions and sends it back to your phone. The application then interprets that data and presents you with the information you wanted in a readable way. This is what an API is - all of this happens via API.
Imagine you’re sitting at a table in a restaurant with a menu of choices to order from. The kitchen is the part of the “system” that will prepare your order. What is missing is the critical link to communicate your order to the kitchen and deliver your food back to your table. That’s where the waiter or API comes in. The waiter is the messenger – or API – that takes your request or order and tells the kitchen – the system – what to do. Then the waiter delivers the response back to you; in this case, it is the food.
The Connection of multiple APIs is what we refer to when we talk about bridges. At Drive, we create bridges between Facebook, Marketing Milk, and the systems our clients use that contain their customer data. This allows us to track performance of our marketing campaigns and show that performance on the Marketing Milk dashboard in a way that is useful to the pods internally, and to the clients externally.

Why does Drive Social Media and Marketing Milk Need Bridges?

There are two scenarios where Drive will use a bridge to help our clients.

  1. Every time a contract is sold, and for every client drive has, we use a bridge. This bridge connects Marketing Milk to Facebook in a very basic way that allows us to pull the minimum metrics we need to report on the performance of a marketing campaign. This bridge is included in every contract drive has with its clients.

  1. The second scenario is when a business developer sells an additional custom bridge to a client. These are the bridges that connect the systems our clients store their customer data in, to Marketing Milk. Marketing Milk will then send customer data to Facebook. Facebook then attempts to match the customer data it receives from marketing milk to facebook user information on its platform. This is how we determine match rate. Then, of the data that matched to user information on the Facebook platform, Facebook looks to see if those users saw our ads. This determines Attribution. Facebook sends match rate and attribution numbers back to Marketing Milk, and we display it on the clients dashboard.

The second scenario is the scenario we are talking about when we talk about building bridges for a client. Without this second scenario, AMs have to get data from the clients systems by logging into them, downloading the data, and then cleaning and formatting it in a way that can be uploaded to Facebook through Marketing Milk, so that we can show the client their results. With the second scenario, this process is automated and the client can see their results in real time.

When to Build a Custom Bridge?

When you look at a client's contract in salesforce, under “One Time Setup fee”, you will see something called Marketing Milk Bridge

If you see these things in your contract, you should submit a bridge request form

Summary

  1. Client agrees to pay for a custom bridge
  2. PM sees custom bridge in clients contract
  3. PM requests bridge using Bridge Request Form
  4. The Marketing Milk Team takes information from bridge requests and creates a card on the Trello Board.
  5. Marketing Milk Team Requests Logins
  6. Marketing Milk Team Checks Cyclr to see if connection exists
    1. If Connector exists
      1. Marketing Milk Team Tests Connector
        1. Connector gives relevant data
          1. Marketing Milk Team works with AM to complete bridge
          2. Project Manager reaches out to Matt James to let him know the bridge is complete and begin charging bridge maintenance fee.
        2. Connector doesn’t give relevant data
          1. Marketing Milk Team considers bridge dead and recommends refunding client bridge fee
            1. Analytics Director, or someone approved by analytics director, approves bridge refund
              1. PM requests bridge refund
    2. If Connector Doesn’t Exist
      1. Marketing Milk Team Looks into API to see if one is available and that it will give us access to the information we need.
        1. API Exists
          1. Marketing Milk Team sends Login and API information over to cyclr who will investigate the bridge to confirm if it will give us the information we need, and that they are able to build the connectors.
            1. Cyclr Confirms Bridge is possible and gives relevant data
              1. Cyclr Builds bridge
                1. Marketing Milk Tests and works with AM to complete bridge
            2. Cyclr confirms bridge is not possible or doesn’t give relevant data
              1. Marketing Milk considers the bridge dead and recommends a refund is given to the client.
                1. Analytics Director, or someone approved by analytics director, approves bridge refund
                  1. PM requests bridge refund
        2. API Does not Exist
          1. Marketing Milk considers the bridge dead and recommends a refund is given to the client.
            1. Analytics Director, or someone approved by analytics director, approves bridge refund
              1. PM requests bridge refund


Workflow



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