How do I import contacts?

Importing contacts can be very useful when you are looking to target set data. The guide below will take you through the steps on how to successfully import data via a spreadsheet

Firstly we need to format your spreadsheet in a similar way to our screenshot below.

1. Hopefully your contacts file that you would like to import looks something like this: 

(In the screenshot above we are using Microsoft Excel however other software is available)

2. You will need to make sure that the data is accurate  with clear headings as you will need to remember them later! Please save this file to a location that you will remember, please save it as a CSV file, if you don't know how to do this please see this guide. 

3. Now you will need to login to your BriefYourMarket system by heading to your management site.

4. When logged in I will need you to go to the "Audience" Tab which can be found in the very top navigation bar. Hover over this and go down to Import and Export --> Import Contacts.

5. You will now be presented with the "Import Contacts" page, firstly you will need to select the CSV file (of your contacts) that we saved earlier. Click the "Choose File" button, select the CSV file and then press "open" 

6. Now you can choose to overwrite the duplicates, so for example if Charlie Pates with the email charliep@briefyourmarket.co.uk and the postcode of DE22 5EL already exists in your system and your data suggests that Charlie Pates with the email charliep@briefyourmarket.co.uk now has a post code of BE55 2HJ with the "Overwrite Duplicates" check box ticked it will change the postcode to "BE55 2HJ".

7. Now you can choose to import your contacts into an existing list or you can create a new one. 

a. To create a new list you will need to press the "New" button. 

Now you can type in the Classification which is where it the list will be grouped under (optional) and the name of the list (required) 

Then press "Save" 

b. To use an existing list you can use the drop down button and select an existing list

8. When you are happy with your settings, press "import". 

9. This will now upload and you will be presented with the mapping screen, here you are mapping the columns in the Excel file to the columns that are against a contact in BriefYourMarket

For example, for our first column "First Name" we want to link that column to the "First Name" entry in Brief Your Market, in order to do that we find the "First Name" entry and use the drop down box to find the correct column. 

10. Once you have mapped all the fields you can press "Import" You will then be redirected to the "Background Jobs" page in your BriefYourMarket system this shows you what jobs are running in the background of your system. 

Depending on the amount of contacts in your file it might take 1 - 10 minutes to upload please be patient, simply hit the refresh button to refresh the status, once it is not showing on the list that shows that the upload is complete. 

12. Now head back to your contacts page and you can see that the contacts that we uploaded are now uploaded. 

Congratulations! You now know how to import contacts into your system. 

If you still require more assistance, please contact our support team by raising a ticket, emailing support@briefyourmarket.co.uk or calling 0344 800 8424 where our team will be happy to help you.