Collections Media

[CarlaRolfe]

Likely a repeat question but I'm not sure how to find the answer.  In any case, how do customers see the cover images and videos uploaded to collection media?

I've added cover images to several collections over the last week, and then my first video today but none of the collection media show up anywhere except in the collection media section in the back end, where customers are obviously not going to see them 😂

So, what am I missing? How do I make these "viewable" to the public? 

[KeegansCreation]

As far as I can tell, these covers only show up to the public for cross sell and even then it doesn't happen 100% of the time. Maybe only for certain events? My birthday, baby shower, Hanukah and Thanksgiving cross sell collections have the cover showing on the product page but my Mardis Gras cross sell does not. Mardis Gras isn't in the list of cross sell holidays so I chose "holiday season" as a cross sell category but (so far?) that doesn't let the cover show on the product page.

The same metric seems to be used in the MP. There is now a place where customers can see just collections (next to category dropdown). Again, it only seems to show cross sell tied to specific occasions. When I search for Mardis Gras in the MP and then choose to just see collections, there are only a handful of collections: those that tie birthdays/quincineara to Mardis Gras. One of these collections also has a collection video so that is where that shows up.

I have not yet seen any of the other collection types with covers show up in the MP (such as Similar Style/Theme) either in the Collection dropdown or on the product page. I continue to make covers for these collections in the hopes that later they will also appear in the MP, that this is just a slow rollout.

[CarlaRolfe]

None of my cross sell collections with listed events, are showing the cover image listed on the product page.  😕 

[Windy]

Your Thin Blue Line collection is large, so I have to scroll a long time. At the bottom, I see four of your cover photos.

[CarlaRolfe]

I'm glad they're showing there, but that isn't really what I meant.

I've seen a number of screen shots of individual product pages that are part of a collection, that show both the cover photo and a video, in the top left thumbnails.  I've clicked on all of my products in collections with covers, and none of them show in that area, nor do I have any kind of collection "pod" on any product page in collection, as shown by @Cat's screen shot here on this thread.  On my product pages, the collection listing isn't even directly under the product image but instead it's "other designs you might like".  The collection is under that, and it looks the same as it always has. 

[Sara_H]

@CarlaRolfe it depends what type of collection it was set up as that the product is in. Wedding Cross Sells have this set up with the pod as @Cat shows in hers and some other holiday types (eg christmas cross sells are set up this way too) shows whereas if your collections are set up as gift/similar/different styles type of collection - the pods won't show as it's not been set up that way (yet or if ever)

Not all the cross sell types have been set up this way with a pod and images showing down the left hand side is what I'm trying to say 🤣😂

[CarlaRolfe]

Okay, that makes sense then, if they're not all set up to display this way.

(edit - just checked St. Patrick's Day in the MP, sort by collections and found a collection set up exactly the way Cat's example looked, but mine looks nothing like that so I have no idea what I'm missing with this. Set to cross sell, cover image with more than 1 product, video, and yet... it's like I literally did nothing with this collection, lol.  So frustrating.)

Which brings me to my next question:

How will any potential customer see any video you make for a collection, and upload to the collection Media section, if they're not displayed anywhere?

[Sara_H]

@CarlaRolfe no idea on that one then. It could be that the collection is borked somehow or the other designer has a different holiday selected?. You could always make a new collection to test.

I have no idea where the customer sees the collection video (unless it's shown in the pod)

You could add the collection video to each individual product listing that's in the collection with a note that says see the collection for more?

Is that allowed? Dunno -  There are no rules it seems (bit like fight club) or any correct guidelines to follow as such or the collection types aren't set up equally depending on the occasion chosen so it's very difficult to say

Dunno

[Windy]

Is there any "rolling" going on in this rollout, though? I have seen no new developments.

[KeegansCreation]

Having a Collections dropdown in the MP next to Categories is new. So I hold out hope that this will be expanded to more subcategories of Cross Sell and then to other collection types. 

[Baylee]

Thanks for pointing out that 'collections' option @KeegansCreation . I hadn't noticed that before and it's a cool new addition. The results are kind of weird though, because the same collection will appear more than once depending, I'm assuming, on which products are checked off in your collections 'Zazzle Marketplace' options. The example I searched showed up three times ... once each for the invite, envelope and save the date card in the collection. 

I just noticed it only seems to draw from 'cross-sell' collections. That's a shame. 

[Cat]

For wedding cross-sell collections at least, they show up in the collections POD beneath the product, along with any and all RealViews that you have enabled. The primary one shows in the big box, and the user can click through all of the thumbnails on the left to make them show up in the big box. But all it does is cycle through the images/videos, it doesn't take you to the actual collection.

The thumbnails on the right (and the ones you get when you click on show more products) open the first product in that category with all of the others displayed in a scrollable section directly below the product image on the product page.

[CarlaRolfe]

I've seen that layout before in other screen shots but none of my collections look anything like that. I'm guessing that layout is only for wedding collections? Also, none of my collections have the option to enable RealView so I'm guessing that also is only for wedding collections? 

[klstock]

This may or may not be what you are looking for - in the collections channel area (to the top right when in collections manager), you will see the channels listed. Click on Zazzle marketplace and scroll down to where it says "search pages". There you can select products that are in your collection cover image.

When I did this, my collection showed up in the marketplace as you describe (and in the pod format like in Cat's example). I didn't like it though because it was confusing. If a customer searches for "tropical wedding rsvp card", instead of showing that product photo it will show the collection cover photo instead. 

[CarlaRolfe]

Nope, that just confused me even more, lol. 

[klstock]

Happy to help 😁