Followers

Introduction

The Followers component in SPMM allow users to “follow” each other. The functionality is similar to the FOLLOW function available on most other social media platforms.

In order to see follower activity in a “social feed”, you do need to enable the Social Feed component as well!

Features

New FOLLOW/UNFOLLOW buttons in each user profile
Follower stats in user profiles
Follow/Unfollow buttons in the user directory
Users can restrict their profiles to only followers
Users can restrict their profiles to only people they follow
Admins can use a widget to display follower stats in widgitized areas such as sidebars.
Admins can restrict follow functionality by roles
Users can receive notifications for a new follow
Private messaging functionality can be restricted based on follow status

Activating The Component

To activate the FOLLOWERS component:

Navigate to MEMBER MANAGER->SETTINGS->COMPONENTS
Click the checkbox next to Simple:Press Member Manager – FOLLOWERS
Click the Save Changes button

The component should now be enabled.

General Settings

Access the general settings page at MEMBER MANAGER->SETTINGS->COMPONENT SETTINGS->FOLLOWERS

Restrict Following Functions by Role

You can control which roles are allowed to follow each other.

Go to MEMBER MANAGER->USER ROLES
Edit the role that you need to restrict
Scroll down to the Followers section
Can Follow User: Whether this role can follow users
Can Follow These User Roles Only: Which roles the user is allowed to follow. For example, you can specify that Editors, Authors and Subscribers can be followed but VIPs cannot be followed. Use the CTRL-CLICK key combination to choose multiple roles.
Click the Update Role button on the upper right of the page to save your changes

The End User Experience

In the directory, there is a new FOLLOW button on each user card:

Each user profile has new FOLLOW buttons as well as follow statistics: